Holy Week

03-25-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome to Holy Week! Today we begin the holiest week of the year for the Catholic Church. This week the Church commemorates Christ’s death and burial. Ancient writers called this the Great or Holy Week of Our Lord’s Passion. The custom of keeping the Holy Week goes all the way back to the time of the Apostles. When the early Christians spoke about Jesus to others, they started with the Passion of Our Lord. Scholars believe that the Passion of Our Lord spread before the other parts of the Gospel were even written down. The Passion of Our Lord is really the starting point for building our relationship with Jesus.

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St. Joseph

03-18-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Church will be celebrating the Solemnity of St. Joseph this Monday, March 19th. St. Joseph is known as the foster father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. Besides tomorrow’s feast, he is also honored on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1.

My middle name is Joseph and I consider him to be my patron. It may be easy to forget about the humble man of God because of his few appearances throughout the Bible. But his special role in Jesus’ life can really be a great source of inspiration and strength for us. I ask for his intercession every day. I pray to him for those who need jobs, for the dying, (he is the patron of a happy death), for fathers and for purity.

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Almsgiving

03-11-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The foundational call of Christians to charity is a frequent theme of the Gospels. During Lent, we are asked to focus more intently on "almsgiving," which means donating money or goods to the poor and performing other acts of charity. As one of the three pillars of Lenten practice, almsgiving is "a witness to fraternal charity" and "a work of justice pleasing to God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2462).

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Fasting

03-04-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful; fasting makes lawgivers wise. Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety; it is the comrade of watchfulness and the artificer of chastity. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness. “– St. Basil the Great

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The Stations of the Cross-We adore you O Christ and we praise you! Because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world!

02-25-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Prayer is one of the pillars of the Lenten Season. This is why we encourage prayer disciplines specific to Lent. One of those devotions is the Stations of the Cross.

The Stations of the Cross originated in the late 4th Century when pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land to visit the places where Jesus lived and walked. Topping the list of places they visited was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Built by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, it houses the empty tomb of Jesus.

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A New Heart

02-18-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many people suffer from a troubled conscience. So what is the remedy? Can we actually ask God to give us a new heart? I have had conversations that sound a lot like this one. “I am simply confused…and scared…I do not want to go to hell, and I have worried about this and felt hopeless for long enough. Is it a Mortal Sin to… (you fill in the blank)? I have felt worthless and beat myself up over this issue for a long time now and I would just like some peace but I feel so guilty. I know God forgives me by I still feel awful.”

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Lent 2018

02-11-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Lenten Season begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018. On Ash Wednesday, St. Joan of Arc parish will offer a 6:30am Mass, 8:30am Mass, a 12:00pm Liturgy of the Word and 6:00pm Mass in Spanish. Everyone who comes to Mass or the noonday Liturgy of the Word will receive ashes on their foreheads. The symbolism is powerful. The ashes are reminders that each one of us came from dust and will return to dust one day. The ashes on our foreheads are in the shape of a cross. Wearing this sign on our foreheads proclaims to others "I live for Christ".

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Addiction

02-04-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

People are sometimes curious about what I do all day. Fair question. People are also surprised when I tell them that among my priestly duties, not a week goes by that I don’t come in contact with multiple parishioners who have been afflicted with an addiction.

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Repent and Experience the Mercy of Our Lord

01-28-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

See how much God loves us. When we fail in discipleship after the baptismal waters have cleansed us, Jesus offers yet another sacrament to heal us. In John 20:23 Jesus calls his disciples to forgive sins. After breathing the power of the Holy Spirit into them Our Lord states, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

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Catholic Schools Week 2018 January 28 - February 3

01-21-2018Pastor's LetterHarry Plummer, Superintendent of Catholic Schools

Dear Catholic School Families,

A happy and blessed 2018 to each of you! This year the theme for Catholic Schools Week "Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed." encompasses the core products and values that can be found in Catholic schools across the country. Not only are we teaching students to become future servant leaders, faith-filled disciples and enriched citizens in our communities, we, as educators, are growing with them. In Catholic schools, we are all learners, servants and leaders. These shared qualities are what make Catholic schools work. They are what make Catholic schools succeed!

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House Blessing

01-07-2018Pastor's LetterFr. Don Kline, V.F.

One of the great Christmas traditions of the Church is to bless one's house to start a new year; and in a perfect world we the priests and deacons Peter and Mark could get that done for all of our parishioners before the close of Christmas on January 8th. Breaking the numbers down for our 2000 families that would mean each of us would need to bless about 42 homes a day for the 12 days of Christmas, which would be a fun challenge for us and probably the making of an insane Hallmark movie [or our next fundraising opportunity]. In lieu of that, we will instead provide in this bulletin the prayers for the blessing of a home during the Christmas season. Why blessed with chalk?

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