First Sunday of Lent

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Please pray for our brothers and sisters

Who Are Ill or in Pain: Maureen Shaw, John Hoffman, Margie Heil, Mary Tamargo, George Shorb, Art McNulty, Lotte Cabral, Don Covello, Louis Baros, Dale Guinn, Bill & Joanne Rodgers, Gary Wood, Mary Helen Carpenter, Helen Murphy, John Beamon, Phil Mohardt, Jeanie Torr, Larry Gomme, Sara Bardoni, Ila Donovan, Abbey Moreno, Alicia Bicoy, Maureen O’Rourke, Valerie Jones, Mel Jones, Andy Jones, Frank Danzart II, Mike Wilson, Erling Ribbing, Janice Miller, Ed Copeland, Victoria Donnellan, Kevin O’Shea, Chuck Lee, Rosa Maria, Don LaPlante, Tom Joyce, Maggie Nelson, Jennifer McGlynn, Fr. Luis.

Who Have Been Called to Eternal Life: Shirley Segar†, mother of St. Elizabeth’s Guild Secretary, Sherilyn Parmeter. Mary Coverdale, Holly Stefens†

READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 18, 2015 2015 Feb 22 SUN: FIRST SUNDAY OFLENT Gn 9: 8-15/ Ps 25: 4-5. 6-7. 8-9/ 1 Pt 3: 18-22/ Mk 1: 12-15 2015 Feb 23 Mon: Lenten Weekday/ Polycarp, bp, mt Lv 19: 1-2. 11-18/ Ps 19: 8. 9. 10. 15/ Mt 25: 31-46 2015 Feb 24 Tue: Lenten Weekday Is 55: 10-11/ Ps 34: 4-5. 6-7. 16-17. 18-19/ Mt 6: 7-15 2015 Feb 25 Wed: Lenten Weekday Jon 3: 1-10/ Ps 51: 3-4. 12-13. 18-19/ Lk 11: 29-32 2015 Feb 26 Thu: Lenten Weekday Est C: 12. 14-16. 23-25/ Ps 138: 1-2ab. 2cde-3. 7c-8/ Mt 7: 7-12 2015 Feb 27 Fri: Lenten Weekday. Day of abstinence from meat (age 14and up). Ez 18: 21-28/ Ps 130: 1-2. 3-4. 5-7a. 7bc-8/ Mt 5: 20-26 2015 Feb 28 Sat: Lenten Weekday Dt 26: 16-19/ Ps 119: 1-2. 4-5. 7-8/ Mt 5: 43-48 2015 Mar 1 SUN: SECOND SUNDAY OFLENT Gn 22: 1-2. 9a. 10-13. 15-18/ Ps 116: 10. 15. 16-17. 18-19/ Rom 8: 31b-34/ Mk 9:2-10

Offerings: Feb 14 & 15, 2015 St. Elizabeth: $ 904 St. Catherine: $ 750 Thank You for your Generosity! St. Colman: No Mass Total: $ 1,654

TODAY: Before possessing the promised land there must first be a time in the desert. What is meant by this? The desert, biblically and mystically, is not so much a physical place, a geography, as a place in the heart. The desert is that place where we go to face our demons, feel our smallness, be in a special intimacy with God, and prepare ourselves for the promised land. Fr. Ron Rolheiser From The Word Embodied, www. http://liturgy.slu.edu/

NO DAILY MASS Tues thru Friday Feb 24—27 due to Fr. Luis’ illness. Any changes will be announced on the website, www.rrchurches.com. Please keep Fr. Luis in your prayers for a speedy recovery. Please Welcome Fr. John Boettcher Thank you Father John for saying masses this week end for our churches. Fr. John is a scripture researcher who travels to Italy and Israel but returns to Lake County to play Jesus in the Lake County Passion Play, produced by Fr. Phillip Ryan. This years dates: May 16th and 17th, 2015 at 4:00 p.m. at The Passion Play Grounds are located at 7010 Westlake Road, Upper Lake, CA 95485 (off Highway 29, about 7 miles north of Lakeport in Lake County). Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Your tax-deductible donation should be made payable to: Lake County Passion Play P. O. Box 386 Lakeport, CA 95453

Upcoming Dates: Feb 24 St. Colman’s Guild Meeting 12:00 PM call Julie LaPlante for location at (707) 788-6066 Mar 21, 5 PM Baptism of Victoria Isais Ortega

Mass Intentions: 2/21 4PM Fr. Luis for health requested by parishioners 2/21 5PM For the Parishioners 2/22 9:00 AM Fr. Luis for health requested by the parishioners 2/22 11:00 AM Fr. Luis for health requested by parishioners 2/28 4PM Lee Torr†, requested by Jeanne Torr & Family 3/1 9AM Shirley Segar†, requested by Francine Korn 3/8 9AM Bill and Josephine Powers, requested by Steve and Janine Powers 4/5 9AM Ray Foley, requested by Steve & Jeanne Power

Deadline for Bulletin news items is Wednesday, 5PM. Email 3churchesecc@gmail.com or phone Irene Deem (707) 486-9683 *Input for TODAY comes from: http://liturgy.slu.edu/6OrdB021515/theword_embodied.html

Parish Website: http://www.RRchurches.com

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Pastor’s Desk: POPE FRANCIS calls for reconciliation with God, Who knows no hypocrisy

Vatican City, 19 February 2015 (VIS) – Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, the Holy Father presided at the traditional penitential procession from the church of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill to the Basilica of St. Sabina, located on the same Roman hill. A number of cardinals, archbishops and bishops also took part, along with the Benedictine monks of St. Anselm, the Dominican fathers of Santa Sabina, and the faithful.

