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March 18, 2022

Pastor’s Corner

+JMJ+
Dear Friends,
The Church's regulations for Lent include prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We already spoke of fasting last week. Let's now move on to almsgiving. Almsgiving can be defined as the act of donating money, food or other material goods to those in need, those who live in poverty. The word comes from the Greek term 'eleos' meaning: 'mercy'. Thus, to give alms is an act of charity, an act of mercy. Considered, therefore, as a virtue.

Almsgiving is also regarded as the crown of the Lenten disciplines - placed slightly above that of prayer and fasting. Prayer, which we will discuss next week, is the raising of the heart and mind to God. Almsgiving is a means of giving to God out of love for others and a concern for their needs and thus is considered prayer in itself. It is a form of fasting as it involves some sort of sacrificial giving. Take tithing for example - giving 10% of one's income away for the poor, for the church, and/or some other charitable institution. Almsgiving is meant to be a real sacrifice, a gift not from our surplus wealth but one that strikes us to heart. As such, we become more united and in greater communion with those who are less fortunate than ourselves because we can feel that pain of letting go and living without. Some spiritual writers would also consider time and talent as another form of almsgiving. For example giving our time to the parish or the homebound for needed upkeep, repairs, yard work and the like.

It must be noted that no one is obliged to give beyond their means. While many find it difficult to give 10%, the question we must ask ourselves is this: what can I give? Am I giving enough? A best practice is to always have a plan of giving. This has been a practice of mine, more or less, since I have been a priest. I always choose an organization, in addition to the parish, to give to during this time of Lent. Perhaps this is the opportune time to help the people of Ukraine (a list of needed supplies has been published in our bulletin and on our website).

Each day we make decisions as to where we are giving our time, our attention, our talent, our resources both material and spiritual. For we must remember those words of Jesus that ring true: "…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine you do for me" (Mt 25:40).
God bless you,
Fr. Jon
sagrado-coração-web

Highlight Our Faith

Almsgiving: A pillar of Lent (1:28)

Parish News

Pancake Breakfast: The Palm Sunday Pancake Breakfast is back! April 10, 2022 following the 8am and 10:30am Masses. Tickets: Adults $5; Kids are free.
Parish Mission: Mark your calendars for our Parish Mission March 27-29. We are pleased to have Mr. Greg Wasinski return to Holy Family as our mission speaker.
The John Paul II Youth Group meets this Sunday for our monthly meeting. 6:30-8:30 at Holy Trinity Parish in Greenfield. We continue to discuss Catholic social teachings, with a special guest who is a nurse at a men's state prison. Come and hear her story. Also, we will start discussing racism and our response as Catholics.
Please join us during the Season of Lent for the following events:
  • Monday - Mass at 6pm.
  • Tuesday - The Mass Explained: discussion on the nature and meaning of the Catholic Mass, 6pm.
  • Wednesday - Adoration 12pm-6pm; Confession 5pm; Benediction 6pm.
  • Thursday - Rosary: for our nation and the people of Ukraine, 6pm.
  • Friday - Stations of the Cross followed by homemade soups, 6pm.
See the full calendar
Why do we omit the Gloria and Alleluia during Lent? First the Gloria - a hymn of praise sung by the angels at Jesus' birth. It is a hymn that praises God for His coming among us as a man. We omit this hymn during Advent and Lent because we enter these seasons as a people in exile, waiting for the Messiah to arrive, to show us His glory. In Advent it is by way of His birth. In Lent it is by way of His second birth, when He emerges from the tomb.

Second the Alleluia - meaning: "Praise the Lord." Just as the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, they were not able to "praise the Lord" with full voice and heart until they reached the Promised Land. The same is true for our Lenten journey of penance and sacrifice. It is not until Easter that we can fully "praise the Lord."

Click here for more: https://aleteia.org/2019/03/01/why-are-the-gloria-and-alleluia-omitted-during-lent/
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