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A Message from RE Director, Robby Kiley
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Dear Religious Education Families,
A very happy Lent to all of you!
Perhaps it might seem hard to greet Lent with joy (after all, it is sometimes difficult to look forward to self-denial or fasting), but Lent is a wonderful time given to us by mother Church to pause, reflect, repent, and greet Easter with new eyes. During Lent, we undertake the traditional disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in order to help us engage in spiritual "spring cleaning" as we prepare for the Easter season.
We hope you and your families will join us on this Lenten journey! In our newsletter this quarter, we offer you some practical tips on celebrating Lent. Fr. Bill will share with us a little bit about Ash Wednesday (as well as, inviting us to the preparation for and celebration of the Dedication of our new church). Our intern Deandra will offer some advice and practical tips for fasting. I'll introduce the Stations of the Cross and share their history. In addition, we'll offer dates and times for celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent. And we'll also hear about the Children's Liturgy of the Word program, a wonderful way for our young children (ages 4-6) to hear the Gospel message proclaimed this Lent.
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Religious Education newsletter, and that you can enter into this Lenten season well!
Robby
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A Message from Father Bill
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The Season of Lent offers us incredible opportunities to deepen our faith and prepare to renew our trust in the central Mysteries of our faith when we celebrate the Sacred Paschal Triduum (April 13-16). Be sure to come to one of the Masses on Ash Wednesday, March 1. Please check the bulletin for the times and places of these Masses.
Lent begins dramatically when we are marked with ashes on our foreheads. These ashes not only remind us that we come to dust and will return to dust, but they also signal an intention to enter into some meaningful penance. Although the Church legislates that we fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, along with abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent, we can choose our individual penances from the three traditional forms of doing penance. We can commit to some kind of fasting, a meaningful almsgiving, and increased prayer.
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Practices of Lent: FASTING
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During Lent, we take time to examine our lives seriously and draw nearer to God through the customary practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. When entering into the season of Lent, it is the prospect of fasting that often seems the most daunting.
We fast during Lent for several reasons. In fasting, we remember Jesus' forty-day sojourn in the desert. In union with Christ, we learn to fight temptation by the grace of God. Our fasting also prepares us to contemplate Christ's sacrifice for us during the Easter Triduum; Easter feasting is more joyful when it follows an earnest Lenten fast.
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Lent calls us to the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. One of the ways many Catholics heed this call is by praying the Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are a familiar sight in any church, but how many of us know the history of this practice of prayer? Do we know what we are praying when we pray the Stations? Here, I'd like to give us all a little history of the Stations of the Cross, with the hope that this will allow us to enter into deeper prayer this Lenten season!
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Children's Liturgy of the Word
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Children's Liturgy of the Word allows our children ages 4-6 to hear the Gospel proclaimed to them in a language that they can understand. Catechists design activities which help our children remember the lessons they have learned and live them out each day. Our CLW program runs during the 8:45 and 10:30 am Masses from Labor Day through Palm Sunday. Our last CLW this year will meet on 3/19, just in time for the new church to open! We will return next year with CLW dismissal at the 10:00 Mass (other times TBD - look for a survey in the late spring!).
Here's a quick glimpse into our CLW program right now: The little children at Saint Pius X have made the adjustment to meeting in a new room and celebrating Mass in the gym. It is a bit more challenging for them to find their parents, but we have not lost anyone yet!
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The Religious Education website is a one-stop shop for all things RE:
The Religious Education calendar is available on the website through Google Calendars. This calendar is updated in real time to reflect changes in dates, school closings, and more.
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Opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation During Lent
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Saturdays
March 4, 11, 18 (Priests' Offices)
April 1, 8 (New Church)
8:30 a.m., 4:00 p.m.
Monday, March 27
CCD/CGS Penance Service
5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 28
Parish Penance Service
7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 29
CCD Penance Service
3:55 p.m., 6:30 p.m.
Monday April 10 - Friday April 14
Holy Week
3:00-5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 12
7:00-9:00 p.m.
Holy Thursday
April 13
9:15-11:00 p.m.
Good Friday
April 14
7:45-9:00 p.m.
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Saturday, March 4
First communion Retreat
8:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Tuesday, March 14
Confirmation Parent/Sponsor Meeting
12:00 noon
Wednesday, March 15 Confirmation Parent/Sponsor Meeting 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday-Thursday March 21-23 Parish Mission
NOTE: CCD TIME CHANGE DUE TO NEW MASS TIMES! Sunday, April 9 new time: 8:30 a.m.
Sunday, April 23 Confirmation, 2:00 p.m.
Saturday/Sunday April 29-30 May 6-7 First Communion Weekends
Monday, May 8 Last day of Religious Education
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