5th Sunday of the Year
8 February 2004
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
Lent begins this year on 25 February with Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, prayer, and works of mercy. In anticipation of the Forty Days of preparation for the celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, I invite you now to prepare a brief Plan of Life to help you become a more faithful disciple of Christ. This plan should include time each day for reading the Bible and praying and an opportunity each week to learn more about your faith and to serve others. One possibility for learning more about the Christian life will be offered each Sunday of Lent from 9 to 10 am in Gallivan Hall.
On the five Sundays of Lent (29 February and the four Sundays of March) I will teach a class for adults and interested high school students, and each week we will explore in greater depth some of the themes of my recent preaching: being evangelical Catholics, the New Catholic Reformation, a Simple Way of Life, the Basics of Discipleship, Rediscovering Catholicism, methods of prayer, etc. There is no cost for these classes, and no registration is necessary. Nursery care will be available for young children; if you know that you will need nursery care for your children, please contact Joann Miller at 271.8422, ext. 22 so that we can anticipate our needs.
Those who attend the class from 9 to 10 am will need to come to Mass either before or after each class (or on Saturday evening). If you are not now in the habit of attending the Solemn Mass at 11 am, let me encourage you to consider coming to the 7:30 am Mass and then staying for class. The early Mass always has empty seats, while the Solemn Mass is always standing room only.
Whether you come to this Sunday School class or not, I hope that everyone at St. Mary’s will seize the opportunity in Lent 2004 to become more deeply acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures and resolve to follow Christ more faithfully in the Way of the Cross. We have all seen the devastating effects on the Church and the world when Christians receive the Sacraments without receiving the Gospel; let us use the coming Forty Days to reform our own lives in the service of the ongoing reform of the Church.
Father Newman
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us.