St. John Paul II: Through his complete selfsacrifice, Joseph expressed his generous love for the Mother of God, and gave her a husband’ “gift of self.”

To think about: How can we give the gift of self to our family members? Neighbors? School or work acquaintances?

Also, during this Holy Week, think about how you can continue some of you Lenten sacrifices, perhaps in a smaller way, for those you love.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. These are the sacred days that define who we are as Christians – as disciples. Come, walk with Jesus in His final steps. Some spiritual advice: Don’t try to “find time” to attend these important events. You won’t “find” it. We must make time to spend with Him like we do with anyone we love. See the full schedule in this bulletin. Some highlights of the week:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from this Sunday may be observed." 

We delve ever more deeply into our Lenten observance with a “fasting for the eyes.” Today, we veil crosses and images of Jesus and His Saints. Have we taken these images for granted? On Good Friday the Cross will be solemnly unveiled once more. Then at Easter, all veils will be removed as the Resurrection of Our Lord gives us renewed access to eternal, heavenly realities with unveiled eyes.

St. John Paul: “Joseph obeyed the explicit command of the angel and took Mary into his home, while respecting the fact that she belonged exclusively to God.”

To think about: All that we have and all those we love are gifts from God and are ‘on loan’ to us. How can we intentionally be thankful for those we love and other important people in our lives? Think about how knowing that our loved ones belong to God first might change how we treat them.

Pope Francis said: “As Christians, you, too, are called to make a home for Jesus.”

Something to think about this week: How do we make a home for Jesus? – a home for Jesus in our home? – a home for Jesus in our neighborhood or our workplace? – a home for Jesus in our heart and in our lives?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Knowing human nature as well as she does, the Church gives us a few “breaks” during Lent to keep our spirits up and to encourage us to keep going.

The first break is today – Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, the halfway point of our forty-day journey in the Lenten desert. This day takes its name from the opening words of the Mass’ introit: “Laetare, Jerusalem …” – “Rejoice, Jerusalem… Be joyful, all who were in mourning!” (From Isaiah 66:10-11).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First, an update on the location of Perpetual Adoration: A couple of weeks ago, an electrical problem in Old St. Mary’s made it necessary for us to move Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (back) to St. Claire Chapel. Thanks to everyone for your flexibility, and thank you for taking the precautions necessary to allow us to continue Adoration during the pandemic, even in a smaller space. By the time you read this, repairs to Old St. Mary’s should have begun. We hope to have our beloved old church up and running again soon.

From John Paul II’s Redemptoris Custos: Pope St. John Paul II writes that The only word St. Joseph spoke was his actions. … Our children may not always remember what we say, but what we do will leave a lasting impression on them. This is true also of friends and neighbors. They will remember us by what we do.

To think about: How well do our actions toward others reflect the truth that whatsoever we do to others we do to Jesus? Do we treat others in a way that they will recognize their own great worth as children of God?

From John Paul II’s Redemptoris Custos: Pope St. John Paul writes that Joseph enjoyed great intimacy with Mary and Jesus in their family. The Pope goes on to say that the true meaning of family is “to guard, reveal, and communicate love.”

Often, we have questions about our Catholic faith. Even lifelong Catholics sometimes have unanswered questions about things like God’s existence, why bother going to Confession and Mass, why we believe that a Consecrated Host is actually Jesus, and more that we know maybe a little bit about or have heard about from other people, but we can’t quite make sense of it all. This creates a kind of “spiritual dissonance” within us. Rather than look up the answers with good, Catholic resources, we often let the questions fester and go about our lives, perhaps afraid of the answers. Understanding more about the existence of God and the divine origins of the Church might have serious implications for how we are living our lives. While ignorance may be “bliss,” as the saying goes, it won’t get you to heaven or give you true peace here in this life.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This gift of time we call Lent has the potential to supercharge our faith, hope, and love…only if we will humble ourselves and open our hearts to Our Lord. If you’re still wondering what to do this year (or if you totally forgot) it’s not too late! Start right now. Some ideas based on Jesus’ words from Ash Wednesday: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Think of one thing from each category and do each thing well. The holy rosary is always a great choice. Perhaps commit to a weekly or bi-weekly Holy Hour of Adoration in front of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Even better, consider daily Mass two or three times a week. Whatever you choose, the important thing is to stop what you are doing and get busy with the affairs of God, giving Him your time. With humility, you can’t go wrong.

From St. Joseph and His World by Mike Aquilina. Joseph knew the history of salvation, so he was able to detect God’s pattern. He knew how to recognize sin and its consequences. He could judge falsehood because he had steeped himself, all his life, in the truth of Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

To think about: Do we “steep ourselves” in Sacred Scripture and Tradition? How can we “steep ourselves” in Sacred Scripture and Tradition?

Pope Benedict wrote: St. Joseph’s silence “is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions. Let us allow ourselves to be ‘infected’ by the silence of St Joseph! We have much need of it in a world which is often too noisy, which does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God."

To think about: “Infected by silence” – what an interesting phrase. How can we cultivate silence in our lives which will allow us to contemplate the mystery of God and to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?

Pope Benedict wrote: St. Joseph’s silence “is a silence permeated by contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to his divine wishes. In other words, the silence of St Joseph was not the sign of an inner void, but on the contrary, of the fullness of faith he carried in his heart, and which guided each and every one of his thoughts and actions. Let us allow ourselves to be ‘infected’ by the silence of St Joseph! We have much need of it in a world which is often too noisy, which does not encourage reflection and listening to the voice of God."

To think about: “Infected by silence” – what an interesting phrase. How can we cultivate silence in our lives which will allow us to contemplate the mystery of God and to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our annual Church-wide retreat has arrived! All the Baptized around the world enter into the cleansing desert of Lent this Ash Wednesday, February 17. Mass times with distribution of ashes: 6:30am, 8:20am (school), 12pm-noon, 5:30pm (livestream), and 7pm in Spanish. A slight modification this year: In order to limit speaking within a close distance, the priest at Mass will say the penitential phrase only once out loud for everyone just before the distribution of ashes. Ashes will then be imposed on the forehead in silence. Recall that ashes are not a sacrament, so if you are uncomfortable receiving them, there is no obligation to do so. God sees our repentance without ashes.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It’s almost that time again – our annual, Church-wide period of retreat and reflection called Lent. Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, February 17. As long as we’ve celebrated Easter, the Church has set aside a period of time to properly prepare us for it.

Through Lent, we better come to experience what is known as the Paschal/Passover mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. “For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). In Exodus (chapter 12) we read how the blood of a sacrificed lamb spread on the doorpost of the homes of the Israelites caused the tenth plague of Egypt – the death of the firstborn – to literally “pass over” their houses. So now, Jesus, the true Lamb, has been sacrificed. His Precious Blood covers you and me as temples of God in order to forgive us and to save us from the eternal death, which we deserve because of our sins. For so great a gift beyond value, our preparation to celebrate this mystery is a small thing to ask.