Our new Icon - The Good Shepherd has been installed in the St. Francis Chapel. Stop in to pray when you can. Deep thanks to Iconographer and parishioner Maidie Weisbarth, whose prayerful work enriches us all.
Friday • March 5, 2021
LENTEN WEEKDAY; DAY OF ABSTINENCE
Pray for besieged people everywhere
Prayer is our life with God. Sometimes we carve out a particular time during the day, and sometimes there are specific words, images, or experiences that help us be more aware of or express our relationship with God. And so of course during Lent prayer is one of the pillars, along with fasting and almsgiving, that help us turn to God. On today’s 2021 World Day of Prayer, an ecumenical observance, we are invited to “Build on a strong foundation.” This theme comes from the women of Vanuatu, an island hit by Cyclone Harold in 2020. Despite the perils they faced—and we've all faced in a year of pandemic—the message of today's prayer is one of confidence in God's steadfastness and the rock of faith. Unite in prayer for healing and recovery.
Today's readings: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46. “The kingdom of God will be . . . given to a people that will produce its fruit.” #takefiveforfaith
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Verse before the Gospel
John 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
#dailyingodsword
TO KEEP A TRUE LENT
Richard Herrick, 17 century, in 17th century English -
but you'll understand his message.
To Keep A True Lent
Is this a fast, to keep
The larder leane?
And cleane
From fat of veales and sheep?
Is it to quit the dish
Of flesh, yet still
To fill
The platter high with fish?
Is it to faste an houre,
Or ragg'd to go,
Or show
A downcast look, and sowre?
No: 'tis a fast, to dole
Thy sheaf of wheat
And meat
Unto the hungry soule.
It is to fast from strife,
From old debate,
And hate;
To circumcise thy life.
To shew a heart grief-rent;
To starve thy sin,
Not bin;
And that's to keep thy Lent.
via Fr. Austin Fleming
📷St. Peters Fish, Israel
Thursday, Mar 04, 2021
MEMORIAL OF CASIMIR
Grace under pressure
Saint Casimir seemed destined for riches and power, but this patron saint of Poland, called the Peacemaker, took a different path. Born in 1458 to the king and queen of Poland, he was a devout, ascetic child. At age 14 his father had him lead an army to install himself as king of Hungary, but with an overpowering enemy and troops beginning to desert, Casimir instead returned home. His furious father exiled him, but Casimir would never again take up arms. Rejecting violence when those around you embrace it can take great inner strength. Cultivate an inner compass that can pursue peace despite pressure.
TODAY'S READINGS: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Luke 16:19-31. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.”
#takefiveforfaith
“Free us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope...”
There is little doubt in my mind that the experience of being filled yet unfulfilled touches most of us to some degree at some time. It is hard to avoid completely the forces that fill up our inner and outer space and disconnect us from our innermost selves, our fellow human beings, and our God.
One of the most notable characteristics of worrying is that it fragments our lives. The many things to do, to think about, to plan for, the many people to remember to visit, or to talk with, the many causes to attack or defend, all these pull us apart and make us lose our center. Worrying causes us to be “all over the place,” but seldom at home.
-Henri Nouwen
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:7 #dailyingodsword
Our Parish School 4th graders sending good wishes and prayers to our children who are making their First Reconciliations this week.
Where we are going in Lent is not the desert itself, but the joy of Easter. Lent is the road.
