Mass Schedule

Lord’s Day: Saturday Vigil: 6:00 pm; Sunday: 8:00 & 10:30 am, 1:00 pm (Español)

Weekday: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:00 am; Wed. 6:30 pm

Holy Days: Feast Day 12:15 pm & 6:00 pm & 7:15 pm (SP)

Ministries & Organizations Parish Council, Ryan Haynes President .............. 659-2110 Nick Hillman ............................... 659-5619 Jim Guckien ............................... 659-3824 Michael Reynolds ...............317-439-0005 Bev Cearley ................................ 481-8055 Diana Hernández ....................... 490-7223 Dr. Joseph Dominik……… ………..659-1412 Kat Bell .............................. 765-278-8525 Juan Luis Campos ..............765-656-9345 Scott Laird .................................. 242-9210 Finance Council Chairperson, Jenny Neal .................................. 279-8338 Ladies of Charity, Ann Clark .................................... 654-6796 Altar & Rosary Society, Bev Cearley ................................ 481-8055 Knights of Columbus, Tom Dickerson ........................... 242-5323 Stewardship Committee, Sheila Morris .............................. 242-6008 Prayer Chain, Ann Clark .................................... 654-6796 Parish Nurses, Sharon Hayden ...................765-242-4877 Suilon Benjamin ........................ 436-7627 Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Frankfort Arlene Bowyer…………………..…….418-3435 Music Director, Ann Konopa……………..…………….242-4195 Altar Servers Parish Office…………………………..654-5796

Parish Information Devotions First Friday: Mass at 8:00 am & 6:00 pm

Holy Hours with Exposition & Benediction: Every Wednesday: Holy Hour for Peace in our World 5:30-6:30 pm.

Parish Office & Staff Phone ...................................... 765-654-5796 Fax .......................................... 765-654-6589 E-Mail ............. stmaryfrankfort@gmail.com Website ................... saintmarysfrankfort.org Pastor, ………………..….Rev. Christopher Miller Business Manager,………...………….Lori Stover Secretary/Outreach ................. Karen Haynes

Director Religious Education, Lori Stover & Yuri Hernández

John Paul II Office........................... 654-2913 E-Mail…………..stmarysjohnpaul@gmail.com

St. Mary’s C A T H O L I C C H U R C H

600 SAINT MARY’S AVENUE • FRANKFORT, INDIANA

Fr. Christopher Miller, Pastor

March 31, 2019 ● Fourth Sunday of Lent

DIOCESE OF LAFAYETTE-IN-INDIANA

Parish Bulletin Deadline Tuesday 10:00 am at the Parish office. Call us at 765-654-5796 or Email us at stmaryfrankfort@gmail.com

To view our bulletin on-line go to our web site at: saintmarysfrankfort.org.

Confessions Wednesday 5:30-6:15 pm; Saturday 4:00-5:00 pm or by appointment.

Parish Pastoral Council Meeting The third Wednesday of each month September through May at 7:30 pm Muller Hall

Matrimony Any parishioner contemplat-ing marriage in the Catholic Church must be a practicing Catholic. Father must be contacted before a date can be set or halls are rented. The diocese requires a mini-mum six month preparation period.

Baptism Each Sunday after 10:30 am Mass (English). After 1:00 pm Mass (Español) and dur-ing all Masses by request. Please see Father after Mass. Pre-baptismal class by special arrangement.

Communion to the Sick & Shut-ins Each Sunday and First Friday.

R.C.I.A. Thinking of becoming Catholic? Contact Kathy Perry, 654-5455

New Parishioners and Guests We offer a warm welcome to all who are celebrating with us this weekend. If you are new to the parish, please contact the office so we may greet you properly.

