The Season of Lent

A Time to Change our Ways:
Ever notice how hard it is to change? We all make promises to be different and to act differently. Somehow our best intentions get lost and we find ourselves still doing the same things over and over again. Maybe the key is that we really can’t change very much on our own. It is only with God’s help that we can make changes in our lives. Lent is an annual invitation to change. More importantly, it is an annual invitation to look to God for help and realize that we can’t do it on our own. Lent is an opportunity to look at how we can better live out our commitment to Jesus Christ. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday evening, Lent is a time to pray, to fast, to give to those in need in order that we might be renewed through the celebration of the mystery of Easter. Lent is a time to be different because we have learned once again that God is on our side. And because God is on our side it is possible to do things like give up drinking or smoking or control our anger, our greed, our lust. Because God is on our side it is possible to be more charitable to our family, friends and neighbors and more generous to those who are in need. Because God is on our side, anything is possible.

Church Regulations for the Season of Lent

Days of Fast & Abstinence:
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. Anyone between the ages of 18 and 59 are limited to one full meal on these days. No meat is permitted on these two days.

Days of Abstinence:
On all the Fridays of Lent anyone who is 14 years of age or older must abstain totally from meat. Serious reasons, for example one’s health, can excuse one from these rules. Church law also encourages parents to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

We keep the Season of Lent by a series of voluntary acts. These voluntary acts are both positive and negative. Positive acts are a decision to spend more time in prayer, participating in Mass, reading Scripture, doing works of mercy and kindness. Negative acts involve giving up something like our favorite foods or entertainment. We do these acts not just for the sake of doing them but in order to constantly realize how much we depend on God.

Pray for our Parish Catechumens

The Season of Lent is a time of anticipation for those in our parish who are preparing to be received into the Church. Each year, members of our RICIA are preparing to be baptized, received into full communion with the Catholic Church or to complete their initiation into the Church. We should pray for these, our sisters and brothers, who seek to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ and of His Church. Please keep them in prayer during this time of preparation for the great Feast of Easter.

Flower and Music Donation

At Christmas and Easter we invite parishioners to assist the parish by a donation that helps defray the cost of flowers and additional instrumentation. An envelope for this purpose is included in the budget envelopes. The envelope also affords the giver an opportunity to make the donation in memory of an individual. There is a place on the envelope to write the name of that person.

Schedule

A schedule of Masses and activities will be posted to our
“Important Announcements” page as Lent arrives.

Daily Mass

Daily Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 12:00 noon in the Main Church.

Confessions

Confessions are celebrated every Saturday at the usual time during Lent (3:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.) as well as Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and during our Parish Mission.

Stations of the Cross with Benediction

Come every Lenten Friday to walk with the Lord to Calvary. Meditations and solemn reflections at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Church with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament to help us remember the sacrifice and love shown for us by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Easter Duty Obligation

Holy Communion must be received at least once from the First Sunday of Lent to Pentecost Sunday.

Operation Rice Bowl – Palm Sunday Weekend

At the doors of the Church you will find Rice Bowls ready to be assembled and filled. Place the Rice Bowl in a prominent place in your home and drop money in it every time you pass by. On Palm Sunday weekend, the second collection at Mass, will be the Rice Bowl collection for the poorest in the world.