September 14, 1969, First Parish Mass · May 17, 1970 Ground-breaking · August 15, 1971, Dedication of the Church
| 1st Sunday of Lent C |
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As we celebrate this first Sunday of our penitential season, it is interesting to note that the word “Lent” comes from the Old English lencten or lengten, which means springtime and derives from the concept of lengthening daylight.
By the fourth century, Lent had come to be a period of intense final preparation for catechumens who would be baptized at Easter and a period of re-conversion for penitents, serious sinners who were seeking reconciliation.
As conversion and re-conversion took place within the community of the faithful, Lent was soon seen as an excellent opportunity for all to fast, pray, and engage in charitable works in preparation for baptismal renewal at Easter.
Marion Eagen, a liturgist and musician in the diocese of Scranton, Pa. © 2002 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #290, SanJose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505. All rights reserved.
F A S T I N G
Ever discover you just can’t eat? Maybe you have an exam coming up. Of you’ve had a death in the family. Maybe you’re about to give a speech. Or it’s only days before your wedding.
Emotional events in our lives can cause a physical reaction tensing up in the stomach, making it hard to even think about food. We naturally fast as a means of preparing.
Imagine the church, the Body of Christ, as one giant organism getting ready for the big event of the year, Easter. The emotional promise of that day is causing a physical reaction in us: it’s hard to think about food when we’re drawing so close to the celebration of the death and resurrection of the Lord.
Our most common form of liturgical fasting is the hour we spend before receiving communion, abstaining from food and drink. Most of us don’t think about it any more, but it used to be a three-hour fast, and prior to that, a fast from midnight. This had the advantage of making communion the first food of the day, a real spiritual “break-fast.”
The canon and local laws regarding fasting during Lent are well-publicized each year. We abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent and we fast (eating only one full meal) on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
But the liturgy presumes that fasting, or some form of self-sacrifice, accompanies the Lenten season. On Ash Wednesday, the opening prayer asks God to “make this day holy by our self-denial.” The prayer of blessing over the ashes asks to “keep faithful to the discipline of Lent.” Before blessing the palms on Passion Sunday, the presider will remind us that “for five weeks of Lent we have been preparing, but works of charity and self-sacrifice, for the celebration of our Lord’s paschal mystery.” Holy Saturday, not just Good Friday, implies the presence of a fast. The church abstains from communion; it may be given only to the dying. And those preparing for Baptism “should refrain from their usual activities, spend their time in prayer and reflection, and, as far as they can, observe a fast.” We all may find that extending the fast from Good Friday through Saturday helps us celebrate Easter better.
Fasting heightens our anticipation of Easter and gives us solidarity with the world’s hungry. A fast at home will give new life to the prayers we hear and the songs we sing during Lent. (Copyright © 1997 Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St. #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505, Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, Mo.)
On Spiritual Adoption
St. John’s Church is encouraging all members to participate in our Spiritual Adoption program that will begin on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25. Sign up will be taken after all Masses on March 6, 7, 13, 14, and 20, 21. You will select a boy or girl baby, receive a Spiritual Adoption prayer card and wrist bands will be available in adult and youth sizes. The wrist band serves as a daily reminder to pray for your adopted baby. We appreciate a donation for the wrist bands that have “I Cherish Life” embossed on them. The prayer that will be said every day is: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.”
Parish News and Announcements |
Parish News & Announcements
Tribunal Notes
From Fr. Marvin Samiano, JCL, Judicial Vicar and Director of Canonical Affairs
Why do I need a recent baptism certificate? The reason why a recent baptismal certificate is required is because anything that changes the canonical status of a person [i.e., confirmation, marriage, religious profession, ordination to the diaconate (permanent or transitional)] is recorded at the church of baptism in their baptism register. The notations that are found on the reverse side of the certificate will indicate the person’s canonical status and freedom. Since a person’s status can change with the passage of time, a recent (within the year) certificate of baptism is required to establish certain facts.
Recruiting Census Takers: $17 per hour
From Alika Cullen, Cathedral of our Lady of Peace General Administrator
As we all continue to struggle through this turbulent economic climate, the United States Census Bureau struggles to find enough help to conduct the 2010 Census. If you know of anyone in your parish and/or community who could use the economic boost, the U.S. Census Bureau is accepting applications and testing for 2010 census takers. Earn $17 per hour.
For registration and information call, 1-866-861-2010. Applicants must have a current passport or two forms of identification (Driver’s License and Social Security card or Birth Certificate); Veterans bring DD214. Visit the Website: http://www.2010censusjobs.gov/ for Census Job information and a practice test.
Abstinence
A practice of refraining oneself from indulging in something, particularly eating meat. It is
part of spiritual discipline and penance which prepare the baptized Christian for the
liturgical feasts and help the person acquire mastery over his/her instincts and freedom of
heart. (Cf. CCC #2043)
From the Pastor’s desk…
“In Luke’s story of the Temptation of Jesus we see how we can be tempted by wealth, power, and esteem just as He was. Lent calls us to focus on our faith life by living it in deeper ways. As we begin our journey with Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl, let us pray and sacrifice so that through our faith we can make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in need.”
The donations for the Frugal Meal after the Stations of the Cross every Friday of Lent of our parish will go to the Operation Rice Bowl collection. Let us beg for God’s grace
that the celebration of Stations of the Cross will help us intensely focus on our reflection on the passion, suffering and death of Jesus, as well as increase our awareness of the
suffering poor people all over the world of whom Jesus commanded us to help.
Fr. Manny Hewe
RESPECT LIFE…
[In vitro fertilization] further depersonalizes the act of generating a child, turning it into a technical process in a laboratory. This procedure is so far from a loving act of the spouses that it can even be used to conceive a child if neither of them is alive, for the body of neither one is involved in the act of generating this life once sperm and egg are obtained and stored. Because these embryos are deliberately created not in the nurturing environment of the mother’s body but in the poor substitute of a culture in a glass dish, the great majority of them die.
--United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Life-Giving Love in an
Age of Technology (Nov. 2009)____________________________________________________________
Renovation
Principal Balance @ 12/31/09 $ 506,552.48
Monthly Principal and Interest $ 81,514.31
Debt/Renovation Collection
February 13/14 $ 1,868.50
Gift of Treasure
February 13/14 $ 12,744.53
“How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?” Psalm 116:12
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“If our prayer is resolutely united with that of
Jesus, in trust and boldness as children, we obtain
all that we ask in his name, even more than any
particular thing: the Holy Spirit himself, who
contains all gifts.” (CCC 2742)
PRAY FOR OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS:
Healing/Blessings – Fay Molina-Sagon, Leilani Mueller, Robert Bonura, Felicidad Sagon. Rose
Sagocio, Ron Thames, Sebastian Valadez Perez, Mercedes Valadez Perez, Isabella Valadez and
everyone mentioned in our Prayer Intentions Book.
Deceased: Krystle Good, Millie Rynders, Sarah Ruiz, Romeo Saludes, Maria Asuncion
MASS INTENTIONS:
Monday, February 22, 2010
8am Mass Joseph Tenio (RIP)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
8am Mass Helen Kaminski (RIP)
Joseph Tenio (RIP)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
8am Mass Lourdes Quiason (RIP)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
8am Mass Mary Alice Roberson (RIP)
For all souls in purgatory
Friday, February 26, 2010
8am Mass Phyllis Levesque (RIP)
Saturday, February 27, 2010
8am Mass Rodolfo Gasmen (B-Day)
For all souls in purgatory
5 pm Mass Harold Chambers (RIP)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
7am Mass Jessica Menendez (Thanksgiving)
9am Mass For the People
11am Mass Ann Remington (RIP)
6pm Mass Cecilia & Jacinto Nones (RIP)