The Pastor’s Message Sisters and brothers, Rembrandt gave the world a stunning painting depicting the father’s embrace of his prodigal son. I love this painting so much that we have a print of this painting in our confessional in the back of the church, a very good place for it. I invite you to take a look at it on your way out of church today. In the painting, and some of you may recall I have shared this with you before, the prodigal son is on his knees with a disheveled look and a shaved head. He looks like a man who just returned from a concentration camp, a man who lost all individuality, like a man whose name, whose identity, had been replaced with a number. Meanwhile, there is the father whose presence is central to the painting. There is a luminosity that comes forth from the father as he embraces his lost son. The Father’s face gives the impression he may be a blind man, blind in his love for his wayward son. Meanwhile, there are three men in the background that are looking on with a sense of disbelief. One of these men is the elder brother. Fr. Henri Nouwen wrote a wonderful book entitled, “The Return of the Prodigal Son”. During a particularly bleak time in his life, he had the chance to see a copy of Rembrandt’s painting. The painting captivated him because of the tenderness the father demonstrates in his loving embrace of his long lost son. Nouwen even made a trip to St. Petersburg just so he could spend some time meditating on the original painting on display at an art gallery there. During his meditations on Rembrandt’s work, Nouwen initially identified himself with the lost son. I believe we all do this, yes? The story of the prodigal son is a parable after all. During his ministry, the Lord stressed our need for repentance. Humanity as a whole can be compared with the lost son, squandering our divine inheritance, misusing the gifts God has given us, as individuals, and as a people. One would only need to open the newspaper or turn on the television to count the ways. Through conversion, humanity can return to the Father in humility and repentance. What reception could we expect from our Father in heaven? Jesus seems to be suggesting, a warm embrace and what might be described as a love, blind with passion for us. If we enter into this level of contemplation, our time will be well spent. Nouwen suggests even deeper levels of meaning to this parable. At the beginning of the story, the prodigal son asks for his father’s inheritance. To better understand the implications of this request, Nouwen quotes the work of Kenneth Baily, who wrote, “For over fifteen years I have been asking people of all walks of life from Morocco to India and from Turkey to the Sudan about the implications of a son’s request for his inheritance while the father is still living. The answer has always been emphatically the same...the conversation runs as follows. Has anyone ever made such a request in your village? Never! Could anyone ever make such a request? Impossible! If anyone did, what would happen? The father would beat him, of course! Why? The request means –he wants his father to die.” The son’s request signifies his intention to be completely cut off from his family name, from his home, and from his present identity. In place of the identity given to him at his birth, he wants to define his own identity by following his

appetites. He exchanges the unconditional love of his father, for the very conditional love of the world around him. The father says, “I love you unconditionally”. The world says, “I love you IF you are attractive, I love you IF you are intelligent, and I love you IF you are wealthy. I love you IF you produce much, sell much and buy much.” Because we can never ultimately measure up to the world’s IF’s, the world’s conditional expectations, Nouwen writes, “As long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain “hooked” to the world –trying, failing, and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart.” Addictions, like accumulation of wealth and power, attainment of status and admiration, lavish consumption of food and drink, and sexual gratification without distinguishing between lust and love. Nouwen writes, “As long as we live within the world’s delusions, our addictions condemn us to futile quests in ‘the distant country’”. We have wandered away from our Father’s home, much like the son who departed from his father’s home in a false search for individuality. The son comes home to the father emaciated and disheveled. He has a shaved head that ironically signifies his loss of his individuality, shredded by the demands of popular culture. Brothers and sisters, Lent is a great time to ask ourselves, how are we like the prodigal son? Nouwen suggests however something rather profound. How many of us can see ourselves as the elder brother who can be a bit irritated with the father’s affection toward his sinful son? The parable invites us to ask ourselves, how are we like the elder brother, judgmental, condemning, self-righteous toward a family member, a coworker, to those who are experiencing homelessness, maybe even towards a public person? How often do we harbor grudges, judgmental of the father’s prodigal love and forgiveness? Nouwen suggests, however, even something more profound. Whether or not we can identify better with the prodigal son or the elder brother, we are all called to embrace our vocation as Christians to be like the father who embraces his prodigal son. We must transcend our inclination of selfishly seeking pleasure after pleasure, that cannot fulfill the heart. We must transcend our inclination to harbor grudges. We must resist the temptation to judge others. God can forgive, why can’t we? We are challenged to identify with the father, who although wounded by the sins of his son, pines for his prodigal son to return. He is hurt by the sins of one so close, but rather than holding a grudge, he prays rather for his conversion. Although the forgiveness cannot happen until the loved one comes home, the father nevertheless prays for that day, each and every day. When the son returns, it is like Easter morning, “my son was dead and now he is alive. Thanks be to God.” During this season of Lent, through our penance, we come home to the Father. In our prayer, we let go of our grudges and intercede for and rejoice at the coming home of all who have turned away from the Father’s love. And through our works of charity, we embody the generous heart of the Father. This Easter, all those parts of us that have been spiritually dead, may they come alive, in the love of God. With peace and prayers, Fr. Chris

