Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2018 Column Father De Celles

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Laetare Sunday. Today is Laetare Sunday, or “Rejoice
Sunday.” It marks the halfway point in Lent, with the
Church reminding us that in the midst of our sorrows for
the suffering of Christ for our sins, we need to always
keep in mind the glory and joy of the Resurrection and our
Redemption. (Strictly speaking, the Thursday before
Laetare Sunday is the middle day of Lent, and it was at
one time observed as such, but centuries ago the special
signs of joy permitted on this day were transferred to the
Sunday following to make them more visible to more
folks).
Many have told me how they’ve struggled to keep
their penances this Lent. Many others have told me they
still haven’t chosen a penance. Today we remember that
there is still half of Lent remaining to rededicate or
increase our efforts to keep Lent holy. To those who
haven’t chosen a penance yet, get with it. To those who
are struggling to keep their penances, if your penance is
too hard, it’s okay change your penance to something that
is challenging, but manageable in your situation; to those
who just haven’t been trying, no excuses—pick up your
cross. And to those have found their penances manageable
and doable, then perhaps you can add some more
penances, or intensify the ones you are currently doing.
Let’s let the rest of Lent really be a time of
holiness for each of us, as we carry our crosses with Jesus,
and so become closer in unity with Him.
Important Transgender Conference. I am very pleased
to announce that the parish will be sponsoring a
conference here on the Saturday after Easter, April 7th
entitled, “Gender Ideology: The Cultural Challenge and
the Catholic Response.” About a year ago, several of the
priests were able to attend an excellent conference by 3
remarkable speakers discussing the cultural, philosophical
and scientific problems presented by the current push to
accept the new (trans)gender ideology. Now we are able to
present that program to you, with a special invitation to
parents (and grandparents) of school-aged children. We
cannot sit by and let the culture—especially the media,
social media, and the public schools—abuse our children
with this psychologically and spiritually destructive
ideology. Please mark you calendars and plan to attend—I
hope for a very large turnout. See the insert today for
more information.
(Interesting fact: two of the speakers, Mary
Hasson and Theresa Farnan are extremely impressive in
their own right, but adding to that is the fact that these two
sisters (biological, not nuns) are also daughters of the late
great Catholic jurist and apologist, Charles Rice).
Come to the Lenten Series this Week! My talks on “The
Mass and the Eucharist” continue this Thursday at 7pm in
the Parish Hall. These last 2 talks are, I think, the most
important of the series, as this week we will go through
the Mass, part by part, to understand Its profound meaning
and purpose more clearly, and next week we will discuss
and meditate on the beautiful and multi-faceted meaning of
Eucharistic Prayer I. If you weren’t able to attend the first 3
weeks, that’s okay—come to these. If you ever feel like
you’re not getting enough out of Mass, I think and hope
and pray that these two weeks may go a long way in
changing that! All are invited! Babysitting is available,
but please call the office for reservations. (If you would
like to catch up on prior weeks, you can view videos of
those talks on our website.)
Wind Storm. I don’t know about you, but I don’t recall
seeing anything like the sustained winds that blew through
our area last weekend. I’ve been through several hurricanes
in my life, and a few tornadoes, but those come and go
pretty quickly. Thanks be to God we had little damage to
our parish property, but many of our parishioners were not
so fortunate. There were innumerable fallen trees, a few
crashing down on houses and cars. One of our
parishioner’s houses even caught fire. And of course,
everyone seemed to suffer a power outage and the
consequent cold inside temperatures. (I knew I should have
had fireplaces added to the rectory in last year’s office
renovations!)
As far as I know, no one in the parish suffered any
injuries from the storm, but if you need any assistance due
to the storm, or know of someone who is, please let me
know. Again, thank God. Let’s all join in prayer for all
who suffered any losses, and give thanks to God for His
mercy.
40 Days for Life. Thanks to all of you who participated in
the prayer vigil last weekend. This year I know it was
particularly challenging, with the wind and cold the way it
was. God bless you for that. I’m sorry I had to call off our
participation on Friday, but as your Father, I thought it best
to pay attention to your safety—we can, did, go on to fight
another day.
Fr. Mark Pilon. We have received word that Fr. Pilon’s
liver cancer is suddenly progressing rapidly and not
responding to treatment. For those who don’t know, Fr.
Pilon was Parochial Vicar at St. Raymond’s for several
years, including 2 with me, until his retirement in 2012.
Prior to that he was a distinguished professor at Mt. St.
Mary’s Seminary for many years, and before that held
various positions in the Diocese, including pastor at St.
Ambrose.
Please keep Fr. Pilon in your prayers. He is a great
priest who has served Our Lord and His people well. And
he is good friend to many in this parish, especially me. Out
of respect for his privacy, please direct any questions or
communication to the parish office, and do not try to
contact him directly. Thank you.
P.S. I write in a hurry this week, so please forgive any
errors or confusion above.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles