What about "giving up something" for Lent?

When many of us were children, we might remember our giving up candy for Lent. And, it seemed like a real sacrifice. As we grew up, it was often more difficult to decide what special thing to do, to make Lent a special season - to get our attention and to prepare ourselves for deeper sacrifices.

What would help me grow in freedom? That's the question to ask. For some of us, it could be, committing ourselves to give up judging others, every single day of Lent. For others, it could be giving up a bad habit we've developed. For still others, it is obvious what seems to be the important choice for me during Lent.

For many of us, the choice may not be to give something up, but to add something to our daily lives during Lent. We may commit ourselves to extra prayer time. We may decide to do some service to the poor, once a week during Lent. We may choose to increase our almsgiving to the poor - perhaps related to something we choose not to do, e.g., some might choose not to go out to eat one night a week, and to give that total amount to the poor.

Whether it is fasting, abstaining or other acts of penance, the whole desire we should have is to use these means to help us grow closer to our Lord and prepare ourselves "to celebrate the paschal mystery with minds and hearts renewed." (First Preface of Lent)

"Taken from the Praying Lent pages of Creighton University's Online Ministries web site:
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html. Used with Permission."

A Mardi Gras Prayer

A Mardi Gras Prayer
for the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday") and Carnival ("Farewell to Meat") precede Ash Wednesday and Lent around the world, even where Lent has ceased to have much religious meaning. It was natural to develop a festival, a "last fling," before the prayerful fasting and abstinence of Lent.

How can we give this day before Ash Wednesday some religious meaning for us?

It may be that we are going to a Mardi Gras party and there will be much feasting. Our country may celebrate Carnival with gusto. Perhaps we can have a special family dinner together, with meat.

What's important is that we let our feasting anticipate our fasting. One way to do that is to begin to focus on the meaning of the day, when we first get up. It can create a sense of anticipation all day, that something very new is about to begin tomorrow.

We can prepare for whatever we will do, no matter how purely "social" or simply ordinary our day will be. Knowing why we go to a party, or enjoying the planning or preparation for a special meal, will add much meaning to this day.

Our Prayer

In these or similar words, we can pray in the spirit of this day.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for it is from your goodness that we have this day
to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent.

Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat.
Today we feast.
We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us.
We thank you especially for one another.
As we give you thanks,
we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do.
As we share these wonderful gifts together,
we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those
who need our support.

Prepare us for tomorrow.
Tasting the fullness of what we have today,
let us experience some hunger tomorrow.
May our fasting make us more alert
and may it heighten our consciousness
so that we might be ready to hear your Word
and respond to your call.

As our feasting fills us with gratitude
so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us
a place for deeper desires
and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor.
May our self-denial turn our hearts to you
and give us a new freedom for
generous service to others.

We ask you these graces
with our hearts full of delight
and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead.
We ask them with confidence
in the name of Jesus the Lord.

"Taken from the Praying Lent pages of Creighton University's Online Ministries web site:
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html. Used with Permission."

LENT BEGINS....

This Wednesday, February 22 marks the beginning of the Season of Lent.
Ashes will be distributed at all masses on Ash Wednesday.
Mass times will be 6:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 12:00 noon and 7:00p.m.

This is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption.

On all Fridays during Lent we will have Stations of the Cross
followed by confessions beginning at 7:00 p.m.

On Tuesday, March 6th, St. Joseph Parish will have a
Deanery Penance service at 7:00 p.m.

Why we receive the ashes

Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are told

"Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return."

Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.

The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of penance, and sprinkled over them ashes made from the palms from the previous year. Then, while the faithful recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the church because of their sins -- just as Adam, the first man, was turned out of Paradise because of his disobedience. The penitents did not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday after having won reconciliation by the toil of forty days' penance and sacramental absolution. Later, all Christians, whether public or secret penitents, came to receive ashes out of devotion. In earlier times, the distribution of ashes was followed by a penitential procession.

The Ashes

The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense. While the ashes symbolize penance and contrition, they are also a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts. His Divine mercy is of utmost importance during the season of Lent, and the Church calls on us to seek that mercy during the entire Lenten season with reflection, prayer and penance.

Prayer for Vocations - Traveling Cross

Prayer for Vocations
Year of Religious Life

This week our parish gratefully acknowledges the

Ehlman Family

As they host our Traveling Cross

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Parents Prayer for Vocations

Almighty and eternal God,

in your unfailing love your provide

ministers for your Church.

We pray for those whom you call

to serve the Church as Religious Life.

Inspire in them a generous response.

Grant them courage and vision to

serve your people

May their lives and service call your

people to respond to the presence

of your Spirit among us

that, faithful to the Gospel and

hope of Jesus the Christ, we may:

announce glad tidings to the poor

proclaim liberty to captives,set prisoners free

and renew the face of the earth.

AMEN

http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers/prayers-for-vocations.cfm

Preparing Before Lent Begins

Taking some time to get ready for Lent will ensure that we aren't going to miss the first week or two of Lent, because we are just getting started. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, but we want to be ready to really take off on that day, rather than just beginning to think about Lent on that day. Part of what makes a vacation or a special anniversary so special is the build-up to it.

