ST. AGNES CHURCH. Lenten Communal Penance Service. March 18, 2018 Fifth Sunday of Lent

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1 ST. AGNES CHURCH March 18, 2018 Fifth Sunday of Lent Rev. Vincent L. Parsons Pastor Rev. Michael E. Wetovick Associate Pastor Sr. Vera Meis, C.S.J. Pastoral Minister Mass Schedule: (October - May) Saturday: 4:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 & 10:30 am (June - September) Saturday 6:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 & 10:00 am Monday, Tues, Wed, Friday 7 am Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays one hour prior to evening Mass or by appointment ( ) Sacrament of Baptism Please call the Parish Office Lenten Communal Penance Service Today at 3:00 and Tonight at 6:00 at Christ the King Church Please take time to prepare and read the Brief Examination of Conscience on page 5 I go to Confession every 15 days, because the Pope is also a sinner. And the confessor listens to what I tell him, he advises me and absolves me because we are all in need of his forgiveness. Pope Francis 2314 Third Avenue, Scottsbluff, Nebraska (308) Mailing address: PO Box 349, Scottsbluff, NE Fax: Website: Parish Office Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9am - Noon & 1pm - 4pm

2 Saint Agnes Catholic Church Today s Readings Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalm 51 Hebrews 5:7-9 John 12:20-33 Parish Administration (308) / (308) (Fax) office@st-agnes-church.com Pastor Rev. Vincent L. Parsons (ext. 2) pastor@st-agnes-church.com Pastoral Minister Sr. Vera Meis (ext. 4) srvera@st-agnes-church.com Director of Religious Education Mrs. Terri Calvert (ext.5) dre@st-agnes-church.com Church Office Manager Theresa Trevino (ext. 3) office@st-agnes-church.com School Head Teacher Mrs. Julie Brown ( ) office@stagnesonline.org School Office Manager Teresa Johnson ( ) office@stagnesonline.org Page 2 Year B March 18, 2018 Fifth Sunday of Lent W e believe that Christ Himself instituted the seven sacraments. The sacraments touch upon the various phases of life from the crib to the grave. Along the journey of life we need God s life within us. God s grace is always available to us. Many years ago a young man from a small village in Nigeria was attending the University of Arizona. There was no electricity in his home town. There were no cars in that town. He came to Arizona so he could help his people with electricity. He bought an old car to get around Tucson. A year later, on a blistering hot day, he invited some friends to join him on trip to the Grand Canyon. As they traveled the temperature in the car became unbearably hot. A friend asked him if he would turn on the air conditioning. The Nigerian said, I don t have air conditioning in this car. Yes you do, said the friend. It s the button that says A/C. No, said the Nigerian, that means alternating current. I don t want to touch that button less the car stop running. No, said his friend, A/C means air conditioning. Imagine. The Nigerian sweated through many hot days thinking that A/C meant alternating current. All along he had cool air at his fingertips but never used it. So it is with grace. The sacraments supply us with many graces. Grace is always at our fingertips. It is up to us to open our hearts to receive that grace and use it. A woman was visiting an art museum. She turned to a curator and pointed at the wall. She said, I suppose you call that hideous-looking thing modern art! No! he replied. We call it a mirror Lent/Holy Week Schedule Daily Mass Mondays & Tuesdays, 7:00am Wednesdays, 8:15am Fridays, 5:45pm Communal Reconciliation St. Agnes Church: Mar 18-3pm Christ the King: March 18, 6pm Individual Reconciliation March 26, noon & 6pm No reconciliation Sat. Mar 31st Stations of the Cross Every Friday, 5:15 pm Communal Rosary Mondays, 4:45pm Lenten Fish Fry Friday, 23 5:30-7:30pm School Gym Holy Week Schedule March 29, Holy Thursday, 7pm March 30, Good Friday, noon March 31, Holy Saturday, 8pm April 1, Easter Sunday 8:00 & 10:30am

