Dear Friends,
Lent begins in 7 days on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017.
Deepen Our Relationship with Christ
One of the priorities identified by our Parish Long Range planning team is a call for all of us to deepen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The season of Lent provides the perfect backdrop and setting for us to work on this personal relationship with Christ.
Encounter
Our theme for Lent is Encounter. Webster’s Dictionary defines Encounter as a verb meaning “to come upon face to face”. Our intent this year to provide several tools and occasions for us to meet Jesus face to face; to go beyond simply knowing “about” Jesus, and to actually experience his infinite love and mercy first-hand, in a very personal way.
Encounter Christ in Lent
So this Lent Saint Patrick Catholic Church will host several opportunities to deepen our faith:
- Join us on a week-long Mission the week of March 18-24. Our neighbors from St. Rita’s Catholic Church, St. Leo Church, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Parish, and Holy Cross Catholic Church have been invited to join us on this Mission. Members of their staff will help lead us in five evening events of Encounter. We see this Mission as a unique opportunity to Encounter Christ through and with our neighboring parishioners.
- Let’s pray the Rosary together between the 8:30 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday Masses during Lent, a unique opportunity to Encounter Christ through devotion to his Mother.
- Stations of the Cross, every Friday night during Lent, is another devotion that enable us to encounter, face-to-face, the pain and suffering of Jesus during his passion and death.
- Friday evening and Saturday afternoon provide another face-to-face opportunity to Encounter Christ and experience his infinite mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- Father Ronald Rolheiser, OMI’s book, Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter Week, will be distributed at Masses during Lent and Easter to anyone who would like a copy. It is a tool designed to encourage us take a few minutes each day to stop, pause, and pray with Jesus throughout the 40 days of Lent and into the Easter.
- And our traditional Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl program provides yet another opportunity to Encounter Christ by reminding us of His presence in the faces of the poor.
The rhythm of our liturgical calendar is one of the greatest blessings of our Catholic faith tradition. I encourage each of us to take advantage of all that this season of Lent has to offer to help us experience, face-to-face, God’s goodness and love for His creation.
Saint Patrick, pray for us!
Kevin Lovejoy
Pastoral Coordinator
Stay tuned for more details on the many ways to encounter Jesus face-to-face this Lent.
