Opening Prayer:

Father of peace,
We are joyful in your word,
your Son Jesus Christ,
Who reconciles us to you.
Let us hasten toward Easter with
the eagerness of faith and love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.

Catechism Quote of the Week:

Illness in Human Life

CCC 1500: “Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death.”

CCC 1501: “Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him.”

The Sick Person before God

CCC 1502: “The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing. Illness becomes a way to conversion; God’s forgiveness initiates the healing. It is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil, and that faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: “For I am the Lord, your healer.” The prophet intuits that suffering can also have a redemptive meaning for the sins of others. Finally Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon every offense and heal every illness.”

Christ the Physician

CCC 1503: “Christ’s compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that “God has visited his people” and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins; he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of. His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: “I was sick and you visited me.” His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.”

CCC 1504: “Often Jesus asks the sick to believe. He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands, mud and washing. The sick try to touch him, “for power came forth from him and healed them all.” and so in the sacraments Christ continues to “touch” us in order to heal us.””

CCC 1505: “Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the “sin of the world,” of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Numbers 1500-1505.

Lenten Activities:

Stations of the Cross:
Tuesday:
5:30pm Stations of the Cross at St. Gabriel
6:00pm Mass at St. Gabriel
Wednesday:
1:00pm Ascension Lenten Program at St. Catherine
5:30pm Stations of the Cross at St. Catherine
6:00pm Mass at St. Catherine
6:30pm Ascension Lenten Program at St. Anne
Thursday:
4:30pm Stations of the Cross at St. Raphael
5:00pm Mass at St. Raphael
Friday:
5:00pm Stations of the Cross at St. Anne
5:30 – 7:30pm Fish Fry at St. Anne Hall

Benediction and Evening Prayer:
Sunday evenings from 5:00 – 5:30pm
Mar. 12 at St. Anne
Apr. 2 at St. Gabriel

Lenten Companion Study Program:
Wednesday’s throughout Lent
1:00-2:00pm at St. Catherine
6:30-7:30pm at St. Anne (Maria Hall)

Lenten Penance Service:
March 19 – For St. Catherine and St. Gabriel
at 2:00-3:00pm at St. Catherine
March 26 – For St. Anne and St. Raphael
at 12:00-1:00pm at St. Anne

Catholic Relief Services Special Collection: March 18/19

This week our parish will take up The Catholic Relief Services Collection. Funds from this collection provide food to the hungry, support displaced refugees, and bring Christ’s love and mercy to vulnerable people here and abroad. Next week, please give generously to the collection and reveal Christ’s love to those most in need. Learn more about the collection at www.usccb.org/catholic-relief and give online at https://support.crs.org/donate/.