Thoughts from Fr. Scott

Hopefully your Lent is off to a wonderful and holy beginning. It is only the second week, but it is never too early to ask ourselves how well we are doing in accomplishing our spiritual goals. There are many prayer opportunities being offered during Lent to help everyone grow in love of God and neighbor. Please take advantage of these opportunities. We had a nice turnout last week for Adoration, Taize prayer and stations. Perhaps more people will join us each and every week during Lent. Please see the full Lenten schedule of events located elsewhere in the bulletin today.

Please remember those in our OCIA program, now The Elect of our parish, who are preparing to receive the Sacraments at Easter. These wonderful people are making an effort to strengthen their relationship with God in a very important way. Our support for them is vital to their growth and hope in Christ. There are always many people and situations needing our prayers and support, the elect of our community of faith are among the most important.

In the main gathering area of the Church there is a poster board with pictures of our OCIA, Confirmation and First Eucharist candidates. Underneath the board is a basket with prayer cards of all of those who are receiving any sacrament of initiation this year. Please take a card from the basket and remember that person, by name, in your daily prayers as they prepare to receive the sacraments. This is a great way for us to support those who are freely choosing to enter our community of faith in a most profound manner. This board will be up and names available throughout Lent. Please make an effort to pray for all of those entering any sacramental stage of their life.

Congratulations to those who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday morning. Bishop Fisher was here to confer the Sacrament on our young people, and it was a morning of great joy. May the Holy Spirit disturb these young people by setting them on fire with Divine Love.

On Saturday, March 14th, we will host our annual auction. This event is vital for our finances and provides us with a wonderful evening to gather with friends in a mid-winter moment of grace. It is a great night of fun and friendship and I ask everyone to support our auction in some way. Attending will allow you to bid on some wonderful items. We are offering reserved pews for Masses on Christmas Eve and Easter and at our first communion and confirmation celebrations. There is an opportunity to bid on reserved parking for these Masses as well. You can bid on a golf outing with yours truly at a private golf club and many other experiences. A meal is offered and genuinely great people from our parish family are always in abundance.

If you are unable to be present on March 14th you could always purchase raffle tickets for the gift baskets being offered by our students and/or you could simply make a donation at your discretion in any amount. No matter how you choose to be involved I ask your prayers for a successful evening. The proceeds help us educate our young people in the ways of faith. We need the support of everyone to accomplish this vital ministry in our Church. Please join us for our auction and offer a prayer to God for a wonderful joy-filled evening.

The Transfiguration is about change and the positive effect it can have in our lives. The sudden change in Jesus' appearance must have been jarring to Peter, James and John at first. Still, it was an invitation from God to see His Son in a very different light. Seeing Christ in this way, the apostles felt immediately overwhelmed and proceeded to speak before they understood. Only when they stopped to listen did they begin to see clearly and understand. The voice from the cloud helped them know the meaning and desire of God the Father. Basically, they/we should listen to and trust in Jesus.

Continued on pg. 2

Thoughts from Fr. Scott Cont.

The transfigured glory of Jesus caused them to pause, contemplate and live. Of course, this is exactly what our plan of action should be during Lent: to pause, contemplate and live in Christ.

God Bless and have a great week!

Fr. Scott

Thought for the week: God shows His glory and majesty in many events past and present. Are we aware and awake enough to notice them?