Saint Charles Borromeo Church Destrehan, Louisiana Telephone (985) 764-6383 2017 Smudged with Ashes, Smeared with Oil On a somber Wednesday we will gather to smudge every forehead with ashes, admonishing each other to remember that dust returns to dust and that the only way through death to life is Christ. The ashes are made by burning palms given to us on Passion Sunday a year ago with the invitation to go forth in peace, praising Jesus our Messiah, as did the crowds that welcomed him into Jerusalem. Our baptismal life is a lifelong pilgrimage with Christ toward Jerusalem. Yet like our best Intentions, last year s palm branches now have become dried and brittle fodder for the fire. So our pilgrimage leads us to Lent. And a hostile climate of sin and suffering necessitates drastic measures: We are marked with ashes as a sign of our willingness to pray, fast and give alms. But this gritty smudge that we accept on our foreheads is not a death sentence. It is not the mark of Cain. A reminder of our fragile mortality, it is nonetheless shaped in the great sign of salvation: The ashes form a cross, a thumb-printed cross that marks the same heads that were smeared with chrism at baptism. Anointed with that royal oil, we are committed to conversion, to continually setting out for the new Jerusalem, to leaving behind forever our captivity in Egypt. This gritty ashen sign reminds us that on the way there is soil and toil, sweat and hard work before we come to the oasis in this desert the Easter bath of baptism. At the font, on a damp and chilly night, water will wash away soil and oil will soothe away toil to make new Christians royal: heirs of the reign of God. The dusty smudges will be gone, and in the light of the paschal candle the oily heads of the newly baptized will shine like the moon and the stars, reminding us of our destiny. What begins in ashes ends in water and in fire. Copyright 2001 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1800 North Hermitage Avenue, Chicago IL 60622 1101; 1 800 933 1800; www.ltp.org. Text by David Philippart. Art by Rosie Kelly. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Opportunities for Prayer Prayer - Prayer places us, our needs and the concerns of the global family in God s care. Prayer not only puts us in God s presence; prayer has the power to transform our relationships with all the needs, people and situations for which we pray. Daily Eucharist the Eucharist is celebrated at 8:15am in the church Monday through Friday and on Tuesdays at 6pm. Rosary before Mass at 7:30 am and 5:30 pm on Tuesdays. Eucharistic Adoration The Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open and available twenty-four hours each day, seven days a week. The entrance is from the outside at the back of the church building. Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm or anytime by request. During Lent & Advent on Saturdays 5:30 to 6 pm. Additional times for confession during the Lenten Season will be available here and in all Parishes in the Archdiocese: Wednesdays, March 22, 29, and April 5 from 5-6:30 pm Novena To Our Mother of Perpetual Help - Tuesday evenings following 6 pm Mass. Holy Face of Jesus Devotion - Fridays after morning Mass, a 20 minute devotion which includes songs, prayers, acts of reparation, and individual veneration of the Holy Face Image. On First Friday, due to the School Mass, devotions begin prior to Mass at 7:15 am R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is for those adults who are interested in becoming members of the Catholic Church. Please call the church office if you or someone you know is interested. No commitment is necessary, just an inquiring mind. At the Easter Vigil this year, Mason Morris, Sarah Simon, & Daryl Tankersley will be Baptized, Confirmed and receive Eucharist. Being received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church, which includes Profession of Faith, Confirmation and Eucharist will be: Abigail Johnson. Chance Harp will be receiving Eucharist. Being confirmed at St. Louis Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday, June 4th will be Amanda Guidry, Chance Harp, and Marcella Moody. Please keep them in your prayers this Lenten Season. -2-
Stations of the Cross - Every Friday at 7pm followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. You are also welcome to join Grades 2nd - 4th from our Parish School at 2:45 pm on the following Wednesdays: March 8, 15, 22 & 29, April 5 &12 and with the CCD School of Religion on Monday, April 10th at 6:15 pm. For individuals who wish to practice this devotion alone, special station booklets are provided at the rear of the church. Ash Wednesday Blessing and Distribution of Ashes - March 1st Masses at 7 am, 5 pm and 7 pm. Liturgy of the Word at 12 Noon. The blessing and imposition of ashes takes place only on Ash Wednesday, ordinarily during the celebration of the Eucharist. If the Eucharist is not celebrated, the blessing and distribution will take place within the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word. Patriotic Rosary - Join us for the Patriotic Rosary on Thursday, March 9, 2017 and Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 6 pm in the Church. We must continue to pray for each other and the United States of America. Parish Lenten Mission - Larry Oney, a permanent deacon for the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans serving at Divine Mercy Parish in Kenner will present our Parish Mission on March 15, 16 & 17, 2017. The mission will