Lent prayer, penance, almsgiving - Fr. Louis Bulletin Letter - February 26, 2006
Thank you for your kind wishes and assurances of prayer on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of my 21st birthday! On the Thursday before last, as Northwest Airlines was transporting me back to the Frozen Tundra from balmy Brownsville, Texas, I was waiting at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport anticipating my flight into Mosinee would be cancelled due to the blizzard. So, I decided to get a burger and a beer at one of the airport restaurants. After ordering the beer, the waitress – a college-aged woman – eyeballed me and demanded identification to prove I was over 21! I started to laugh and said to her, “Oh, sweetheart, you just made my day!”
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel’” (Mark 1:15). This proclamation of Jesus of Nazareth at the beginning of His public ministry retains its full rigor and vigor for you and me today! It was in the waters of the Sacrament of Baptism that the Lord purified us from our sins and gave us a new birth in the Holy Spirit (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1262). The season of Lent is that time when we, ever more attentive to the Word of God and prayer, prepare ourselves by penance for the renewal of our baptismal promises at Easter. Besides prayer and penance, the giving of alms to help the poor and needy is a third traditional element for our spiritual renewal in this season. This threefold spiritual program is set out for us by Jesus Himself in Saint Matthew’s Gospel (6:1-18) – the Gospel proclaimed on Ash Wednesday. Please take advantage of the many Lenten opportunities provided for you by Saint Peter’s to ready yourself for the annual celebration of the saving Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Upon my arrival at Saint Peter’s in June I was inundated with requests to return the Saturday afternoon Mass to 4:00 pm. Indeed, for a number of people their first conversation with me was not “Welcome to Saint Peter’s” but “When are we going to get our 4:00 o’clock Mass back!” During these past eight months, nearly 200 parishioners have contacted me personally to communicate their desire for a change. In addition, parishioners spoke with members of our Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Council, and Sacred Worship Committee. My response to the individuals and to these various consultative bodies was the same. It simply does not matter to me what time the Mass is. I will celebrate the Mass at any time that is humanly possible for me and most beneficial pastorally for the greatest number of our parishioners. However, I also noted that I was not going to make any immediate changes in our Mass times since it was not clear that Saint Peter’s was going to be my only pastoral assignment (You will recall that for several months I was the Administrator of the parishes in Junction City, Milladore, and Blenker). Only recently, it was confirmed that, in fact, no changes are going to be made in my pastoral responsibilities in the immediate future. With that settled, I felt free to seek the counsel of our Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Council, and Sacred Worship Committee, who recommended returning the Saturday afternoon Mass to 4:00 o’clock. I have accepted this recommendation and so, effective March 4, the Saturday afternoon liturgical schedule at Saint Peter’s is: Sacrament of Penance (Confession) from 3:00 to 3:45 pm and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 4:00 pm. After four months, this practice will be evaluated to ascertain if the change will be made permanent.
Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!