Saint Mary Parish 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 360.293.2101 v 360.293.8556 f www.stmaryanacortes.org Saint Paul Parish St. Paul Church and Fr. Twohy Spiritual Center 17456 Pioneer Pkwy. La Conner, WA98257 Mail: c/o 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 February 18, 2018 First Sunday of Lent "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Mk 1:12-15 Liturgy Schedule Saint Mary Parish Celebration of the Eucharist Weekend Saturday Vigil Mass... 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass.. 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Weekday Tuesday...6:00 p.m. Wednesday Saturday.. 9:00 a.m. First Friday Mass....... 9:00 a.m. First Saturday Sacrament of Reconciliation....9:00 a.m. Benediction and Mass 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation Half hour before Daily Mass in addition to the following: Saturday.. 3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Sunday..... 7:30 a.m.; 10:00 a.m. Our Sacred Purpose Our purpose at St. Mary Parish is to live our devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and our compassion for Christ in one another, to build a welcoming community that will love and serve God and neighbor, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Liturgy Schedule Saint Paul Parish September 2017 through May 2018 Celebration of the Eucharist Sunday Mass.. 6:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation Sunday.... 5:00 p.m. Readings for the week... You can find readings for every day at www.usccb.org/nab The Liturgy of the Hours the official daily prayer of the church is at www.divineoffice.org The Vision That Unites Us Build Community Grow Spiritually Passionate Disciples Our Three Pastoral Priorities Welcoming Formation Stewardship The Values That Guide Us Community Prayer Evangelism Commitment
Parish Directory St. Mary Parish Office: 360-293-2101; FAX: 350-293-8556 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 www. stmaryanacortes.org Parish Office Hours: Monday through Friday Monday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. Noon,1:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Parish Pastoral Team Rev. Mel Strazicich, Pastor Ext. 101 Ruth Miller, Parish Administrator Ext. 102 ruth.miller@stmaryanacortes.org Dominic Blanchard, PA for Faith Formation, Ext. 104 fform@stmaryanacortes.org Ben Maes, PA for Liturgy Ext. 106 liturgy@stmaryanacortes.org Facilities Supervisor (position vacant) Call the Parish Office Brandee Theriot, Administrative Assistant Ext. 103 adminast@stmaryanacortes.org Deacon Cary Parnell 509-860-5826 deaconcary@stmaryanacortes.org Parish Councils Pastoral Council: Cecilia Weldon, Co-Chair, altair27@comcast.net Maggie Thompson, Co-Chair, maggiet30@comcast.net Finance Council: George Kushner, Chair, georgekush@icloud.com St. Paul Parish Office 360-293-2101 17456 Pioneer Parkway La Conner, WA 98257 Mail: c/o 4001 Saint Marys Dr. Anacortes, WA 98221 Parish Office Hours Contact Ruth Miller at 360-293-2101 x102 ruth.miller@stmaryanacortes.org Parish Pastoral Team Rev. Mel Strazicich, Pastor Ruth Miller, Parish Administrator Immaculate Conception Regional School (360)428-3912 Gwen Rodrigues, Principal 1321 E Division St. Mount Vernon, WA 98274 This week at St. Mary and St. Paul Sunday, February 18 7:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 8:00 a.m. Mass 9:00 a.m. Parish Breakfast by KofC 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 11:00 a.m. Mass St. Paul, Swinomish Reservation 5:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass Monday, February 19 Presidents Day No Mass Parish Offices Closed Tuesday, February 20 5:30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass 6:45 p.m. Seven Sorrows Rosary Wednesday, February 21 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 10:00 a.m. Steps in a Journey Thursday, February 22 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 6:00 p.m. Baptism Class 6:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal Friday, February 23 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 9:45 a.m. Divine Infant Devotion 2:30 p.m. Seven Sorrows Rosary 3:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet 5:00 p.m. Soup Supper 6:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross Saturday, February 24 No Morning Mass 9:00 a.m. Rosary 11:00 a.m. Choir Rehearsal 3:30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 5:00 p.m. Mass Sunday, February 25 7:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 8:00 a.m. Mass 9:15 a.m. Children s Choir 9:45 a.m. Religious Education Classes 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 11:00 a.m. Mass with Children s Choir 12:30 p.m. Confirmation Class St. Paul, Swinomish Reservation 4:00 p.m. Rosary Makers 5:00 p.m. Religious Education 5:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass Mass Intentions February 20: Alice Shoultz + February 21: Collin Smolsnik + February 22: Joshua Ryan Hager + February 23: Paval Niemeyer, intention