begin on Wednesday night at 7 pm and continue on Thursday and Friday at 7pm. Confessions will be available each night of the mission from 5 to 5:45 pm followed by a 6 pm Mass. Deacon Oney s topics will be Discovering Your Divine Mission, Entering into Your Divine Mission and Walking in Your Divine Mission. Free babysitting by the Girl Scouts will be available. A reception will follow in the Borromeo Room at the conclusion of the mission on Friday night. Deacon Oney is a prolific orator, who has spoken at hundreds of speaking engagements from Europe to Africa to Brazil to Canada and throughout the United States. He has appeared on many EWTN shows and has been a guest on FOCUS TV and many other great media outlets. He has authored three books : Amazing Grace Overcoming Race, Reflections on the Kingdom of God and UP Faith! He has also co-authored a book with Fr. William Maestri for priests and deacons. Deacon Oney serves on the Board of Directors for Renewal Ministries, serves on he Board of Trustees for Franciscan University, and is a member of the New Orleans Chapter of Legatus - an international group of Catholic CEOs and their spouses. Deacon Oney also serves on the Board of Regents for University of Holy Cross and is the founder and president of Hope and Purpose Ministries whose mission is to participate in the New Evangelization through preaching, teaching, and the use of excellent media initiatives. Deacon Oney lives in the New Orleans area with his wife, Andi. -3-
The Next Chapter - A support group formed to offer moral and spiritual assistance to anyone who has suffered any type of loss - meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held in the St. Mark Room at 7 pm. Angie Matherne and Naomie Swanson our facilitators, invite you to attend and share your feelings about your loss or just listen to others. It can be helpful just getting to talk with other people who are in the same situation. Family and friends are always welcome to attend with you. S.A.M. A Substance Addiction Ministry Addiction is a spiritual illness that disconnects a person from self, loved ones, and God. The mission of this ministry is to help these individuals to reconnect through education, prevention, referral, family support and mostly spiritual support. Open to those who have been affected by those struggling with addiction, afflicted with this struggle. Meetings are held bi-monthly at 7 pm on Wednesday nights in the St. Matthew Room. (Please check the bulletin for dates.) Change My Heart O God, A Lenten Morning of Prayer - March 22, 2017, 9:30-11:30 am, Sr. Gloria Murillo, S.T.J., Archdiocesan Spirituality Center, 2501 Maine Avenue, Metairie, LA The Lenten Season invites us to imitate Jesus in self-denial. We accept His invitation to return to God in prayer and fasting. During this Lenten Morning of Prayer, we want to set aside what distract us, open our hearts to a deeper conversion, and experience God Changing Our Hearts and to emerge ready to enter into the lasting joy of life with the Risen Christ. Cost $25.00 (adjustments can be made) SCB Men s Club - with wives and/or guests will meet on Thursday, March 23rd at 6 pm for their Lenten Mass and a walk-thru Way of the Cross. The Parish is invited to attend. The narration is by Fr. Jeffrey Bayhi with Aaron Neville singing Were You There When They Crucified my Lord. Come share this special Lenten experience with us. School Passion Play - Thursday, April 13, 2:30 pm in Church. All are invited to see our 7th Grade students display their love and appreciation for our Lord as they journey with him to his death on Calvary. Special Stations of the Cross - on Good Friday April 14th @ 6 pm Led by the Men of Manresa, about an hour in duration, this special Mary s Way of the Cross which suggests Mary s thoughts during her Son s Passion, will include music, commentary and reflection. Our parishioner, Robert Bourg, will provide a drawing of each station that will be displayed in church. Lenten Literature - Lenten Care Notes and notes for the bereaved or troubled can be found in the rack on the table in the back of the church. The Magnificat Lenten Companion will also be distributed to all parishioners during the Lenten Season. -4-
LENTEN OPPORTUNITES AND ACTIVITES FOR YOUTH Fish Fry - Join us on Friday, March 10, 2017 for the Annual SCB Fountain of Youth Lenten Fish Fry. All proceeds benefit the Mexico Mission Trip. Tickets will be sold in advance after all Masses on the weekend of March 4 & 5, 2017 Sr. High Fountain of Youth Ministry Night - All 8th-12th grade students are invited to the Sr. FOY Ministry Night on Sunday, March 12 from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Youth Center. Abbey Youth Fest is an all-day event on Saturday, March 25 that draws youth, young adults and adults (age 13 and up) together with the communities of St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College in order for us all to be evangelized, catechized, and sent out to live our Catholic Faith. The day can be described as a huge Catholic picnic. with Christian singers, speakers, vendors and includes Eucharistic Celebration and an Adoration and procession ot the Blessed Sacrament. The cost is $60 at the gate. Contact Mrs. Janeen for more info. Lenten Reconciliation Service/Mass- Monday, April 3, 2016 is the date for the Confirmation students. CCD students are scheduled for 6:30 pm and other students for 7:00 pm in the church. Houma Thibodaux Youth Rally - is a one day gathering of the young church sponsored by the Diocese