Ok ladies. There has been a lot of discussion (and confusion) about marriage and the role of women, especially in the last few years. Most of it seems directed to diminishing the importance of the traditional family as the first building block of a solid, stable, peaceful society. If you are older than 30, you will probably remember the slogan of the day: “Marriage is just a piece of paper?” So more and more couples decided to skip that “piece of paper.”
Lent begins on February 17th, with the solemn celebration of Ash Wednesday. Ashes will be distributed at each of the Masses, scheduled for 6:30 am, 8:00 am, 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm (Spanish). The ashes will be distributed with the words “Remember, O man, that you are dust and unto dust you shall return”. What a powerful reminder that God alone is our hope, our salvation and our promise of eternal life. Make your Lent a powerful time of conversion and spiritual renewal; I encourage you to come to daily Mass, to spend extra time in prayer, and to observe the laws of fasting and abstinence as a powerful way of uniting yourself to our Lord Jesus who prepares the way for our salvation by spending forty days in the desert dedicated to prayer and fasting.
- By the law of God and the custom of the Church, all Christians are required to do penance. The season of
Lent retains its penitential character. The days of penance to be observed under obligation are Ash
Wednesday and all Fridays of the Lenten season. - Abstinence from meat is to be observed on all Fridays of Lent. The law of abstinence and fast is to be
observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The Law of abstinence forbids the consumption of meat.
The law of fasting permits one full meal a day and two small collations (snacks). - The Law of abstinence binds those who have celebrated their 14th birthday. The Law of fasting binds those
who have celebrated their 18th birthday, and continues until they have celebrated their 59th birthday. - Pastors and parents should take particular care to educate the young to a true sense of penance and self-discipline.
More frequent use of the Sacrament of Penance and attendance at daily Mass should be
encouraged during Lent, as well as other practices of penance and self-sacrifice.
Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is scheduled for each of the Fridays of Lent and will be in the church at 6:30 pm (English) and 7:30 pm (Spanish). Come and join in this beautiful prayer where we walk beside our Lord Jesus as He carries His saving cross for us! Due to construction, we will not have Soup Suppers this year, but they will return again next Lent.
Jesus instituted the beautiful Sacrament of Confession for the health and salvation of our souls: “Whose sins you forgive on earth are forgiven in Heaven.” (Matthew 18:18) When we go to Confession, we actually hear the comforting words of Jesus: “Go in peace, your sins are forgiven!” In addition to our regularly scheduled times for Confessions, there are several special opportunities available for you to receive the Sacrament of our Lord’s forgiveness during the next several weeks, they are:
- Monday, February 22, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- Tuesday, February 23, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- Plus a number of additional times will be listed in the coming weeks
Essay Contest Winners “Why Catholic School is Best for Me”
As part of Catholic Schools Week, all students at Holy Trinity took part in a writing contest on the topic “Why Catholic School is Best for Me.” The top essays have been published in a booklet by the school and are available online here at our school/parish website. Congratulations to the following students:
2nd Year CONFIRMATION
2° año de Confirmación
February 14th Mass & Class 11am-2pm **Art Project is due
February 21st Mass & Class 11am-2pm Confirmation Fundraiser Watch for Details!
Some time ago, I was listening to KPIO 1570 AM (Catholic radio). They were interviewing a man from Denver, Thomas Zordani, who had written a book: Faith Finances. His story grabbed my attention, because he was speaking of his journey from homelessness to relative affluence. In his words, he had been so deeply in debt that he was ready to try anything, even listening to the Lord. I chuckled when I heard that: don’t we all tend to do that? For instance, when I get a new cell phone, the LAST thing I want to do is read the instructions. Consequently, I am only able to call out and receive calls; all the other features remain unused. In fact, the last phone I bought is so complicated that I don’t even know how to set up my mail box! But I’m not willing to suffer through the technical details in the “instruction book.”
Have you considered giving your child or grandchild the gift of a Catholic education? New enrollments start soon, call the school office for information.
The Adult Bible Study with Fr. Hilton started last week, but it’s not too late to join in! We meet each Thursday at 6:30 pm in the convent basement. The Bible guides us on the great journey of salvation and we walk step by step with our Lord as He wins victory over sin and death. Come and grow in your knowledge of scripture.