Before we get to Ash Wednesday, we should start asking ourselves some questions and we should start with some preparations. "What does God want to give me this year?" This question may require that I slow down a bit and listen to my inner spirit. For example, even if I'm very busy, I realize I'm hungry when I hear my stomach start "growling." "What am I going to be doing on Ash Wednesday?" Too often, Ash Wednesday is like every other day, except that I manage to get to church and get ashes on my forehead. Is there anything else I can do on Ash Wednesday? How will fasting and abstaining happen for me, for my family on that special day?

It doesn't a lot of time to prepare for the beginning of Lent. It just takes desire and focus. God can do so much with that. We can give God more of a space to touch our hearts if we begin to establish some simple patterns. We could wake up each morning, and for something like a half a minute to a minute, stand by the edge of our beds, and just ask the Lord for the grace to let this day be one in which I long for the beginning of Lent. Perhaps we need to ask for specific helps or graces to get ready to begin Lent. Whatever we try to say, our Lord can understand the Spirit trying to speak through our simple words. And all it takes is the time to find and put on our slippers. And each night, in the days ahead, we can practice giving thanks to God before I go to bed. This simple pattern, in the morning and evening can stir our spirits to look forward to and prepare for Lent, as a season of grace.

May our Lord bless us all on this journey ahead.

"Taken from the Praying Lent pages of Creighton University's Online Ministries web site:
www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/online.html. Used with Permission."

Kindergarten Program 2012-2013 School Year

In case you haven’t heard, we are interested in starting a KINDERGARTEN program for children to attend PSR. The goal of this program is to give those in kindergarten a fun and safe environment in which to begin learning about their faith.

Children who are eligible for kindergarten in a public school may enroll in our PSR program. Students are introduced to life of Jesus, Bible stories, religious holidays and church customs and rituals.

Remember: Children use the religious words and do the religious things that seem important to grown ups around them. So, what we believe, how we worship, how we live and how we pray make a difference in their lives too.

If you are interested in registering your child in our Parish School of Religion for the 2012-2013 school year or would like more information:

Call (859) 240-8207
or
E-Mail: stjoepsr@hotmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Parish Vocation Cross - Traveling Cross

Prayer for Vocations

Year of Religious Life

This week our parish gratefully acknowledges the

Stewart Family

As they host our Traveling Cross

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Lord Jesus, as You once called the first disciples
to make them fishers of men, let your sweet
invitation continue to resound; Come follow me!

Giving young men and women the grace of
responding quickly to Your Voice. Support our
bishops, priests and consecrated people in their
apostolic labor.

Grant perseverance to our seminarians and to all
those who are carrying out the ideal of a life totally
consecrated to Your service.

Awaken in our community a missionary eagerness.
Lord, SEND WORKERS TO YOUR HARVEST
and do not allow humanity to be lost for the lack of
pastors, missionaries and people dedicated to the
cause of the Gospel.

Mary, Mother of the Church, the model of every
vocation help us to say, "Yes" to the Lord who calls
us to cooperate in the divine plan of salvation.
Amen.

Pope John Paul II

Prayer for Vocations - Year of Religious Life

Dear PSR Families:

Oftentimes when we think of vocations we think of priests and nuns. We don’t really realize that everyone has a vocation, or a calling from God. Each of us are called to be disciples of Christ through our baptism. We are called to holiness, and to be Christ like to others.

The Second Vatican Council called this “the universal call to holiness.” Everyone has a vocation we just must come to accept it. It sounds like an easy decision; however, God’s loving call is never easy in today’s world. He has something deeper and more specific in mind for each of us, we just have to listen. He says to the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jeremiah 1:5). In other words, from all eternity God had a plan in mind for Jeremiah, and the same is true for each of us.

In the Church we have come to recognize that there are four “states of life” through which we live out our particular calling from God. The states of life are: Marriage, Single life as a lay person, Holy Orders (bishop, priest, deacon), and Consecrated religious. Each of these states of life provides a structure within which the person lives out the universal call to holiness. It also guides the person in using the unique gifts and talents he or she has received from God for the service of others in the name of Jesus Christ.

The process of coming to know our vocation is called discernment. I can say from my own experience that this is not always an easy process as I myself felt pulled in more than one direction. Even though I have chosen married life, it doesn’t mean that I can’t accept the call of the Diaconate which is a call I am still discerning to this day. The prayers of others can be a great help to those who are seeking to know more clearly God’s plan for them. That is why we at St. Joseph PSR have initiated the traveling Vocation Cross. We are invited to pray as a family for all of our young people that they may be open to hear and have the courage to answer God’s call in their lives. We also pray for those who have already settled into their state of life, that they may have the strength to persevere and be open to God’s continued guidance in their lives.

On behalf of Fr. Gerry Reinersman and our whole parish I would like to thank you for your willingness to be a part of this program. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. May God bless each of you.

Disciple of Christ,

Steven M. Fischer
Coordinator of Religious Education
St. Joseph Parish School of Religion

E-Mail: stjoepsr@hotmail.com

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/stjosephpsr/

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13