Weekend of March 26-27

Dear Friends,

As we celebrate this Fourth Sunday of Lent, we have reached the official mid-point of this holy season. This fourth Sunday is traditionally called Laetare Sunday, taken from the first word of the Introit (or Entrance Antiphon) for this day, which is “Rejoice.” The entire antiphon cries out “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast.”

            These words remind us that, even in the midst of our Lenten penance, Easter draws near; in only three weeks, we will be celebrating that greatest mystery of our salvation, the resurrection of Christ, and so we have great cause to rejoice, for not only are our days of penance almost at an end, but truly the resurrection, which Jesus was the first to claim, will also be ours, and in great abundance.

            The Church provides other symbols of our call to rejoice on this Laetare Sunday: the color of the vestments and altar decorations are a beautiful rose (one of only two days in the Church calendar when this lovely color is permitted), and it is one of the few days in Lent when flowers are permitted to adorn the altar (the others being the Solemnity of Saint Joseph and the Solemnity of the Annunciation).

I remind you that we are working with Catholic Leadership Institute to implement the Disciple Maker Index (DMI) survey at every parish in the Archdiocese from March 2 to April 4, 2022. The DMI survey is a nationally recognized survey administered at parishes around the United States and Canada since 2013 by The Catholic Leadership Institute. The survey will ask you to reflect on your own spiritual growth and will enable you to provide feedback on our parish’s efforts to help you grow. All responses are confidential and the parish will only receive information on the community as a whole. Maximum participation in the DMI is encouraged to involve the greatest number of people as possible. I ask everyone to please take the time to participate in the DMI. It will take about ten minutes of your time, and will greatly assist us in pastoral planning both here at Saint Timothy’s and on the archdiocesan level. We will receive the results this spring/summer at which time I will share what we have learned with the entire parish.

To take the Disciple Maker Index survey, please use the link below:
https://www.catholicleaders.org/phila-dmi
PLEASE NOTE:  When you open the link you will see a list of all the parishes in the Archdiocese. Please select our parish (Saint Timothy, Philadelphia) to complete the Disciple Maker Index survey.

If you prefer a paper copy of the survey, you may pick up a paper copy after daily or Sunday Mass. The paper copies of the survey are located in both the upper and lower churches. A printable version of the survey (in multiple languages) is also available at https://portal.catholicleaders.org/d/yd170y
To submit the completed paper survey, please drop it off at the rectory or in the special folder on the table where the surveys are located.

I remind you that on Wednesday, April 6, at 7:00 P.M., we will be celebrating our annual Lenten Penance Service in the lower church. There will be several priests with us that evening to bestow Christ’s mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Going to confession is the perfect way to prepare for the great feast of Easter, so please mark your calendar and plan on being with us on Wednesday evening, April 6.

I call your attention to our Holy Week schedule, which is printed elsewhere in this bulletin. Please plan now to join us for these beautiful liturgies, celebrated on the most sacred days 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