Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Blessed Passiontide This weekend begins the final two weeks of Lent also known as Passiontide. The joy of Easter is almost here, but we have to first accompany our Blessed Lord in His Passion. We mark this time with the covering of statues and images that leads us into next week’s celebration of Palm Sunday when the Passion Narrative is proclaimed at Holy Mass. This even more somber time invites us to walk with Jesus and carry the Cross with Him.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Blessed Laetare Sunday! This weekend is one of two that the Church recommends rose colored vestments (the other is Gaudete Sunday in Advent). Both Laetare and Gaudete mean Rejoice! in Latin. This is an “oasis” in the desert of Lent. Today liturgically it is slightly more festive in that we wear rose rather than the regular penitential violet. You have probably noticed the minimal use of the organ the past couple of weeks, but this weekend we bring it back, but only a little bit. Easter is not here yet, but we rejoice at this half way mark. Let this weekend be a half-time pep rally to bolster our disciplines moving forward. The better we prepare in Lent the better the Easter celebration will be!

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.

Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I’ve Already Screwed Up My Lent! For some, Lent is like New Year’s Resolutions. We make a resolution, but then fail soon after. A few may try again, and even fewer will perhaps over time achieve moderate success. But so often (which is why it has become so cliche) folks fall back into old bad habits.