Praying for our Military CDR Roger Leech, USN L.CPL. Jobil Anne Robinson, USMC Thomas Mullinaux, USAF Lt. J.G. Scott Cadmus, USN ATCS (AW) Justin Lartigue, USN MM CPO Jon Walsh, USN Johnny C. McDonald, USN 1st Lt. Britta Vivaldo, USMC Lt. Kimberly Dillon, USN Major Alain Martinez, USAF Sgt Patrick Riebel, US Army LCDR Andrew Gibbons, USN MIDN2C Hope Hurtado, USN Lt. Tom Cruz, USN Perpetual Adoration St. Peter Julian Eymard Chapel AVAILABLE HOURS SUNDAY: No open hours MONDAY: 4 am TUESDAY: 10 pm WEDNESDAY: 3 am THURSDAY: No open hours FRIDAY : 3 am SATURDAY: 9pm, 10pm, 11pm Prayer Partner request: Tuesday 2 pm (Two weeks per month) Contact Sally 360-293-3222 Alliance of the Two Hearts and Communion of Reparation is on the First Friday of every month, with 24-hour Adoration in the Church. Stewardship of Treasure Fiscal year 7/1/2017 6/30/2018 Collection for February 10-11, 2018 Offertory $ 7,154 Online Giving $ 755 Total $ 7,909 Weekly Goal $ 9,200 Year to Date Actual $ 306,240 Year to Date Goal $ 294,400 Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant Psalm 25 Parish Breakfast Sunday, February 18 The Knights of Columbus are hosting a Parish Breakfast after the 8:00 a.m. Mass on February 18. Breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy is by donation, and proceeds will benefit local Seminarians. Thank you for your support and generosity! Soup Supper and Stations of the Cross Please plan to join your St. Mary Parish family in fellowship and prayer each Friday during Lent for Soup Supper in the Parish Hall at 5:00 p.m. followed by Stations of the Cross in the Church at 6:00 p.m. Fast and Abstinence Lenten Guidelines Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection. Parish News and Events All Parish Offices will be closed Monday, February 19. Religious Education Safe Environment This March 4, St. Mary Parish will offer one sexual abuse prevention course to your child in grades K-8, In our efforts to protect our vulnerable population, the Archdiocese of Seattle has integrated abuse prevention material into our faith formation and youth ministry curriculum in the context of teaching our youth about our Catholic faith. In creating a safe space for our children, we can teach and show them the ways of Christ in a safe environment conducive to learning. Keeping our minors and vulnerable adults safe starts with you. We ask that you take part in extending the Archbishop s effort to help evangelize our youth in a safe space. To help you understand what your youth will be offered, we ask you t o v i s i t : h t t p : / / www.seattlearchdiocese.org/sep/ faithformation.aspx. This will provide you with Parent/ Guardian Resources, to inform you about the curriculum being used while also making available the actual lessons. As the guardian, you have the right to opt your child/youth out of this lesson. You may do so by clicking on the link Opting Out. You will need to give this form to your Religious Education teacher. This announcement is to notify you of our new initiative to provide abuse prevention curriculum to our youth in Faith Formation. Unless you would like to opt your child out of this lesson you are not required to do anything.
Faith Formation and Liturgy Religious Education News Reminder! There will be no Religious Education or Theology of the Body for Teens on Sunday, February 18 in observance of the Presidents Day Holiday weekend. Religious Education schedules will resume on February 25. Children s Choir meets each Sunday at 9:15 a.m. in the Father Auer Center. Religious Education classes for grades K - 8 meet at 9:45 a.m. each Sunday. Sundays through March 4 at 12:30-2:00 p.m.: Theology of the Body for Teens for our first year Confirmation candidates and all high school students. First Reconciliation Tuesday, February 27 Please keep the children in our First Sacraments Class and their families in your prayers as they take a big step in their faith journey by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. ICRS News Immaculate Conception Regional School is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions. Please see icrsweb.org for more details. Part time school counselor (7 hours a week beginning Spring 2018) Substitute teachers Substitute instructional aide and/or hot lunch server Part time school secretary (20 hours a week beginning August 2018) ICRS Big Blue Auction Saturday, February 24 Limited tickets for the Big Blue Auction which benefits Immaculate Conception Regional School are n o w a v a i l a b l e o n l i n e a t icrsweb.maestroweb.com. Some of the amazing items for auction include a labradoodle puppy, a guided fishing trip in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Disneyland tickets! Auction tickets are $70 per person or $600 for a table of 8. Volunteer opportunities are also available by contacting auction@icrsweb.org. Rite of Election We ask that you keep our catechumens in your prayers as they undergo the Rite of Election which will be held Wednesday, February 21 at St. Augustine Parish in Oak Harbor. Catholic Advocacy Day Wednesday, February 21 Catholic Advocacy Day is an opportunity for individuals to put Catholic Social Teaching into action and influence policy collectively. Join us on Wednesday, February 21 by registering at www.ipjc.org/ cad. 40 Days for Life Skagit County s 5 th 40 Day for Life Campaign has begun. Please sign up for hours to stand in prayer outside the Planned Parenthood office in Mount Vernon. Could you donate an hour or more per week? Our prayer campaign is 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week throughout Lent. Sign up or find out more at https://40daysforlife.com/localcampaigns/mount-vernon/ or contact Cindy Wiedmann at 360-9 8 2-1 6 8 2 o r robbysmother@gmail.com. Sacramental Information Call St. Mary Office at 360-293-2101 for more information Infant Baptism Call the Parish Office to schedule a preparation class and baptism. Those wishing to have their baby baptized must be practicing Catholics. Adult or Child Baptism, Confirmation, or Adults Considering Becoming Catholic Call the Faith Formation Office to learn more about the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), or Rite of Christian Initiation for Children (RCIC). Weddings Weddings require a 6-month notice and preparation. Sacrament of the Sick (Anointing) Please let us know if someone is seriously ill.
