WEEKEND OF MARCH 20-21

Dear Friends,

In the days before Vatican II, this Fifth Sunday of Lent was referred to as Passion Sunday, since one of the accounts of the passion of the Lord was read. We no longer call it by that name, but this day does begin our final days of Lent, an intense period of preparation leading up to Holy Week.

On this Tuesday, March 23^rd, at 7:00 P.M. in the lower church, we will be celebrating our annual parish Lenten Penance Service. This is a great opportunity for us to gather as a parish family, to acknowledge our need for God’s mercy, and to confess our sins individually and receive absolution. There will be several priests with us to celebrate the sacrament, and I assure you, as always, that they are kind, friendly, and loving, who want nothing more than to be instruments of God’s love and peace. No one will judge you or lecture you or make you feel uncomfortable in any way. As I always tell our children before they go to confession, it is the easiest thing you’ll ever do! Please join us on Tuesday evening at 7:00. All you need to do is to be open to the graces with which God will gift you in this powerful sacrament. Believe me, you will feel like a new person when you leave Church after celebrating this great sacrament of God’s love and peace. There is no better preparation for Easter!

If you cannot make the Penance Service this Tuesday evening, please remember to take the opportunity during these final days of Lent to go to confession. There is no better way to prepare for Easter than to celebrate this great sacrament of God’s love and mercy. Remember also that we are all obliged to complete our Easter duty, which is to go to confession at least once a year so that we can receive the Eucharist worthily and well. Remember that confessions are heard every Saturday afternoon at 3:15 in the lower church. Please note also on Good Friday we will be hearing confessions from 12 Noon to 2:00 P.M. and this coming Wednesday and the Wednesday of Holy Week immediately after the 7:00 P.M. Mass. Do avail yourself of the gift of God’s peace by celebrating this important sacrament.

I once again respectfully remind you to please consider your gift to the 2021 Catholic Charities Appeal, if you have not already given your gift. My goal as your pastor is for every household and/or every wage earner in the parish to make a sacrificial gift to this year’s Appeal. Every gift to the Appeal --- no matter how large or small ---  goes a long way in assisting the Archdiocese in carrying out the corporal works of mercy, especially among those most in need. If you didn’t receive a Catholic Charities envelope directly from the Catholic Charities office, envelopes are available at the doors of the church. Your donation may be placed in this envelope and mailed directly to the diocesan office. I would prefer that you NOT put them in the collection basket, but mail them directly to the office yourself. I thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart for your generosity to the 2021 Appeal, which really funds the most important work we do as a Church in this great Archdiocese.

Please take note of our Holy Week schedule, which is found elsewhere in this bulletin, and which you should have received in a special mailing at home. Plan now to be with us for these most important liturgies of our Church year.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

Love and prayers,

Father Olivere