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Readings for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading I: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Psalm 32

Reading II: 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

Gospel: Mark 1:40-45

The full text of these readings is available at https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021421.cfm. Keep the readings in mind as you ask yourself the questions of the week:

Teens/Adults: Would you have the courage to tell oth-ers about your Christian beliefs?

Children: What can you do this week to be an example to others?

410-592-7071 | Parish website: ssparish.org | 8030 Bradshaw Road, Kingsville, MD 21087

Mission Statement: We, the parish of St. Stephen, will carry out the mission of Jesus Christ as a welcoming, worshiping, Catholic community by sharing, growing and living the Gospel.

St. Stephen Church The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 14, 2021

Intercessions for Sunday, February 14

For our Church leaders, may they be guided by the Ho-ly Spirit in proclaiming the unique meaning of marriage between a man and a woman as a sign of Christ and his bride, the Church, we pray to the Lord…

For all of our Nation's leaders, may they be granted the grace and wisdom to make decisions that please God and align with His will for our nation, we pray to the Lord...

For all essential workers, that God will protect their health as they continually put themselves at risk in ser-vice to others, we pray to the Lord...

For married couples, may they witness the beauty of married life as a participation in God's love and inspire others to lovingly and faithfully live at their vocations, we pray to the Lord...

For all those who have died, especially Elizabeth Walk-er and Agnes Pridgeon, may they be granted eternal rest in God's Heavenly Kingdom, we pray to the Lord…

A leper came to Jesus and kneel-

ing down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.

How does God tend to work? From the very small

to the very great—and by a slow, gradual process. God tends to operate under the radar, on the edges of things, quietly, clandestinely, not drawing attention to himself. C.S. Lewis speaks to this principle. How, he asks, did God enter history? Quietly, in a forgotten corner of the Roman Empire, sneaking behind enemy lines. How did the mighty Franciscan movement come to be? One odd, mystical kid who heard a voice coming from a crucifix: “Francis, rebuild my Church, which is falling into ruin.” A handful of follow-ers joined him in his quixotic project, then dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.

So don’t be afraid to do small things at the prompting of God! Plant the seed, make the move, take the risk—take even the smallest step, and don’t worry about who notices or how much attention you’re getting. Sow the seed and leave the rest to the mercy and providence of God.

Bishop Robert Barron

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February 13 & 14 Mass intentions

4:30 pm (Hall) Dorothy Lahner

6:00 pm Charlotte Lombardi (D)

8:00 am (Hall) Robert Hagen (D)

9:15 am Dolores Sterbinsky

10:30 am (Hall) Parish

The Peace Prayer of St. Francis

We continue in our meditation as we pray,

Where there is sadness, joy:

The secret of Saint Francis’ joyful spirit was his vibrant belief in a God of overflowing goodness and love. Saint Fran-cis was so in love with God that at times he would pick up two sticks from the ground, tuck one under his chin like a violin and move the other over it like a bow. Then, in an ec-stasy of joy, he would sing in French songs of love and praise to God. Francis used to say that he wanted his fol-lowers to go about the world like strolling minstrels, “to inspire the hearts of people and stir them to spiritual joy.” They give us an example to follow in our own day.”

An excerpt from A Closer Look at the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis, Franciscan Spirit Blog by Franciscan Media

The Healing Touch of Jesus

I do will it. Be made clean. (Mark 1:41)

If you suffered from a disease that rotted your flesh and deadened your nerves, as this leper did, you wouldn’t deny your need for healing, would you? No, the problem would be obvious. You’d almost instinctively cry out to the Lord for help. But what about other kinds of wounds that may not be so obvious?

For example, if you tend to overreact or become extremely anxious, even over minor issues, you might need to reach out to Jesus for an emotional healing, perhaps with the help of a trained counse-lor. Maybe you find you are in a difficult relation-ship, one filled with tension and stress. Jesus could heal that relationship by showing you how to love that person better. Or if you’re harboring unfor-giveness and resentment, you may need God’s grace to help you forgive. You might be stuck in a sin pattern that you don’t want to face, and so you avoid bringing it into the light and receiving God’s mercy in Confession.

It’s tempting to think that we can handle such situ-ations on our own. Or we might not even recognize that these are things that Jesus can heal. But what Jesus said to the man in this story, he says to us: “I do will it. Be made clean.” (Mark 1:41). He wants to heal us of anything that does not reflect his will for our lives.

Today, ask the Holy Spirit to help you become aware of just one area of your life in which you need His healing touch. How might unhealed wounds be holding you back or causing pain to yourself or someone around you? How might they be leading you away from God and into sin?

We all accumulate wounds as we go through life, so don’t get discouraged. Like this man with leprosy, just believe that Jesus has the will -- and the power – to heal whatever ails you.

“Jesus, I need your healing touch today.”

The Word among Us, February 14, 2021

Ash Wednesday Masses

Lent begins on February 17, Ash Wednes-day. Masses that day are as follows:

7:30 AM in person, in the Church (this will be live-streamed)

4:30 PM in person, in the Hall

7:00 PM in person, in the Hall

Use the Sign Up Genius to reserve your spot at Mass.

Distribution of Ashes will be different this year. The priest will bless the ashes, then he will say the formula as it appears in the Roman Missal only once, applying it to everyone present: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall re-turn.” The priest or eucharistic minister will then cleanse his hands, put on a face mask and distribute the ashes to those who come to him, using a new cotton swab for each person.

Kenya Day ~ Sunday, April 25

Please mark your calendar for this date to celebrate our annual Kenya Day Mass as we unite in spirit with our sis-ter parish in Mombasa, Kenya and honor 22 years of our partnership. Though we are not yet sure if we will be able to gather in person or online, we hope to mark the day with special prayers and celebrations! More info will be forthcoming.

The Blessing of the Sick and the commission of Friendly Callers has been rescheduled to Friday, February 19 at 7:30am Mass.

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Our Parish Family Please pray for the repose of the souls of:

Elizabeth Walker

Agnes Pridgeon

Respect Life Baby Shower Thank you to all who have already given us generous donations to our annual baby shower! We are grateful for your kindness to moms and babies in need.

Because we’ve had snow the last two Sun-days, the baby shower has been extended to this weekend. Please leave your gifts in the bins located outside the Church basement door. If you’d prefer to make a monetary donation, put a check in an envelope marked “baby shower” and place it in the collection basket, or do-nate on our parish online giving page, and put “baby shower” in the “how you would like to designate your offering” space.

Troop 877 First Aid Kits Fundraiser!

Sports, Pets, Auto, Home, you name it, we have a kit! See our flyer on the parish website for details.

Orders and checks made out to Troop 877 are due by February 21. Mail directly to Cindy Stevens at: Cindy Stevens, P O Box 192,Fallston, MD 21047. Delivery of Kits in mid-March. Thank you for supporting our Scouts’ efforts to go to summer camp and High Adven-tures by purchasing kits.

Parish Pastoral Council Elections

We are looking for candidates to stand for election in May to fill three-year terms on the Parish Pastoral Council beginning June 2021. Any interested candidate must (1) have attained the age of sixteen years by the date of elections; (2) be baptized, confirmed, and offi-cially registered as a member of the parish in good standing; (3) maintain a posture not inconsistent with Church teachings; and (4) be a contributing member of the parish. If you are interested in being a candidate, know of someone who may be interested, or just want additional information, please contact Drew Bonthron at 410-877-3816 or email drew.bonthron@gmail.com by March 8, 2021.

During Lent, we are being asked to pray for the seminarians of the Archdiocese of Balti-more, a different one each day. Here are the names for this week:

Ash Wednesday, February 17: Daniel Acquard

Thursday, February 18: Andres Acuna

Friday, February 19: Maurice Sunde Afor

Saturday, February 20: John Anderson

Best Lent Ever

This Lent, let’s not focus on what we give up. Let’s fo-cus on who God wants us to be-come. Join your fellow parishioners for Dynamic Catholic’s Best Lent Ever. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through the forty days of Lent, you will receive an email and short video from Matthew Kelly based on his book, I Heard God Laugh, to help you reflect and encourage you on your own personal journey throughout this Lenten season.