3 Page Parish Mission New Stories, Preaching, Laughter and Songs! With Rev. James Sichko April 15th - 17th 7-8 pm at St Agnes Church Known for his story-telling, Fr. Jim weaves every day life experiences with the rooted messages which lie within the Gospel. This Friday (Feb 23rd) Deep Fried Pollock, Cole Slaw, French Fries, Cheese Pizza, Dessert, Beverages Shrimp (extra charge) St. Agnes School Gym 5:30-7:30pm Adults, $8 Kids under 10, $4 Monday, March 19, 2018 Daily Mass (7:00am) Intention: Diane Eikhoff by Jerry & Eileen Young Communal Rosary (4:45pm) Liturgy of the Hours (5:05pm) Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Daily Mass (7:00am) Intention: Special Intention by Jerry & Jeannette Fitzgerald Tuesday Discussion Group (8-9 am) Liturgy of the Hours (5:30pm) RCIA (7pm) Wednesday, March 21, 2018 Daily Mass NO MASS Liturgy of the Hours (5:30pm) Contemplative Prayer Group (6:00pm) This Week s Schedule Eucharistic Adoration for Holy Week will begin at 8:30 pm on Holy Thursday and conclude at 10:30 am on Good Friday. Sign up sheets will be available in the Gathering Space starting Saturday, March 17th after Mass until Holy Thursday Mass. Please consider signing up to spend 1 hour with Jesus. Dates to Remember In 2018 Mar 18 Comm. Penance Service Mar 20 Chrism North Platte Mar 23 Last Lenten Fish Fry Mar 24 - DCCW Shroud of Jesus April 1 - Easter Sunday April Parish retreat with Fr. Jim Sichko Thursday, March 22, 2018 Mass at Heritage (9:30am) Liturgy of the Hours (5:30pm) Friday, March 23, 2018 Daily Mass (5:45pm) Intention: Joe & Donna Brandl by Connie McDonnough Liturgy of the Hours (5:30pm) Saturday, March 24, 2018 Weekend Mass (4:00pm) Intention: Priests & Religious by Jerry & Eileen Young Sunday, March 25, 2018 Weekend Mass (8:00am) Intention: Earl Langel by Family Weekend Mass (10:30am) Intention: For the Parish Fifth Sunday of Lent Finance Corner Sunday Collections & ATW Giving March 11, 2018 Actual $ ATW $ Budget $ Surplus (Deficit) $ Haiti/Uganda $ March Totals Actual $ ATW $ Budget $ Surplus (Deficit) $ Next Sunday s 2nd collection is for VCNIN Saturday March 1 pm Christ the King Parish Center, Gering, NE Presenter - Jim Bertrand M.Ed American Confraternity of the Holy Shroud Shroud replica available to view Mar 24 4pm Mar 25 8am 10:30am Mar 24 Mar 25 The Shroud Server Schedule Gregg Hartman Austin Svitak Katie Forrstrom Noah Henderson Natalie Williams Jesse Claire McCaslin Lector Schedule 4pm S. Vera Meis 8am Neal Brady 10:30am Jacque Neu

4 Page 4 March 18, 2018 Jesus message often seems conflicting; to live, one must give up his life; to gain everything, one must give up all that one has. These words were a struggle for those heard them from Jesus lips, just as they are a challenge for us to understand today. Jesus repeatedly tells us it is necessary not to be so concerned about our future tomorrow as to focus on our future in eternity. His words conflict with our human condition as we struggle daily to make ends meet today. Like the Greeks of today s Gospel, we search for Jesus so that we can know the meaning of His words In attempting to understand Jesus words, we discover that no matter how much we pray or reread the Scriptures, there are some answers we will never comprehend fully in this world. While the answers to our questions most definitely are found in these contexts, our human rationality limits us from accepting that our true existence will be in heaven. We worry and fret about paying bills, providing for our children s education, saving for our retirement, and the list becomes endless. If we listen only to these pressures of the world, we can become overwhelmed and focus only on the demands of subsistence for our mortal lives. When we recognize what little power we really have in running the world, we can reach the point of distrust about anything including faith in Jesus promise of salvation. If we allow only reason to dominate us and ignore our faith, we people without hope for anything better. We start to question Jesus promise He made to us over 2000 years ago to save us from our sins. How does Jesus continue to assure us that His promise is still valid? Only after we have recognized that we have no control of anything in this world, can we begin to allow faith to complement our reasoning. We need a conversion towards faith in ourselves to reach out beyond our emphasis on physical needs. We need to turn ourselves entirely over to God to become at ease about our future. Confidence in God requires that we become the grain of wheat that dies in this materialist world to yield the rich harvest of heaven. We can look at the examples that Jesus provides to understand the benefits of letting Him gives us direction. To be Catholic is to be where Christ is and Christ is always pouring out his life for others on the cross, giving Himself for the good of others through self-forgetful love. However, we will not change until we want to change and are ready to make that commitment towards Christ who is love. We commit during Lent to make a dedicated effort to change for a time how we live. However, after Easter if we fall back into the habits that we wanted to improve on during Lent, we are letting the world infiltrate into the time we have carved out for our faith. So recognition that change must occur, followed by the desired to change (conversion) only the first step to turn to faith. If we want to become like Christ in our actions and focus on the Kingdom, then this work of faith is a daily commitment that lasts a lifetime. May the Lord Give You the Opportunity to Grow in Your Faith. This Week s Readings Monday: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a Tuesday: Nm 21:4-9; Ps 102:2-3, 16-21; Jn 8:21-30 Wednesday: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Dn 3:52-56; Jn 8:31-42 Thursday: Gn 17:3-9; Ps 105:4-9; Jn 8:51-59 Friday: Jer 20:10-13; Ps 18:2-7; Jn 10:31-42 Saturday: Ez 37:21-28; Jer 31:10, 11-13; Jn 11:45-56 Sunday: Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16; (procession) Is 50:4-7; Ps 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1 15:47 RECEIVE AND PASS IT ON If you don t sleep well tonight, remember the homeless family with no bed to lie in. When you re stuck in traffic, don t be angry. Millions of people will never have a car to drive. After a bad day at work, think of the man unemployed for a year. Mourning a broken relationship? Remember those with no one to love them. Unhappy because your vacation is over? Think of the mother working twelve hour shifts to feed her family. So you ran out of gas? A paraplegic would love to be able to walk to the service station. Saw a gray hair in the mirror? Think of the patient in chemotherapy with no hair left. If you re the victim of bitterness, ignorance, or worse, remember that this happened to Jesus, too. Use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. Accept that you are a child of God. Copyright 2011, World Library Publications. All rights reserved. Meet the RCIA Candidates Hello! My name is Michelle Johhnston. I am in the RCIA program along with my husband Jef Johnston. I am currently employed at Platte Valley Companies. I have a brother Mike Zeiler, a sister-in-law Sarah (Mike s wife) and 3 nieces, Emily, Natalie & Madelyn. I was raised, baptized and confirmed in Emmanuel Congregational Church. I joined RCIA so that I can have a better understanding of the Catholic faith, and to be able to attend mass as a family.

5 Page 5 Fifth Sunday of Lent

6 Page 6 Fifth Sunday of lent R_ligious E^u][tion Progr[m dre@st-agnes-church.com Religious Education Office Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families Fifth Sunday of Lent Gospel: John 12:23-24 On the Way to Mass: What do seeds need to grow? How is light important to the growth process? On the Way Home From Mass: What fruit do you hope to have ready in time for Easter this year? Living the Word: As we move into spring, plant some seeds as a family. This project can be as simple as planting a few grass seeds or herbs in a pot in your living room. As each member scatters their seeds, let them name something they wish to die to so that they may experience the joy of new life on Easter with Christ. Encourage everyone to notice the signs of spring all around as they go about their week and report back on them over dinner as they prepare to grow something new in their lives. Celebrating Sunday for Catholic Families Find Us On Facebook Twitter: stagnes-church Instagram: st.agnescatholicchurch Parish Website Grade School (Pre-K - 5th grades) Formation Sessions Meet from 9:15-10:15 a.m. in the school building. Mar. 4th - No formation sessions, Mar. 11th, Mar. 18th, & Mar. 25th Middle School Formation Sessions (grades 6th-8th) meet from 7-8:15 p.m. in the school building. Mar. 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th - No formation sessions, Holy Week High School (CYM) Formation Sessions Youth gather in catechist s homes from 7-8:30 p.m. Mar. 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th - No formation sessions, Holy Week 11th CYM Schedule: 7th - Confirmation-Garden Room 14th - CYM - Leader s home 21st - Confirmation - Garden Room 28th - No formation sessions, Holy Week Save the Dates: First Communion April 7th & 8th all weekend Masses Confirmation April 22nd - 10:30 am Mass Pick of the Week 7 Secrets of Confession In this presentation, popular speaker Vinny Flynn explores the hidden truths of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, presenting what to many will be a whole new way of approaching Confession, inviting you to begin an exciting personal journey to healing and holiness. Sign up for the parish-wide Lenten Study A Lent to Remember on formed.org If you haven t registered yet, do it today! Go to: ed.org Enter your and create a password (you need this to login later)

7 Page 7 March 18, 2018 Teens Encounter Christ #106 April 13-15, 2018 Christ the King, Gering Registration Deadline: April 6, 2018 To Register go to: First Communion Retreat March 10, 2018 Family Activities Week of March 18th - 24th Sunday - March 18th After Mass, have everyone talk about two things they learned about or found interesting from the Gospel or homily. Monday - March 19th St. Joseph is the patron of families, fathers, and travelers. Ask for his intercession for all who will be traveling on Easter. First Communion Banners Tuesday - March 20th Think of someone you don t like and say three nice things about him or her. Wednesday - March 21st Using colored markers, decorate tracing paper with Easter symbols. Hang them in front of windows to let the light shine through. Bread Making Center Thursday - March 22nd Prepare anyone who is eligible for Confession to make an examination of Conscience, using the Ten Commandments and eight Beatitudes as guides. Church Center Friday - March 23rd Figure out how much you saved by avoiding meat today, and put that money in the Rice Bowl Attend the Stations of the Cross today in the Church at 5:15pm and daily Mass at 5:45pm. Fish Fry follows in the school gym. Saturday - March 24th Place any final donations in the box you set up on March 3rd. Make a family trip to deliver it to its destination. Gospel Skit Center Partners in Faith - February 2018

8 Page 8 March 18, 2018

9 March 18, 2018 Monday, March 19th Quarterly Awards 8:15 in the gym Tuesday, March 20th Honor Roll Breakfast - 7:30am P/T Conferences - 5-9pm Wednesday, March 21st NO Mass Thursday, March 22nd P/T Conferences - 5-9pm Friday March 23rd NO SCHOOL Pictured above is top ticket seller Kennedi Larson. She sold 1,160 tickets! She chose the Apple ipad as her prize St. Agnes Students selling over 100 raffle tickets were recognized at the final Penny Carnival Prize ceremony held on Friday, March 9 th. These students earned the right to choose from the incentive prizes provided by the Home & School. Top sellers were: Kennedi Larson 1160, Asher Wilson- 1050, Gianna Gonzales 630, Havynn Urdiales 600, Katie Forsstrom 565, Traxton Adams, 560, Mila Miller 511, Addison Peck 450 & Andrew Peck 450. A total of 82 students sold over 100 tickets. Wow! St. Agnes Catholic School 205 E 23rd, Scottsbluff, NE Ph:

10 What s Happening at St. Agnes School... Google Mania! St. Agnes 1 st -5 th grade students have become google maniacs as they discover the various ways our new chrome books can be put to use. All grades have created a google classroom and these devices have been used to research composers for music reports, develop a google slide show for 4 th grade state reports, to type, edit and publish creative works in 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd grades, and to do a research project in 5 th grade. It is amazing to watch how quickly even the little ones are catching on to using this technology. We are very fortunate to have such amazing resources at our school. Thanks Premiere supporters for providing this awesome learning opportunity for our students! Celebrating Success! St. Agnes students celebrated their raffle selling success with a pizza party held on March 14 in the school gym. The students exceeded their goal of selling 20,000 tickets. The total topped out at 20, 253 tickets. Thanks to all who supported the raffle by purchasing tickets, to the lucky winners, and to our generous prize donors. Each helped make our carnival a huge success. Welcome Baby Franklin! Tatum Cannon Franklin entered the world at 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, March 7 th. He weighed in at 8.5 pounds and was 21 ¾ in long. His proud parents, Landon and Jayme, and big brother Everest are very excited by his arrival. Congratulations, Mrs. Franklin! Parent / Teacher Conferences Parent / Teacher conferences will be held at St. Agnes School on Tuesday / Thursday, March 20 & 22. A schedule should have come home with your child. If you cannot make your assigned time, please contact the classroom teacher to reschedule. Monday, Mar 19 Hot Dog on a Bun Baked Beans Peas 1/2 Banana Hot Lunch Menu for March 19th-March 23rd, 2018 Tuesday, Mar 20 Pancakes Sausage Pa y Potato Triangles Spinach Orange Wedges Wednesday, Mar 21 Cheese Pizza Fresh Green Salad Steamed Broccoli Applesauce Thursday, Mar 22 Beef Pa y w/mashed Potatoes & Gravy Corn Wheat Roll Fruit Cocktail Friday, Mar 23 NO SCHOOL Helpers: Shannon Hafner, Elli Wolf Helpers: Sheree Verbeck, Shae Brost Helpers: Shannon Sierra, Laura Garcia Helpers: Sco & Kris n Schiff Helpers:

11 Classroom News... SECOND GRADE by Lori Svitak Spring has sprung in our class. We are all enjoying the warm and sunfilled days. In religion, we have learned about Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Last Supper. Since Easter and First Communion are coming up we can connect the two to the celebration of the Eucharist and how Jesus sacrificed his life for us. In handwriting, we have learned all the lower case letters in cursive and are now preparing to learn the capital letters. The children have done an amazing job and are anxious to be able to write their names and sentences in cursive. March brought Dr. Seuss' birthday. The second graders enjoyed all the activities that we did surrounding his special day. The students dressed up as their favorite book character, made a Cat in the Hat project, wore crazy hair and animal print clothes. The best part was getting to read Dr. Seuss books while cuddling up with a Dr. Seuss stuffed animal character from his books. In math, we are measuring objects to the nearest half inch, reading time to five-minute intervals, using comparison symbols, and subtracting twodigit numbers. MUSIC NEWS by Jessica Mikoloyck Hello St. Agnes families! The children are very excited as they were introduced to the songs that we will be preparing for the Spring Music Program! As this is my first ever organized Elementary School music program, we will be keeping things very simple! The theme this year is Spring Time and Friendship. There will be no costumes or special outfit requests, other than inviting the children to wear their Easter outfits from this year. The Spring Program will be held in the St. Agnes gym on April 19th at 6:30pm and all are invited! A very special "Thank you!" to all of you who have reached out and offered words of encouragement or volunteered to assist in any way. The children are ready to work so hard and are having so much fun as we begin preparing for the program! We can't wait to see you all there! ~Jessica Mikoloyck-- LIBRARY NEWS by Lana Payne Students are busy with their current reading incentive books and students who completed last month s reading project will be making pinecone bird feeders. Pennington Seed Company in Sidney donated forty pounds of bird seed for this activity. Thank you Pennington Seed! This month the Library is focusing on Dr. Seuss books in celebration of his birthday as well as books for St. Patrick s Day, and Easter. I am also continuing to read this year s Golden Sower nominee books to the students. When everyone has had a chance to hear all the nominated books the students will be voting for their favorite book. Last time I wrote about the children s book The Story of Ferdinand which was the basis for the recent movie Ferdinand. A new movie to be released this month also has its origins in a children s book The Wrinkle in Time. It was written by Madeleine L Engle and published in It s truly a classic! If you or one of your children haven t read it yet, try to read it before you see the movie! FYI: Used Book Sale will take place the week of Parent Teacher Conferences. Please send any used books that you wish to donate for the sale as soon as possible!!!