2 Welcome to St. Mary’s Catholic Church!

Confirmation News

March 31, 2019 1. 4:00PM – Practice Session for Sacrament of Confirmation 2. Meet in church 3. Sponsor attendance is required 4. Please join us for refreshments in Muller Hall afterwards

April 3, 2019 - Wednesday · 6:00PM – Sacrament of Confirmation

· 5:40PM - Meet in church early

· Celebration in Muller Hall afterwards

Stations of the Cross Every Friday during Lent we continue to pray the Stations of the Cross at 7 pm in the church. Praying the Stations with the Church is a power-ful way to remember the love that Jesus showed us on that Friday we dare to call “Good”, good because it brought about our salvation, our free-dom, but at Oh, so great a cost. Praying the Stations helps us remember how much our God loves us, and it invites us to follow in the way of his love, to make His way our way, for He is the Way, the only way that leads to

eternal life. Come join us on the Fridays of Lent to thank the Lord for the great gift of his life, poured out for us.

K of C is in need of Dessert Donations: Muller Hall will be open by noon on Friday to accept the de-serts. Please drop off desserts by 4 pm. Join us every Friday during Lent for delicious fish and fellowship with other parishioners and com-munity members. Serving will be from 4:30—7:00

pm, in Muller Hall. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for chil-dren 12 and under. Carry out is available.

Soul Food for Lent on Thursday

We are well on our way with A Lent to Remember. It’s never too late to dive into the desert! Please join us, every Thursday during Lent, as the A&R offers some "Soul Food," both literally and spiritually! Each week

we'll offer soup, and a program on Formed, at 6:30pm, in Mul-

ler Hall. EVERYONE is welcome!

K of C Fish Fry: Join us every Friday during Lent for delicious fish and fellowship with other parishion-ers and community members. Serving will be from 4:30—7:00 pm, in Muller Hall. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Workers for April 5: Tom & Marcia Dickerson,

Mark & June Timmons, Tony & Amy Del Real, Steve & Cookie Weber, Steve & Pat Moore, and Doc & Tina Heath. Donations of desserts is appreciated. Drop off in Muller Hall by 4:00 pm each week.

No Religious Ed.

Classes on March

31st.

This week, we take up The Catholic Relief Services Collec-tion to help Jesus in disguise. This collection helps six Catholic agencies provide relief and support to struggling communities and work for peace and reconciliation among our mar-ginalized brothers and sisters here and around the world. Please prayerfully consider how you can

support the collection. Learn more about the collection at www.usccb.org/catholic-relief.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion: We are looking for additional Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for all the Masses. The ministry of Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is very important for a parish. They assist at the Lord’s Day Masses, daily Masses, communion services in Fa-ther’s absence; and some take communion to our shut-ins each Sunday. You will be thoroughly trained. Scheduling can be handled according your schedule.

Please take some time to pray about if this ministry could be for you.

Please see Father Chris if you feel called to this ministry. Please note: All current Extraordinary Ministers (including those who take to the shut-ins) who wish to continue in this min-istry for another year are to notify Betty Ramos or the parish of-fice by Wednesday, April 24. All names are then sent to the bish-op’s office.

If you wish to be removed from this ministry, please notify us!

First Friday Adoration, April 5 This Friday, being the first Friday of the month, there will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament all day, beginning after the 8 a.m. Mass, and end-ing at 5:45 p.m. with Benediction. A Mass in Span-ish will follow at 6 p.m. There is a sign-up sheet in

the entryway, if you can commit to a half-hour of adoration. It is a wonderful gift to our world, that we spend time here in silent adoration before our God.

Altar & Rosary will meet on Thursday, April 4, at 6:30pm, in Muller Hall. Come and join us for soup and a short meeting.

Bishop Doherty and Confirmation This Wednesday, Bishop Doherty will be here to celebrate Mass and confirm 65 youth of our parish. The Mass will be at 6 pm. Everyone is invited.

The Movie “Unplanned” opens next weekend at Eastside 10 and there is a challenge with our protestant brother and sisters to see who can fill the theaters with more color (blue for Catholics, pink for protestants) and while doing so, make a big impact on movie sales that will in turn promote more films that speak the values and truths that Christ has taught us all.