After the procession, Pope Francis presided at the Eucharistic celebration with the rite of the blessing and imposition of the ashes. The Pope received them from the hands of Cardinal Josef Tomko, the titular of the Basilica, and subsequently imposed them upon the cardinals and several monks, consecrated persons and faithful.

In his homily, the Pope commented on the Gospel readings of the Mass, beginning with the passage from the Prophet Joel, sent by God to call the population to penance and conversion following the plague of locusts that devastated Judah. “Only the Lord can save from the scourge, and it is therefore necessary to plead through prayer and fasting, confessing one's own sin”. The prophet insists on inner conversion, begging the population to return to God with all their hearts, which means “undertaking a path of conversion that is not superficial or transitory, but rather a spiritual itinerary that involves the most intimate part of our person. The heart, indeed, is the seat of our sentiments, the center where our decisions and attitudes mature”.

Joel's call is not directed solely at individuals: it is extended to the entire community, and is a convocation to all, paying special attention to the prayer of priests, and reiterating that this must be accompanied by tears. “It does good to all, but especially to priests, at the beginning of this Lenten time, to ask for the gift of ears, so as to make our prayer and our path of conversion ever more authentic and free of hypocrisy”, continued the Pope. “It is good for us to ask: 'Do I weep? Does the Pope weep? Do the cardinals weep? Do the bishops weep? Do priests weep? Do we weep in our prayers?”

This is the message, he emphasized, of today's Gospel reading, in which Jesus rereads the three works of mercy prescribed by the Mosaic Law – almsgiving, prayer and fasting – “which over time have been attacked by the rust of external formalism, or have even mutated into signs of social superiority”. He continued, “Jesus highlights a common temptation in these three works, that can be summarized in hypocrisy (mentioned three times): 'Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them … Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do … And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites … For they love to stand and pray ... that they may be seen by others'. Be aware, brothers, that hypocrites do not know how to weep, they have forgotten how, they do not ask for the gift of tears”.

“When we do something good, almost instinctively there arises in us the desire to be esteemed and admired for this good action, to receive satisfaction from it. Jesus invites us to carry out these works without any ostentation, and to trust solely in the Father's reward”.

“The Lord never ceases to have mercy on us, or to offer his forgiveness once again, whenever we are in need of it, inviting us to turn to him with a renewed heart, purified of evil, purified by tears, in order to participate in His joy. How can we accept this invitation? St. Paul suggests to us: 'We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God'. This effort of conversion is not simply a human task: it is allowing oneself to be reconciled. The reconciliation between us and God is

possible thanks to the mercy of the Father Who, out of love for us, did not hesitate to sacrifice His only Son. … In Him, we can become righteous, in Him we can change, if we welcome God's grace and do not allow the 'favorable time' to pass by in vain. Please, let us stop for a moment and let ourselves be reconciled with God”, exclaimed the Holy Father.

As a sign of our will to be reconciled with God, “aside from the tears that are shed in secret, we make the public gesture of the imposition of the ashes on the forehead. The celebrant pronounces these words: 'For you are dust, and to dust you shall return', or repeats Jesus' exhortation: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel'. Both formulas constitute a reminder of the truth of human existence: we are limited creatures, sinners always in need of penance and conversion. How important it is to hear and heed this call in our time! The invitation to convert thus inspires us to return, like the son in the parable, into the arms of God, tender and merciful Father, to weep in that embrace, to trust in Him and entrust ourselves to Him”.

—from Vatican Information Service

Liturgical Music Corner by our Music Director, Rebecca Brown Feb. 22, First Sunday of Lent “When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him length of days.” God made a covenant with His people: “There shall not be another flood to devastate the earth”. The Great Flood of 40 days was symbolic of baptism; the 40 years in the desert was God purifying His chosen people; Jesus, our God, lived out His covenant with us, fasting for 40 days and night in the desert; and the 40 days of Lent is a time of preparation and purification for those joining the church. When we receive Christ in the Eucharist we get the strength to resist the temptations that He faced and that we face. Amen! Songs for the 9 am Mass: Processional Hymn: Led By the Spirit (BB # 124) Psalm 25: Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant. Gospel Acclamation: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. Preparation of Gifts: God of Creation (SS) Communion Song: With the Lord, There is Mercy (BB # 672) Recessional Song: There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy (BB # 493) The Gloria is omitted during the Lenten season, as is the “Alleluia”, both of which will be brought back in all their glory during the Holy Thursday liturgy. If you wish to donate to the Music Ministry make checks out to St. Elizabeth’s Church and mark them “music ministry.” Thank you for your generous support.

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