This Wednesday, February 22, is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday is traditionally the biggest day of the year at Saint John’s. During the past few years of Covid restrictions, the numbers coming for ashes, Mass and prayers at Saint John’s diminished. We hope that February 22, 2023 will be a busy and prayerful Ash Wednesday.
During Lent, the Church invites us to examine our lives and to repent, to change, to turn away from sin and towards God. Lent is not primarily about sin; it is a celebration of God’s mercy for sinners. There are three traditional Lenten practices that foster repentance:
- Prayer: Plan to pray more during Lent. Come to daily Mass. Stop into the church for silent prayer. I recommend that you read the four Gospels during Lent.
- Fasting: Fasting usually means eating less food. For our physical health, this is often a good idea. But for our spiritual health, giving up something pleasurable is also good. Plan to give up sweets, or meat, or alcohol, or something else that you enjoy. Perhaps in 2023 you should replace time watching TV or surfing the internet with pray or Bible reading.
- Almsgiving: Jesus tells us that we will be judged on what we did for the poor and on whether we shared our blessings with others. Make donations to charities that help the poor. At Saint John’s we offer Operation Rice Bowls to remind you to set aside money during Lent for the poor. On Palm Sunday, our second collection will be our rice bowl collection. And don’t forget Saint John’s Church for an extra donation.
Here are the official rules for Catholic fasting and abstinence during Lent:
- Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics.
- In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.
- Abstinence from meat is required on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent.
Stations of the Cross
We will have Stations of the Cross after the 12:05 and 5:15 Masses during Lent.
Earthquake Victims Second Collection today
Today, we will have a second collection for Catholic Relief Services to assist those recovering from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
Collection for Saint John’s Debt Reduction
This collection will be next weekend, February 25-26.
Holy Redeemer Chinese Catholic School Open Houses
If you know families with school age children, encourage them to consider Holy Redeemer School. Holy Redeemer is private Catholic school that teaches Chinese language and honors Chinese culture. The school is open to children of all races and religions. Holy Redeemer is a safe school and its students have superior academic achievement. Open houses will be held on February 20 and March 16. Check out the school web site at holyredeemerschool.org or contact Father Tom.
Ukrainian Refugee Family
Saint John and Holy Redeemer parishioners collaborated to assist a Ukrainian refugee family under the auspices of Catholic Social Services. Our parishioners have collected necessary household items and have prepared their apartment. Parishioners have befriended the Horbenko family and will continue to assist the newly arrived family as needed.
Here is a letter of gratitude from the Horbenko family:
I want to express my thanks to the donors who helped and are helping us on our way to a safe, new life in a new place, in a new country for us—the USA! Your support is extremely important to us. We feel the energy from you that inspires and strengthens our faith in human kindness, that miracles are possible and that these miracles are created by the hearts and hands of people around us! We are grateful to you for your support, care and attention to our needs; our whole family is grateful that fate linked us with such sensitive and attentive people!
Sincerely,
The Horbenko Family—Serhii, Olena and our little daughter Milania.
Please go to our web site to see photos of the Horbenko family.
Historical Preservation Endowment Fund
$553,909.00