of Houma Thibodaux held at Vanderbilt High School in Houma for 8th -12th grade students on Saturday, April 8th. The day includes Catholic musicians, keynote speakers, interactive outside games and activities, opportunities for Reconciliation, Adoration and concludes with a Eucharistic Celebration by Bishop Fabre and an Adoration and procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The cost is $60 at the door. Contact Mrs. Janeen for more info. Educate-An-Orphan/Sponsor-A-Missionary - All are invited to pray about supporting the SCB Fountain of Youth on their Annual SCB Mexico Mission Trip. You can assist in several ways: 1) Educate-an-orphan: tuition / school supplies / school uniforms are approximately $200 per child for 1 year in Mexico. Doesn t sound like much to us but it is a lot for a family who makes less than $50 / week. Many children drop out of school at the age of 15 to try to find a job to help support their family. 2) Sponsor-a-Missionary: the cost of the Mexico Mission Trip is $700 per person. Any donation no matter how large or how small is a great help for those who need assistance. 3) Prayer: remember our mission, our missionaries and our orphans in your daily prayer. Envelopes will be in the back of church throughout the Lenten season if you feel called to help. Thanks in advance for believing in the young people of our parish and their mission in Mexico. -5-
10 Activities for Catholic Families during Lent and Holy Week Attend Mass on Ash Wednesday Wear your ashes out into the world as witness of our faith Make at least one of your meatless Friday meal together as a family. This can be a great testimonial for younger children as you remember, together, one of the unique features of our Faith. Attend Stations of the Cross (especially one for children, if you have small children) Use this printable Lenten calendar to track the season: Catholicicing.com/printable-Lenten calendar-for-children Attend Some of the Holy Week Masses and Activities at Your Parish Commit to reading the Bible (even if it s a Children s version) every day together as a family Make cards of encouragement to those in your parish s RCIA program After a lot of study and prayer, most of them will be received into the Church at the end of Lent. Have a pancake dinner the night before Ash Wednesday or made a King Cake Third day is known as Mardi Gras as well as Shrove Tuesday. Pancakes were a traditional dish for this day to use up things that weren t allow during Lent. On Holy Thursday, do a foot washing with your family members Choose a Lenten Sacrifice to Do As a Family. Is there something your family can sacrifice that might help another family in need? Consider donating what you might spend on a meal out to a food pantry instead. 2014 ManyLittleBlessings.com & CatholicPrintablesOnline.com Opportunities for Fasting & Abstaining Abstinence From Meat is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years of age and older on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics who are between 18 and 59 years old. Fasting means only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to each one s needs, but no snacking in between. You should know by the end of the day that you have drastically reduced your normal eating habits. The obligation to observe penitential days of the Church is serious. Failure to observe individual days of penance is not necessarily consider sinful. No one should be scrupulous in this regard. People should seek to do more rather than less, since fast and abstinence on these days is a minimal response to the Lord s call to penance and conversion of life. The American Bishops have asked us to enter into the spiritual purpose of the discipline for the welfare of others. Specifically, we have been asked to make the Fridays of Lent a time for almsgiving to the poor, prayers for peace, and acts of charity. If Friday is not a convenient day, then choose another day. The point is that all of us need to do penance. -6-
Applications are available in the Parish Office or on the SCB website (www.scblittleredchurch.org) -7-
Opportunities for Almsgiving and Works of Charity Almsgiving - is an ancient Hebrew practice which rectified economic inequalities in society. Alms means justice or righteousness. Giving alms helps to reestablish order and justice in God s creation. Parish Food Drive - Bring non-perishable food items to Sunday Eucharist. Food will be distributed by the St. Charles Borromeo, Ministry of Care. The container for food is located at the rear of church. Poor Box - Deposit a monetary gift in the poor box by donating the cost of a latte, a pack of cigarettes, a movie, or some other practice that gives witness of a desired change in your life which will affect others in a positive way. Second Collections During Lent - Contribute to the Archdiocesan Catholic Charities Collection on March 11 & 12, and Catholic Relief Services (Bishop s Overseas Appeal) on the weekend of March 25 & 26. The Annual Collection for the Holy Land will be taken up on Good Friday and the Annual Archdiocesan Seminary Collection will be on Easter Sunday. SCB PTFO Golf Tournament - Friday, March 24th - 12 pm at The Cypress Lakes Country Club, Destrehan - Become a sponsor of this wonderful event. For more information on sponsorship levels or to donate prizes and promotional items, please visit our school website or contact Josh Hafford at 504-251-6169. This fundraiser helps provide SCB students with items that would not otherwise be included in the school s