The program is completely free, and signing up is easy: just visit BestLentEver.com, enter your name and email address, and you’re ready to go!

If there are people in your life who you think would ben-efit from this program—invite them to sign up as well. This is a wonderful program, and the only thing that could make it better is doing it with someone you love.

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Q & A

Q: Why does Jesus say not to tell of his miracle in

Mark 1: 43-44?

A: The most commonsense answer is practical con-

cerns. Many times in the Gospels after Jesus per-forms a miracle of healing, crowds gather around him, making it nearly impossible for him to move around (Matt. 8:18, Mark 1:45).

Mark 1 tells of a leper who is cured. Jesus instructs him to not to tell anyone but to go immediately to the priests and perform the prescribed cleansing. Jesus wants the priests to be the first to hear of the miracle. This was to be proof for the priests of the legitimacy of Jesus’ ministry.

Perhaps Jesus did not want the man to tell anyone because Jesus did not want his enemies among the priests to have time to prepare a counterargument to the miracle. If they knew ahead of time that the man was coming, they could conspire to cast doubt on the story or its details.

Fr. Charles Grondin, Catholic Answers (Catholic.com)

If you would like to contribute to the poor box, put your donation in an envelope marked “for the poor box.” You can mail it to the parish or put it in an offering basket at Mass. You can also contribute through our on line giving program; put "Poor Box" in the comments space.

Lenten Speaker Series We invite you to enter into Lent more deeply by participating in our annual speaker se-ries. Each of the 3 sessions planned for this year (on Feb. 28, March 14 and March 21) will offer insights into spiritual themes that impact our lives, with a Franciscan perspective. You can attend one, two, or all three. These are virtual meetings; see below for ways to attend.

February 28: Speaker Series Presents: Navigating COVID – 19: The “Land of Not Knowing” As we live into the challenging reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and its unfolding im-pact on our daily existence, we find ourselves living each day in the “Land of Not Know-ing!” We have come to realize how this new reality has impacted our body, mind, and spirit. Eleven months in, we are very aware of Covid-19’s devastating effect on every aspect of our lives, particularly our mood and our relationships with others. Our healthy experi-ence of human connections has drastically changed.

Bombarded with statistics, death tolls, quarantine guidelines, overwhelming media coverage, we may be experiencing feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, anger, powerlessness, grief and loss. You are invited to take some time apart to reflect on your own personal experience of this pandemic, on the feelings that it engenders within, and how we can intentionally frame our response through the lenses of positive thinking, hope, and gratitude.

Our presenter is Sr. Lynn Lavin, OSF, PhD, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, is a therapist, spir-itual director, group consultant, and facilitator, residing and working in Wilmington, DE.

All Speaker Series presentations will be online at Noon - 1:15pm. Please register at the Sign Up Genius link or call the Parish Center for help at 410-592-7071. A Zoom link will be provided after you register. You can call in to the talk from a regular phone; you won't be able to see the speaker, but you will be able to hear the presentation and gain Sister’s insights.

Questions? Contact Sr. Angela (redsdef@comcast.net or 410-592-8666) or Drew Bonthron (drew.bonthron@gmail.com or 410-877-3816 )

We Are Called Join our faith community—and more than 12,000 Catholic communities across the United States—in a life-changing Lenten journey with CRS Rice Bowl.

Pick up your family’s CRS Rice Bowl at Mass this weekend, then during the 40 days of Lent, we will reflect on how hunger and malnutrition affect our human family, and on the need to take action to end this global injustice. Visit crsricebowl.org to learn more.

At the end of Lent, please convert your Rice Bowl offering to a donation online at crsricebowl.org/give. If you are un-able to donate electronically, please convert your coins and cash to a check made payable to Catholic Relief Services or CRS, put it in an envelope labelled “rice bowl,” and drop your check in the collection basket after Mass. Thank you!