Reflections for This Week Loving Our Enemies Our Lord did not tell us we were to love only those whom we liked, but everyone without distinction. Unless we are constantly watchful and unless we have faced the truth about ourselves, we are bound to discriminate. It can easily happen that we pass for very kind people, ever ready to lend a hand or do a good turn, and in our own heart we may think we are. But there will be one or two left out of this benevolent radiance. We shall be courteous to them, for we must not spoil the image we have of ourselves as charitable persons, but we shall be critical, ready to find fault in a discreet way, ready to use them as scapegoats. We shall find it hard to be fair in judgment where they are concerned. We shall come up with rational explanations of why we think as we do, but if we were really honest we would have to admit that in some way these people cut us down to size. In some way they challenge and threaten us. They may seem to undervalue us, perhaps are critical of us, and this makes us feel insecure. We don t like feeling like this so we must find some way of destroying these people not literally but in so far as they have power over us. We pull them down in our estimation or keep them severely at a distance. Even the heathen can love those who love them, as our Lord says. His disciples must love their enemies and do them good. Few of us have enemies but we all have those who hurt us in one way or another and we can be refusing our love to these. Because we are good people we don t do outrageous things, and therefore our consciences are kept untroubled. We fail to see the great importance of these small acts of injustice, or attitudes of rejection which we hold. They are sin and come between us and God. To leave one person out of our love is proof positive we need no other that our love for others is not really pure, not the love of Jesus. Our own self will be involved in one way or another. It has always seemed to me that what we experience in our form of community life is exactly the same as we would anywhere else in the world, only more concentrated. We have the same dangers and the same struggles. Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D. Sister Ruth is a Carmelite nun at Quidenham in Norfolk, England. She is the author of a number of bestselling books. As we begin our Lenten journey, remembering how God re-established the covenant after the flood, and we reflect on how Jesus began his public ministry with a retreat of forty days - driven to the desert by the Spirit. After last week's first four days, the next three weeks of Lent represent a period of instruction, originally designed for the Catechumens (those preparing for Baptism at the Easter Vigil). We can read these readings as a catechism of renewal for us all. The first weekday reading of week one is the great giving of the Commandments: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. Jesus gives the great parable about the last judgment - separating the charitable from the uncharitable: whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. Then, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray. He says that it is an evil generation that looks for signs. He's the sign - a call to repentance. On the day we hear the desperate but faith-filled prayer of Esther, Jesus tells us to pray confidently. And he sums up the whole law and the prophets for us: Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. Jesus says our holiness has to go beyond the letter-of-thelaw holiness; it must touch our anger, our judgments of others, and be reconciled with those we've wronged. The holiness Jesus proposes for us calls us to love our enemies, even to pray for those who persecute us. We are called to love the way God does. Daily Prayer This first week of Lent is the time we are given to begin our Lenten patterns, to re-align our priorities, and to make use of more reflective time each day. It is a time to fast and abstain from those things that hinder our relationship with the Lord, and to consider being more generous to the poor. As we make this beginning, we are offered some beautiful instruction about what is expected of us. These readings describe a very Jesus-like love. We can examine our care for the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick or imprisoned. We can reflect upon who in our lives needs us and whether we love them as we want to be loved. And we can look at the deeper things, like our anger or how we treat others, and our response to those who are our enemies. What is most important this first week, is to see this as a time for God's grace to work in us. So, it is a time to ask for the graces we are starting to see we need. This week we can ask our Lord to help us focus this day on the neediest people around us. We can ask to begin new patterns this week by practicing special charity and love, where I haven't been so generous or kind before. The key is to ask and to be very specific. It is in the particular events of our day that we will become attentive to our need for our Lord's presence and grace, as well as our need to choose a new pattern. Each evening, we can review the day and recognize some missed opportunities to connect with the Lord or take advantage of a situation here or there, but most of all, we can thank the Lord for the moments of connection that have begun our Lenten journey. From the Weekly Guide for Prayer, the Creighton University s online ministries. Used with permission.
