THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

MASS READINGS

MONDAY: 2 SM 7:4-5A,12-14A,16, PS 89, ROM

4:13,16-18,22, MT 1:16,18-21,24A

TUESDAY: NM 21:4-9, PS 102, JN 8:21-30

WEDNESDAY: DN 3:14-20,91-92,95, DN 3, JN 8:31-

42

THURSDAY: GN 17:3-9, PS 105, JN 8:51-59

FRIDAY: JER 20:10-13, PS 18, JN 10:31-42

SATURDAY: EZ 37:21-28, JER 31, JN 11:45-56

NEXT SUNDAY: PALM SUNDAY OF THE

LORD’S PASSION-RDGS: MK 11:1-10, IS 50:4-7,

PS 22, PHIL 2:6-11, MK 14:1-15:47

MASS INTENTIONS

MONDAY: KATHY LESTER

TUESDAY: JENNY SALVIO

WEDNESDAY: FR. GEORGE ASKAR

THURSDAY: JOHN SCOWDEN

FRIDAY: POOR SOULS

VIGIL: KATHY LESTER

7:30: CHARLIE & CATHERINE SPITZNAGLE

10:00: JOHN RENN

NOON: FOR THE PARISH

MEMORIAL FLOWERS

For the Holy Father, all priests, deacon & religious:

Kathleen Duffy. Farrell & LaGuire families. Ed & Judy

Buckles. (Gene & Genevieve Bullock, HanK & Jean

Corbin). Dorothy Nelson. (Marge, Mike & Ann Kirsch,

Chuck Wallpe). (Claude & Anna King, Bob & Mary

Bloyd). Jane Clapp. Marvin Anthrop. Charles Connor.

Deceased members of the Schlosser & Kanthack fami-

lies.

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat;

but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

We might never be inclined to make the connection between

being “glorified” and “dying” were it not for the Christ. With-

out him we are very busy to keep the distinction apparent by

foolishly pursuing those things the world directs us to consid-

er as “glorifying”, e.g. looks, money, reputation etc. None of

these things are even remotely connected to death, that is if we

have any say about it. On the contrary, we spend a great deal

of time and money avoiding the issue of death in connection

with the things the world presents to us a “glorifying”. But

with Christ it is a different story. He has shown us that in

death itself is glory, or should we say that passing through

death but trusting in the Father is glory. That death is inevita-

ble for all of us is a given but the manner in which we treat it

and its “relations”, growing old, becoming frail and weak,

losing self-mastery, in short falling to the natural unfolding of

life will certainly reveal the depth and quality of our faith.

Jesus invites us to die in a variety of ways long before our bio-

logical process begins to remind us of this eventuality. From

the moment we are able to listen and obey he tells us to deny

ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. He told the rich

young man to sell all his possessions and follow him. He tells

the disciples to begin a life of service after his example. In

short he begins to instruct us in the way of “dying” perhaps

long before our bodies begin to wear out. And, as if to turn to

the aged as well Jesus encourages them not to give up hope.

In their struggle with old age and all that comes with it he

gives us an example to accept the care of others as he allowed

others to minister to him in time of need. Thus, reminding us

that to allow others the opportunity to serve is in itself remov-

ing ourselves from the equations and letting their lights shine

before men. As we live the Christian life we are learning how

to die in a variety of ways, but we are also learning how to

live. Jesus, after all told us that he came to bring life and

bring it in abundance. This life becomes apparent through

our acceptance of pain and suffering, through our self-less

service to others and so forth. In short when we die we begin

to live. Of course, we will only discover this if we truly try it.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

CHRIST THE GRAIN OF WHEAT

By: Rev. Paul Scalia

At the beginning of Holy Week, Jesus places an image in the

minds of the disciples to describe and explain the coming

events: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls

to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it

dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn 12:26). This one verse illumi-

nates both the doctrine of the Paschal Mystery and how we are

to live it.

The grain of wheat must give itself up to a kind of death in order

to bear fruit. Its dying is the principle and cause of new life.

The seed must allow itself to be penetrated by the earth, yielding

itself to the invasion of the soil and the power of its nutrients.

Only through this dying comes new life. Of course, this all

sounds quite painful, and the grain would cry out if it could. But

it must happen. And if the seed hardens itself against the pain of

this dying, if it refuses to give way to the soil, then it remains

“just a grain of wheat.” Or, according to another translation, it

remains “alone.”

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies… Jesus is

describing Himself. The relation between our Lord’s death and

resurrection is not chronological but causal. We believe that

through His death He rose to new life. His death is the principle

and cause of this new life. He yielded Himself to the Father’s

will and all it contained – the betrayal and denial, torture and

ridicule, scourging and crowning, nailing and piercing. He al-

lowed Himself to be pierced. And without that yielding to the

soldier’s lance, new life does not flow from His side.