budget. Little Red Church Food & Fun Festival - SCB Runs for the Roses May 5, 6 & 7, 2017 Fish Fry - Friday, March 31st - Sponsored by the Little Red Church Food & Fun Festival, in the cafeteria from 5 to 8 pm. Proceeds provide Fair Start-up Money. Tickets will be sold in advance after all masses the weekend of March 25 & 26. Fair Workday - Scheduled for Saturdays April 15, 22 & 29. Help with Fair Booth Construction, anytime from 7 am to mid-afternoon. Volunteers are also needed to stuff confetti eggs and grab bags on these work days from 9 am until 1 pm. Envelopes for start-up donations will be mailed to you in your March envelopes. These funds are used to buy necessary items to begin our fair such as booth construction, entertainment deposits, etc. Donations Needed - Sweet Booth - Cake mixes, pecans, flour, sugar, cake icing, etc. Volunteers to bake cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and other baked items. Volunteers to make candy and fudge. Hollow Egg Shells - to prepare confetti eggs which bring in a $3 profit for the fair. Trinkets - to prepare grab bags and for prizes at some of the booths. -8-
.St. Joseph s Altar - St. Joseph Altar Society will honor St. Joseph again this year by hosting an Altar in the Borromeo Room. The Altar will open for viewing at 5:30 pm on Saturday, March 18 and will remain open for viewing until 8 pm on March 19. SCB school and CCD children will be given an opportunity to view the altar on Monday, March 20. More details to be announced in the future. If you are interested in joining our society, we welcome your participation. Please call Mary Engler at 504-912-5127 or email her at englerm@bellsouth.net for more information. Reconciliation and Healing Lent is a wonderful time to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us. Like all religious experience, it takes preparation. Reconciliation is what God does. We prepare for it by opening ourselves up, by reflecting upon the areas of darkness in our lives into which God so deeply desires to shine a light. It might begin with the simple question: Where might God be offering me forgiveness and healing? If my answer is I don t know, then I have some reflection to do. I can examine my life - what I have done and what I have failed to do- and see what graces are offered me there. If I ve come through that era of saying that any guilt, anything that makes me feel bad about myself, is a bad thing, to be avoided at all costs, then I might have a difficult time coming to genuine sorrow for my sins. If this is the case, I need to go to work on my reflection, asking God to rouse a sense of embarrassment, leading to deep sorrow, for any way I may not have been faithful, honest, loving, self-less or generous - in my relationship with God, with my family, with others. I can look at each of my responsibilities - as a citizen of a city and a country and the world, a neighbor, an employee, a member of a parish or congregation, as a parent or a spouse or as a son or daughter. God will always shine light into these important parts of our lives, to help us experience remorse and a genuine desire for forgiveness and healing. The point here is not ultimately to focus on ourselves. God always reveals us to ourselves, so that God might reveal to us our need for a Savior. The focus is on God s reconciling, healing love.. Real love isn t our love for God, but God s love for us. It may be that I have experienced troubling guilt coming out of deep childhood trauma or a long-standing sense of shame. This may plague my ability to feel good about myself at all, and therefore to be able to reflect upon my sins the ways I fail at loving. I can still prepare for genuine reconciliation by preparing to better trust God s love for me, based upon two convictions: First, God s love is un-conditional. It is not conditioned on my being better, or my overcoming anything, or even my being good at all. God just loves me. I am always precious in the eyes of the One who made me and desires to embrace me with the gift of complete freedom, in everlasting life. Secondly, God knows everything, including what I m struggling with or suffering under. The God of all compassion, understands me and loves me. It may be that the place where I need the greatest sorrow and desire for forgiveness and healing is my lack of trust in God s complete and unconditional love for me. -9-
It may be that when I ask myself the questions about where God might be offering me forgiveness and healing, I might first come up with a single thing that seems big to me. I might say, I feel sorry for how, I treat my spouse or my children. I might focus on a long established habit of self-indulgent sexual fantasy. I may felt most sorrow for what I fail to do-all the good intentions that never make their way into action. It is so important not to stop there. None of the big things about which we might immediately feel sorry for sums up all of who we are before God and others. They may be very important in giving some clues or some leads in identifying some larger patterns. For example, if a big thing that worries me is that I tend to be loose with the truth, at times, I can ask what that means, what it reveals about me. I may discover that the real pattern of sin has to do with a deeper dishonesty or lack of integrity: hiding from God; leading a double life; not being who I really am called to be; trying to manage my life on my own terms; manipulating others for my own needs and desires. When the light of God s love shines into this