As we prepare to enter another Lenten season, it is good to remind ourselves that this is not only a time of penance but of conversion as well. That is why there is such a close connection between Lent and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). You know that RCIA is a process for those over the age of seven wishing to become Catholic. Some enter the RCIA process as unbaptized people, called catechumens. While others join the process having been baptized in another Christian denomination. We call them candidates.

The Church has celebrated the Eucharist since Jesus’ Resurrection, but it has not always looked the same. Originally, the small Christian communities gathered for the evening meal in one of its members’ houses. Prayers, hymns, and even readings from one of Paul’s letters were included as parts of the meal. Of course, most importantly, the host blessed and shared bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ. St. Paul discusses some of the issues that arise as a result of these early liturgical gatherings in chapter 11 of the First Letter to the Corinthians.

When two baptized people, one man and one woman, enter into marriage they bestow upon each other a Sacrament. For each of the other Sacraments the ordinary Minister is the Bishop, Priest, or Deacon. But in marriage the Bishop, Priest or Deacon is the Church’s witness of the Sacrament which the bride and groom bestow on each other.

Our BSA Pack & Troop 400 were honored on Sunday, February 6 at 9:00am Mass for all their contributions to our community. The Pack & Troop also hosted a local food drive supporting the St. Vincent de Paul Chapter at St. Clare and demonstrated their skills for parishioners in between morning Masses.

Are we controlled by fear? Does it hold us back? Is it preventing us from living fully?

Life is a series of adventures and risks. It seems these days, that a great many people are living in fear. We are afraid of a virus which we do not understand. We are afraid because we have seen so many stories of people who got sick or died, some were even friends, family, fellow parishioners, colleagues, or neighbors. We are afraid to be around people wearing masks or vice versa, people who don’t wear face masks. We are afraid of criminals, the loss of property or violence.