From Father Straz Dear Parishioners, Word for Last Sunday: Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Last Sunday in the Gospel Jesus healed the leper. If you wish you can make me clean, the leper said. Of course I do will it. Be made clean! Jesus responds. How gracious and longing Jesus is for our healing. We often don t experience that however. We often live with a warped view of the Cross as God s way to torture humanity into subjection to Himself, which is FALSE. On my retreat last week, I was blessed by the Lord to experience profound spiritual and physical healing. Now I long for all to experience the love of Christ s Passion in the same way I have. But I had to let go of something; in my case I had to let go of my anger at God, and stop shaking my fist at Him, and realize that He already knows my needs and has been working on me to receive His gracious Mercy my entire life. What a profound wake up and realization that was; Jesus has the picture of my life in His pocket and on His Heart. We need to learn how to pray with our imagination. God gave them to us for a reason; the devil abuses our imagination so much, especially the minds of youth and men. Invite Jesus into your imagination. Imagine Him in front of you; see and hear what he does and says, and then speak to him from your heart. I promise you the Best Lent Ever if you approach Him in this way. Staffing Update As we say goodbye to Dominic Blanchard this month, we are grateful that both Marcia Maes and Raquel Brinkman have stepped forward to help staff the Faith Formation Office on Sundays and to take care of paperwork during the week. I hope to have a posting for the new faith formation position to go public by March 1 st. Meanwhile, we have been wrapping up interviews for the Office Receptionist position and hope to have that position filled by the end of the month. And lastly, NO ONE has applied for the Facilities Supervisor position, so we will need to continue to rely on each other in building our volunteer corps to help care for our beautiful facilities and properties until someone can be found for that position. St. Paul Medicine Rosaries: Please email lenoracook823@gmail.com for more info. #pray4dano: We are asking everyone to start to pray to St. Solanus Casey for Dano s healing. A Note about Hospice: Most of you heard my apology before I left for retreat about the fact that we were all invited to sign off on the Human Life Signature Ad this year that unfortunately included a disparaging article about hospice. I and a few others had a chance to review the Ad before it went to print and we all completely overlooked the article about hospice, which left one to presume that one man s bad experience (where, we don t know) was indicative of a euthanasia preference by all who work in hospice, including our local hospice organization (Hospice of the Northwest), which is certainly not true. I m in contact with Pastor Doug Fakkema, the lead chaplain at Island Hospital, and through him with Mr. Bob Laws, the president of Hospice of the Northwest, to see if there is anything more we can do to remedy this situation. This will take time, but hopefully everyone concerned can come together in the truth of life. Please keep this matter in your prayers, especially for those who have been hurt or confused by this situation, and for all who work for the Gospel of Life. Upcoming Schedule Items: Thank you to Fr. Mark McGregor, SJ, for leading us in Sacraments the first weekend of February. I am away again this weekend of February 17-18 for the St. Joseph Healing Retreat in Port Townsend at Ft. Worden. Please welcome Fr. John Madigan who is here in my stead. THANK YOU Br. Mauricio and Totus Tuus! We have been VERY BLESSED to have the presence of Br Mauricio with us along with the relics of Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. John Paul II, and St. Padre Pio. The two Healing Masses at St. Paul and St. Mary were both very well attended, and testimonies of healing have already started to come in. If you are interested in learning more about the work of Totus Tuus, please email Br. Mauricio at mauriciototustuus@hotmail.com. - Fr. Straz
Forty Weeks Program Learn how to encounter the Lord of Mercy daily. Learn to fruitfully engage in regular Sacramental Reconciliation. Forty Weeks will help all of our family of faith learn the art of spiritual discernment. Please call the Parish Office at 360-293-2101 if you are interested in signing up for our Wednesday morning class. Class begins February 28, 2018 If you are interested in an evening class, please call the Parish Office. Forty Weeks will be a life-changing annual program to introduce St. Mary parishioners to a heartfelt personal relationship with Jesus in daily prayer, spiritual discernment and regular and fruitful practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All in all, about twenty years worth of reflection, study, testing, feedback, and refinement have gone into this updated version of St. Ignatius powerful Examen prayer. Forty Weeks is a perfect program of solid, classic spirituality updated for the third millennium to promote the new evangelization first described by Pope John Paul II early in his papacy, continued by Pope Benedict XVI and now strongly proclaimed by Pope Francis.