Fr. Pfeiffer's Weekly Message - Culture of Encounter
March11,2023
Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Can I Eat Meat this Friday for St. Patrick’s Day? Bishop Malesic has issued a statement that does grant Catholics in the Diocese of Cleveland a particular dispensation from the discipline of abstaining from meat on a Friday of the Lenten season. Please read his statement on the following page.
PLEASE NOTE: The relaxing of the discipline is not all there is to the dispensation. The bishop gives conditions. This applies to those “who find it spiritually advantageous to eat meat as a way to celebrate this feast of the church.” It is not a carte blanche dispensation. Simply having Irish heritage or claiming “everyone is Irish on St. Patty’s Day” is not automatically spiritually advantageous. If there are particular Irish customs or festivities that are appropriate and done in the context of moderation and a prayerful spirit, then in those situations the dispensation applies. Furthermore, the bishop states for those who make use of the dispensation, they need to choose another day of Lent (not a Friday) to abstain from meat in order to honor the great saint as well as the penitential character of this season.
While we are on the subject of dispensations, No there will not be a dispensation to eat meat on Good Friday at the Cleveland Guardians home opener. I mean, come on, it will be Good Friday for crying out loud.
Nine Nights of Night Prayer St. Paul’s has been chosen to be one of nine other parishes in the diocese to host Nine Nights of Night Prayer. Mark your calendars for March 17 - 25. Every night at 8pm we will pray Sacred Compline, the Night Prayer of the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours. It will be prayer by candlelight and takes ten to fifteen minutes. There will be time after to socialize as well. This effort is focused on Evangelization. Perhaps you know family members who have fallen away from the Church or some non-catholic friends who honestly seek God and peace, or anyone we want to bring to Christ but maybe are not ready to join us for Mass. This is a great opportunity to expose them to the Church in a gentle way. Lent is a fine time to reach out to those seeking God.
Holy Water This week in the Gospel we hear of the Samaritan woman and the lifegiving waters that our Lord brings to us. He speaks of the spiritual waters that are God’s grace welling up inside us. We of course see here an allusion to the sacrament of baptism. It got me thinking as well about the use of the wonderful sacramental of holy water. A sacramental is an aid to receiving actual graces from God that can help us in our life of faith. Sacramentals flow from and lead us back to the Church’s seven sacraments. One of the most common but also most powerful is holy water. Especially in the desert of Lent make liberal use of it. Back on the Feast of Epiphany we blessed many gallons of Epiphany Holy Water. This is the water we use in the church in our fonts. Do not be afraid to bring a bottle and “fill up” using the dispensers in the narthex. Perhaps have holy water fonts in your home. Use it often making the sign of the cross with reverence, and remember your Baptism! You have received the rushing waters of Christ’s life in you! Also pray for those who have yet to encounter Christ through the Sacrament of rebirth.