Fr Vogel's Lesson on Ashes

Each year palms from the previous Palm Sunday are burned to create the ashes for Ash Wednesday. There is an art to it as they need to burn just the right amount of time to be the correct color. As a young associate pastor, Fr Damian learned the hard way that while it might it a nice idea to burn the ashes at Mass to show everyone, they are too hot to use right away.

Since becoming a pastor, Fr Damian has considered it one of his duties to make certain every associate knows how to properly burn ashes before they leave. Earlier this week Fr Vogel got his lesson -- and passed with flying colors.

Get Your Ashes, Post Your #ASHTAG

Wednesday Masses are at:
6:20, 8:15 a.m.,
 12:10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.

Observing the Practice of the Lenten Fast

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

The US Bishops are encouraging you

 to take a Selfie Wednesday:

Receiving Ashes

This morning, Deacon Krueger stopped by the preschool on his way to Mass.  He spoke to the preschool children about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.  After his teaching, we lined up to receive our ashes.

Ash Wednesday Tomorrow

There are Masses tomorrow at:
6:20, 8:15 a.m.,
 12:10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.

Observing the Practice of the Lenten Fast

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

He's Shown Us Love

Strange worlds collided this week with the convergence of Valentine’s Day, Ash Wednesday and Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation announcement.

So how do these three events speak to us? The obvious answer: they speak of love.

The pope, in his encyclical “God Is Love,” teaches us about the ancient Greek terms for love, which include eros and agape.

Our modern notion of Valentine’s Day focuses on eros, a passionate type of love that seeks union with one’s beloved. Our culture has badly distorted eros, but it’s a noble aspect of God’s love.

Another face of love is agape. It is self-sacrificing love. Lent is all about agape, dying to oneself for the sake of another. In the Gospel reading on Valentine’s Day, our second day into Lent, Jesus tells us: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

Joseph Ratzinger probably didn’t envision that he would become pope. It is said that after Pope John Paul II’s death, the cardinal and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would have preferred to go off to a quiet life of prayer and study. But that’s not what the Holy Spirit had in mind. People who don’t understand the Catholic faith see the papacy solely as a position of power. But it’s more about service, obedience and fidelity. And sometimes suffering.

Pope Benedict has shown us how to follow Christ’s call. He’s shown us Love.

Inspired by this Year of Faith we will be posting columns like this from Susan Szalewski about exploring and/or deepening our faith. Watch for it on Thursdays.

Ash Wednesday in the Preschool

Today is Ash Wednesday.  Deacon David came to Sacred Heart Preschool to help us learn a little more about this special day. 

We said a prayer together.

Mrs. Henton received her ashes first, to show that there was nothing to be afraid of.

 We all lined up to receive our ashes.

This Lent, we will try our best

to  do the things Jesus teaches.

Ash Wednesday Tomorrow

There are Masses tomorrow at:
6:20, 8:15 a.m.,
 12:10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.

Observing the Practice of the Lenten Fast

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

Recycling Palms

If you have any palms from Palm Sunday, drop them off at the church to be burned. We'll use the ashes on Ash Wednesday.

Ashes in Preschool

On Ash Wednesday Deacon Krueger visited

 the Preschool for a short Lenten Service.

He read the day's Gospel and we talked a little about it.

Deacon Krueger blessed the ashes then made

the sign of the cross on our forehead.

 

We finished the service with the Our Father.

It was a special way to begin the Lenten Season.

Ash Wednesday is Tomorrow

There are Masses tomorrow at: 6:20, 8:15 a.m., 12:10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.

Observing the Practice of the Lenten Fast

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

Turn Away from Sin and be Faithful to the Gospel

There are Masses today at: 6:20, 8:15 a.m., 12:10, 5:30 & 7 p.m.

Observing the Practice of the Lenten Fast

The U.S. Catholic bishops call for all Catholics 14 years and older to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day.

Ash Wednesday

In today's Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streetsto win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you,they have received their reward.But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you,they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room,close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance,so that they may appear to others to be fasting.Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.But when you fast,anoint your head and wash your face,so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Jesus said "When you give alms ... when you fast ... when you pray ..."

He didn't say,"If..."

Mardi Gras

The colors of Mardi Gras—purple,

green and gold—in order signify

justice, faith and power.

"I heard that Mardi Gras has something to do with Lent. How can that be?"

Mardi Gras means 'Fat Tuesday' in French. For those who fasted by severely restricting their diets, the Tuesday before the beginning of Lent was the last chance to 'eat-up' until Easter. They celebrated with food in a big way. The secular world has seized upon this day as an excuse to 'party hard' . . . much like the commercialization of Christmas."

"Why should I observe Lent? What purpose would it serve?"

It is a call to prepare for Easter. During this period of serious reflection, you spend time in self-examination and spiritual redirection. It is a time for you to acknowledge your shortcomings and to seek forgiveness for where you have fallen in your faith. Lent offers you the opportunity to seek spiritual renewal through the practice of prayer and self-denial.

"Why ashes [on Ash Wednesday]?"

The people of the Old Testament used ashes as a sign of mourning (Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, Jeremiah 6:26). Even today, ashes are considered a symbol of death and of nothingness. Ashes remind us of our helplessness and dependence on God. They remind us of our need to mourn our sinful nature, to feel contrition, and to repent so that we may receive God’s forgiveness. They are a symbol of sinfulness and of our commitment to spiritual renewal.