This Week in the Parish

April 1: K of C, 7:00 pm, Muller Hall April 3: Confirmation Mass, 6:00pm,Church April 4: Grupo de Oracion, 6 pm, Church Altar & Rosary, Short Meeting W/Soul Food, Soup & Reflection, 6:30pm, Muller April 5: First Friday, Adoration all-day, Church K of C Fish Fry, 4:30— 7pm, Muller Hall Station of The Cross, 7 pm, Church April 7: Religious Ed (Grades 1-9), 9:00 am, JPII Café Corner, 9:00 am, Muller Hall Children Initiation Class, 11:40-12:50, JPII Religious Ed, 9th Grade, 11:40-12:50, JPII

Extraordinary Ministers April 6: 6:00 pm Kathy & Scott Laird, Kathy Perry April 7: 8:00 am Karen Haynes, Jim & Judy Clark 10:30 am Lori Stover, Arlene & Tom Bowyer April 13:6:00 pm Kathy & Mary Laird, Dan Weber April 14:8:00 am Travis Hofmann, Karen & Steve Walter 10:30 am Jason D, Linda Fields, Terry Sandoval

Altar Servers

April 6: 6:00 pm Mary Laird, Kat Bell April 7: 8:00 am Garrett, Mason McGraw, Yahir Ruiz 10:30 am Sydney C, Isaac G, Christopher A. April 13:6:00 pm Evan, Jack & Lucy Hueslkamp April 14:8:00 am Dalilah Diaz, Shelbie H, Adam H. 10:30 am Tessa Valenia, Alli & Max Adair

Readers April 6: 6:00 pm Annette Loveless April 7: 8:00 am Mike McGraw 10:30 am Jeff Stover April 13:6:00 pm Scott Laird/Patty Butler April 14:8:00 am Carla Strong/ Ryan Haynes 10:30 am Jo Warrick/ Joe Dominik

Greeters April 6: 6:00 pm Steve Weber April 7: 8:00 am Bob & Carol Baker 10:30 am Suilon Benjamin April 13:6:00 pm Hollye & Beau Seals April 14:8:00 am Mike & Sandy Hawn 10:30 am Jo Moyer

Song Leader/Musician April 7: 8:00 am Carolyn Rabensteine 10:30 am Ann Clark Apr.14: 8:00 am Scott Laird 10:30 am Ann Clark

Vincentian Reflections: March 31

In today’s Gospel the prodigal son repents and finds mercy in the heart of his father. Know that your penance during Lent can give the poor the grace of finding the merciful heart of

God the Father.

Jesus, help us to have ears to hear the “cries of the poor,” help us to have eyes to “seek and find the forgotten,

the suffering or the deprived,” and help us to have hearts that “bring God’s love to the poor”, Amen

We are in formation Tuesday, April 9th & April 23rd at 7pm in JPII. All are Welcome.

Monday, April 1: Lenten Weekday

8:00 am † All Souls

Tuesday, April 2: St. Francis of Paola

8:00 am † All Souls

Wednesday, April 3: Lenten Weekday

No Adoration

6:00 pm † All Souls

Thursday, April 4: St. Isidore

8:00 am † All Souls

Friday, April 5: St. Vincent Ferrer & First Friday

8:00 am Special Int. (CM)

7:00 pm Stations of the Cross

Saturday, April 6: Lenten Weekend

Vigil Mass: Palm Sunday

6:00 pm † All Souls

Sunday, April 7: LORD’S DAY MASSES

8:00 am † All Souls

10:30 am For The Parish

1:00 pm † Luis Pozo

The Altar Linens are picked up and laundered each week by several ladies. Picking up Mar.31: Nora Jackson Picking up April 7: Marilu Castillo Please return linens by Saturday afternoon. Thank you

Needed weekly to meet the budget…...……….$4,980.77

Last Week’s Collection .................................... $3,502.00

WE ARE A STEWARDSHIP PARISH

Being a sign of God’s love to others, we know that our gifts of

treasure are essential to our mission of following the loving path of

Jesus. Our faith in the future urges us to continue the journey of

gratitude, holiness and service.

Please remember St. Mary’s in your Will.

Food Pantry List We are in need of the following items: ¨ Deluxe Mac N Cheese

¨ Applesauce

These items may be dropped off in the entry of the Church or brought by the office during office hours. Check out the

website for daily needs.

saintmarysfrankfort.org