St. Paul says, He was “obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

And the Apostle continues: “Because of this, God greatly exalt-

ed him…” (Phil 2:8-9). Not merely after, but because. This is

the heart of our doctrine: Jesus’ death merits the Resurrection,

both His and ours. His death is the perfect atoning sacrifice,

which alone pays the debt of sin and loosens us from the bonds

of death, the ultimate debtors prison. “He bore the punishment

that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed” (Is 53:5).

Our participation in this mystery follows the same pattern:

“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains

just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Un-

like that grain of wheat, we must knowingly and willingly

choose to fall to the ground and to die. What does this mean?

It means, first of all, a kind of burial. Just as the grain must be-

come unseen, so what gives us life is unseen. We must be atten-

tive not to the surface but to the interior. “For you have died,

and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3). This re-

quires suffering a certain neglect or scorn from the world – be-

ing overlooked by those whom the world deems important.

It brings the mortification of not having, prizing or seek-

ing what everyone else values and esteems. It means be-

coming, like the grain of wheat, buried. We must become

part of the earth – humus in Latin. Thus it means humili-

ty, even humiliation.

Being like a grain of wheat means giving way to God so

that life can come. As the grain does to the soil, so we

yield ourselves to God’s initiative, to the grace and truth

of Christ. We have to give way to Him and allow His

grace to break and penetrate us, to determine our

thoughts, words, and actions. It demands yielding to His

truth – not insisting on our own, self-enclosed way of

thinking but giving way to His doctrine, which both

breaks us but also frees us for a greater reality. If we re-

fuse to give way to what is asked of us, then we render

ourselves sterile, incapable of bearing fruit.

Unlike the grain of wheat, we have free will. We can

refuse all this. We can harden ourselves to the soil that

seeks to break into us and render us fruitful. And if we do

so, if we refuse be buried (humbled) and reject any dying

to ourselves, then we remain just a grain of wheat…alone.

Intimacy in relationships only comes by this burial and

death. New life comes only from the choice not to insist

on oneself, from the decision to yield ourselves to God’s

will, truth, and grace.

The pattern of our Lord’s life-giving death and glorious

Resurrection is ours as well. May we imitate Him in

humble obedience, willingly being buried and yielding

ourselves to Him – so that through such a death we may

bear much fruit.

Refrain Unless a grain of wheat shall fall up-on the ground and die,

It remains but a single grain with no life. Verses

1. If we have died with him, then we shall live with him; if we hold firm, we shall reign with him.

2. If any one serves me, then they must follow me;

wherever I am, my servants will be.

3. Make your home in me as I make mine in you; those who remain in me bear much fruit.

4. If you remain in me and my word lives in you; then you will be my disciples.

5. Those who love me are loved by my Father; we shall be with them and dwell in them.

6. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; peace which the world can-not give is my gift.

© Bernadette Farrell 1984.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

Take up your cross, the Savior said,

If you would my disciple be;

Take up your cross with willing heart,

And humbly follow after me.

Take up your cross, heed not the shame

And let your foolish pride be still;

The Lord for you accepted death

Upon the cross, on Calvary’s hill

Take up your cross, then, in Christ’s

strength,

And calmly every danger brave;

It guides you to abundant life

And leads to victory o’er the grave.

A Prayer to Die to Self-Will

By Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth

and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever

loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will

keep it for eternal life.”—John 12:24-25

When Satan rebelled, there were now two “wills” in the universe.

From now on, one of God’s creatures would oppose the Almighty—

unsuccessfully, to be sure—in all that he would do. And a drop of

Satan’s rebellion has fallen on every human heart. If we expect to be

mightily used by God, there must be a time when we “die to self” as

the saying goes. This means that we are no longer driven by our repu-

tations, our successes, or by our possessions. Only one thing matters:

God and His glory.

Just imagine: all jealously ends, all complaining ends, and we no

longer compete with others because we want to “show them a thing

or two!” We are content with where God has placed us and we no

longer strive to be recognized, praised, or admired.

This dying to self is both an act and a process. Or, perhaps more ac-

curately, it happens through many acts of dedication and surrender.

We come to a point where we no longer fight with God and chafe

under His mighty hand.

In Egypt, grain was found in the pyramids that had been lying in dry

darkness for thousands of years. The grain grew when put into soil

with water and sunshine! The life was in the kernels for thousands of

years but they remained alone and could not bear fruit because they

had not “died.” Jesus wants us to “fall into the soil” and “die,” so to

speak, so that the life of the Holy Spirit can break forth within us.

The result? Jesus said, “We bear much fruit.”

Let Us Pray

Father, I pray that I might finally come to the end of self-rule. I con-

fess that I am driven by the need for the approval of others, the need

to be recognized, and the need to assert myself for my own good and

self-aggrandizement. Today, I lay all that at Your feet and pray that I

might die to my own self-generated plans; may only Yours matter.

