Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People

Brothers and Sisters, Praise be Jesus Christ!

Lent Coming Up
Lent starts Ash Wednesday February 17.  We will have an “Ash Service” at 7am at which Dcn John will preside (no Mass).  We will then have our regularly scheduled 8:30am Ord. Form Mass with the distribution of Ashes.  At 6pm will be an Extra.Form High Mass with the distribution of Ashes.  Due to Covid, there are particular guidelines on how to distribute the ashes.  This year if you are looking forward to a great big smudge of ashes on your forehead you will be disappointed.  This year the priest or deacon will administer the blessed ashes by lightly sprinkling them on top of one’s head.  Here at St. Paul, we will do this by having people come forward and kneel (or stand if unable to kneel), while the minster comes to distribute the ashes on one’s head.  This may seem a little weird for us, but in other places in the Catholic world (especially Europe) this has always been the norm.  It is our practice of placing ashes on one’s forehead that is kind of weird.  Either way, the symbolism remains.  We recognize our sinfulness and need for grace and conversion.  We show how we need to be cleansed. We prepare through the gift of penance in the Lenten season.  This is the reality whether people can see a smudge or not. 

Collecting Old Palms
This weekend and next there will be baskets in the narthex to collect old blessed palms.  If you still have your palms from last Palm Sunday, please bring them in so that they can be disposed of appropriately.  There is a meaningful custom of taking the palms from the previous year and burning them. The remaining ashes then become the ashes used for Ash Wednesday.  This is what we will do this year.

This is a good time to remind folks of how to treat blessed items.  Blessed items like water, chalk, palms, holy cards, prayer books, scapulars, rosaries, etc. should not be thrown in the trash when one is done with them or if they break.  They ideally should be burned and/or buried. This is very apparent with blessed crucifixes, statues, and other religious items, but even non-religious items should be treated reverently to the degree possible.  So, the blessed chalk from Epiphany can be used for teaching or kids drawing on the sidewalk, but when it’s done, don’t just throw it in the trash.   Blessed oil can be used for cooking, and obviously leftover blessed food does not have to be buried.  Remembering how God’s blessings work in our lives including the things we use can help us receive grace, protect us from evil, and grow in having the proper respect for all things in nature.

Surveys in the Narthex and Online
We are inviting people to fill out the simple survey we put in the narthex.  It helps give us input as we discern moving forward.  Hopefully as Covid diminishes we can start returning to faith formation and other ministries.  The questions concern that topic along with practical issues of participation, ability to hear in the church, communications.  One last topic concerns a possible tweak to the Sunday Mass schedule.  No plans yet but please let us know what you think as we continue to adjust. Thank you for your faithfulness and flexibility as we continue striving to fulfill our mission.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr