Consider this… Disciples Focus!
The Fifth Sunday of Lent is already upon us and this week you will notice something different in our worship spaces. Traditionally in the church on the fifth week of Lent all statues get covered, so that our attention is focused on the Stations of the Cross. We are fasting from the Saintly statues, images and devotional niches to focus and journey closer to Jesus. This week we focus on our prayer so that next week as we enter Holy Week beginning Palm Sunday, we are ready to journey with the Lord in the great mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection.
What is our focus on? When we look at our lives, is our attention distracted from the love of Jesus and the sacrifice he makes on the cross for all of us? What are the distractions that keep us from focusing on the mystery of Jesus’ love for us? Each of us are invited to focus more clearly and intentionally on the transforming power of Jesus’ love, but that may mean we need to ‘cover’ the other things that distract us in our daily living. Maybe we need to allow our screens to be darker more so that our attention is more focused on prayer. Maybe we make a real effort to refrain from complaining or negativity to focus on positivity and goodness. The next two weeks are an opportunity to focus on true love and what it looks like. Without that love, life is lost. Let’s focus on real love by focusing on Jesus.
Palm Sunday… Next Sunday we begin Holy week with our celebration of Palm Sunday. Because of the anticipated crowds we have added two extra masses, Saturday, 4 pm in the Chapel and Sunday 10:30 in the Chapel. There are no reservations needed for Palm Sunday Mass. As you enter next week, the ushers will be distributing the palms that will be blessed. There will not be palms laying out for people to take, please make sure to connect with an usher when you arrive for your palms.
Holy Week and Easter… Check our parish website for the full schedule for Holy Week. Easter Sunday there ARE reservations required for Mass attendance. We have also added additional masses to help accommodate everyone. Please check the website to make a reservation or call the parish office for assistance.
As we weren’t able to gather live last year for these Holy Days, let’s make an extra effort this year to focus on the liturgies of Holy Week.
Keep Smiling:_)
Fr. Bryan