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February 15, 2018Dear friends in Christ,
Our journey of 40 days is officially underway as we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent this weekend. I pray that this will be a time of spiritual renewal for all of us. Please keep foremost in your prayers our Catechumens and Candidates who are in the “home stretch” for their entrance into full communion with the Church. We will celebrate the Rite of Sending for 20 of these Catechumens at the 9 a.m. Mass this weekend and later tonight they will be received by Cardinal DiNardo at the Rite of Election that we are hosting at CtR (one of five such services around the Archdiocese today). Our 20 from CtR, along with nearly 1,800 others from other parishes, will make up the largest group of Catechumens from any diocese in the country.
Over the course of Lent we’ll celebrate the three scrutinies (minor rites) for our Catechumens (the unbaptized). Meanwhile, another 20 or so baptized Christians who seek full communion in the faith (the Candidates) are also preparing for their entry into the Church. As they all journey to the table of the Lord, let us dare to walk with them and ask the Lord to guide us all into a more perfect union with the Son and God’s holy Church.
I hope your Lenten penance and sacrifice is working to help you deepen your spiritual life, but don’t let it become a fixation. I sometimes worry that people obsess over what they are “giving up” for Lent that they miss the inner renewal that needs to be taking place. That can only be accomplished by quiet reflection on God’s will in our lives. That was at the heart of Jesus’ temptation in the desert that we read in today’s Gospel. Be sure to take time during these 40 days to listen for the voice of God calling you by name.
Of course one of the ways to do so is in our
Lenten Parish Mission. You’ll hear all about it today from Fr. Bruce Nieli, CSP, who will be preaching at all Masses this weekend and who will lead us in the mission. I hope you will plan to join us in either the morning or evening session on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week. Remember there is no need to register for the sessions – just come! But please do let us know if you need childcare. We’ll have the nursery open, but we need to know in advance how many children to expect so we can have the proper number of attendants available. Sign-up on the website for use of the nursery, please. Likewise, if you will be joining us for the evening supper before the 7 p.m. presentation on any night, please let us know via the website so that we might prepare enough food for the community.
There are a couple of modifications to our schedule this week in light of the mission, particularly in the evening. Fr. Bruce will be hearing confessions each afternoon from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the main church. That’s each day of the mission in the afternoon before the evening meal. On Wednesday, Fr. Ralph and I will extend the confession time until 6:55 p.m. as we do every Wednesday to keep us on our normal schedule, but there will be no 7 p.m. Mass this Wednesday due to the mission. This is an exception for this week only.
In other news, last week at the 9 a.m. Mass we installed our 2018 Parish Pastoral Council. Please join me in thanking the following for their service to our community: Our returning members, Gilda Bartz, Ashley Bass (chair), James Taylor, Lisa Veenstra, Fortunato Barajas, Andy Barrenechea, Carrie Palmer and Tim Schulz (vice chair), who are joined by newcomers Terri Garza (secretary), Patrick Jetter, Grant Roscoe, and Tim Wente. My thanks to all of them for their dedicated service and wise counsel to me and the parish.
We have a “Welcome to the Parish” luncheon for all new parishioners next Sunday, Feb. 25 at 12:15 p.m. in the Community Center. Those who have registered in the parish recently should have received an invitation from our Welcoming Committee. Please RSVP to the office this week if you haven’t as of yet so that we might adequately prepare. It’s always great to meet the many new faces of CtR. Welcome to the parish!
A special thank you to the ladies of the Piece Makers who make all of the interesting knickknacks, tchotchkes, jewelry, baked goods and other items at their bi-annual parish sale. I just received an additional check from them from their fall sale a few months ago. Thanks to all who bought items, and my special gratitude to the women who put it all together. I don’t know of a parish group that has more fun than the Piece Makers. They are always laughing and having a good time, and they are always generous by returning all the proceeds back to the community for various projects. They are already hard at work on items for the Spring Festival, too. Thank you, ladies!
Don’t forget that our Lenten Friday Fish Dinners sponsored by the
Knights of Columbus have resumed. Every Friday, from 4:30-7:30 p.m., the Knights serve a delicious fish dinner in the Parish Hall for only $8 for adults or $5 for children. It’s quite a deal for a great plate, and to-go boxes are available as well. We had a great turnout for the first one this past Friday, so plan to join us at some point during these 40 days. It’s a great community event. And remember that we celebrate the Stations of the Cross in the main church on Fridays at 7 p.m. Come for the fish; stay for the Stations!
Peace,
Fr. Sean