level of selfawareness, then I am touched by a powerful experience of reconciliation Even here, in a place I might be most embarrassed and feel most naked, God loves me and offers me wholeness and joy. Celebrating Reconciliation Reconciliation is what God does. Receiving it and celebrating it is what we do. For those of us who are Catholics, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a most natural way to celebrate God s reconciliation We used to think of this sacrament as only about confession - that it was like a dumping ground for my sins, where I got forgiven, and I had to pay a toll. One of the great recoveries in our Christian history is to re-discover the meaning of this sacrament. It is God who forgives sins. And God forgives us the very moment that we come to the experience that we need forgiveness ( which itself comes through God s grace). At that moment, I feel sorrow and a desire for forgiveness and healing. In that moment, I am reconciled with God. The reunion, the bond, the connection, the joy are all there. Three more thing remain: to receive it deep within my heart, to celebrate it, and to participate in the healing process. When I experience God s forgiveness and love, I am invited to savor it and let it touch me deeply. Experiencing compassion, patience, understanding and forgiveness is itself transforming. If I fail to appreciate what I have just received - freely and undeserved - then I will take it for granted and risk moving on without a real healing happening. Then I need to celebrate the reconciliation I have received. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation - individually or in common - I have the wonderful opportunity to ritualize that celebration. In the Sacrament, my personal journey is joined with the mystery of God s saving love, as seen in the scriptures, and in God s desire to save us all. There, in ritual form (even if it is just me and the priest) I step forward and admit that I am a sinner, express my sorrow, and I name the places in my life where God is shining a Light into what I have done and what I have failed to do. Then, God s forgiveness is proclaimed out loud - for me to hear and rejoice in May God grant you pardon and fill you with God s peace. An integral part of the reconciliation involves the healing process. Part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is to practice a remedy for the healing I desire. Often that will simply be prayer. Expressing my gratitude to God is one of the most important steps on the road to recovery from my independence from God. www.creighton.edu/collaborativeministry/lent -10-
The Liturgical Environment Lent calls for simplicity and restraint in creating a liturgical environment. Our intent here is to create an environment of thoughtful reflection: an invitation to prayer, silence, and reconciliation with God. The environment is meant to remind the senses of what we ourselves are to experience in Lent. Purple is a sign of our repentance when we are acutely aware of our Baptismal identity, as participants in the Lord s Dying and Rising. The Withered Tree planted in the sand is a reminder that our Lenten Journey is a Desert Experience. The same Spirit that drove Jesus into the desert drives us into the desert of our own hearts. Like the desert, our hearts are the hidden places where God dwells. Like the desert, our hearts are vast, austere and often unsettling places where we discover who we are and what we believe and what we want our lives to be. The Covered Statues remind us that we don t clearly recognize God s presence in our lives. Sin has blurred the vision of holiness and obscured the call of faith, hope and love. The Broken Pottery symbolizes our brokenness. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who recognize their own utter helplessness and put their whole trust in God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The Display of Ashes warns that we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come. The emphasis on the Stations of the Cross during Lent recalls the centrality of penance in our own lives. Brothers and Sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. Romans 6:3-5 -11-
The Paschal Triduum The Triduum (The Three days), gives meaning to Lent, which precedes it and to the Fifty Days of Easter that follow. The THREE DAYS is a unique time of the year, period of total devotion to the Lord, free from distraction and focused on the great mystery of the Lord s passion, death and resurrection that defines our identity in Christ. Holy Thursday, April 13, begins with The Mass of the Lord s Sup per, at 7 pm. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament continues in chapel be hind the altar until 10 pm. Compline (Night Prayer) will end adoration. Good Friday, April 14, celebration of the Lord s Passion with Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion at 3 pm. The Men of Manresa are sponsoring a Living Way of the Cross at 6 pm. Holy Saturday, April 15, the Easter Vigil at 8 pm with its four-part Service of Light, Word, Initiation of new members into the church and Eucharist. THE PASCAL FAST The Second Vatican Council observed: Let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday, and where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of Resurrection may be attended with uplifted and clear mind. EASTER SUNDAY MASSES, APRIL 16, 2017 7 am, 9 am, and 11:00 am in Church In addition: 9 am in the Fred Roth Memorial Activity Center There is no 6 pm Mass on Easter Sunday -12-