I also pray for ____ and ask that they might be brought in submission

before You. I pray that You will bring circumstances into their lives

that will force them to lay down the weapons of a rebel and submit to

Your authority and Lordship. Like a seed with no agenda of its own,

may they be willing to die and let You grow them for Your glo-

ry and honor.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let the sufferings of your Divine Redeemer be deeply im-

pressed on your heart, and be assured that He, the Good

Shepherd, will conduct you as a cherished lamb to His divine

fold. And what is the fold of this amiable Shepherd? It is the

bosom of His heavenly Father. -- St. Paul of the Cross

I want to follow you and be like you, O my Jesus; I would

rather be crucified with you than enjoy all the pleasures of

this world without you. -- St. Bernadette Soubirous

You see plainly that I do not mean to advise you to perform

great austerities, but rather generously to mortify your pas-

sions and inclinations, detaching your heart and emptying it

of all that is earthly, and exercising charity towards your

neighbor and liberality towards the poor. -- St. Margaret

Mary Alacoque

Do not deceive yourself, you will obtain nothing except at the

very point of the sword. That is to say, you must do violence

to self, and be of the number of those who take Heaven by

storm. -- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Prayer with tears, and having no scorn for anyone, destroy

pride; but so do chastisements inflicted against our will. --

St. Thalassios the Libyan

You have been sentenced to eat the bread of spiritual

knowledge with toil, struggle and the sweat of your face

(Gen. 3:19) -- St. Thalassios the Libyan

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

I live without living in myself,

and in such a way do I hope,

that I die because I do not die.

I live now outside of myself

for I die of love;

because I live in the Lord

who claimed me for himself;

when I gave him my heart

I put in it this sign:

I die because I do not die.

This divine prison of love

with which I live

has made God my captive,

and my heart free;

and to see God as my prisoner

causes in me such a passion

that I die because I do not die.

Oh, how long is this life!

How hard these exiles,

this jail, these iron bars

in which the soul is put!

Just awaiting my departure

causes in me such a pain,

that I die because I do not die.

Oh, how bitter this life

where one does not enjoy the

Lord!

For if love is sweet,

long waiting is not.

God, take this burden from me,

more heavy than steel,

for I die because I do not die.

I live only with the confidence

that I have to die,

because upon dying, my hope

assures me of life.

Death, where living extends itself,

do not delay, for I await you,

for I die because I do not die.

See that love is strong,

life, be not bothersome to me;

see that the only thing that is left

for you

to gain yourself is to loose yourself.

Let sweet death come now,

death come swiftly,

for I die because I do not die.

That life above

is the true life;

until this life dies,

one doesn’t savor being alive.

Death, don’t evade me;

live dying first,

for I die because I do not die.

Life, what can I give

my God, who lives in me,

if not the loosing of you,

to enjoy him more?

I want to attain him dying,

for so much do I love my Lover,

that I die because I do not die.

St. Teresa of Avila

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

What is RCIA? Are you interested in knowing more about the Catholic

way of life? Follow your heart and join us on the journey

of Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Just because you

start RCIA, doesn't mean you are committed to finished.

If you are merely curious about what Catholicism is,

please feel free to come. All are welcome. The journey

involves learning about the teachings and traditions of the

Church as well as sharing in its rituals which outwardly

express the community’s blessing, joy and support.

• Inquirer - anyone who is in RCIA simply to check out the

possibility and learn more, but is very much uncertain about

making any decision.

• Catechumen - any unbaptized person who has made a deci-

sion to possibly enter the Catholic Church.

• Candidate - any baptized Christian who has made a decision

to possibly enter the Catholic Church. A candidate can also be

a baptized Catholic who has never received First Communion

or any religious instruction.

• Catholic Adult Confirmation Candidate - These are Catho-

lics who join the class for a number of weeks only to prepare

for their Confirmation.

Though the primary focus of the Rite of Christian Initiation of

Adults is the would-be Catholic, it encourages entire parishes

to ask: How can we become a warm, welcoming, hospitable

community in which our brothers and sisters can hear the

Good News? RCIA sessions invite everyone to reach out to

catechumens by being involved. We invite lifelong parishion-

ers, former RCIA candidates, and anyone curious about our

faith. Everyone is welcome.

The RCIA Process

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults describes a process in which

men and women are guided and cared for as they awaken in faith and are

gradually introduced to the Catholic way of life. The RCIA process is a

series of carefully planned stages, marked by liturgical rites in the pres-

ence of the whole community, in which new Catholics embark on and

join us in a continuing and deepening conversion into faith and disciple-

ship. The RCIA takes the distinctive history and spiritual needs of each

person into account, differentiating between the baptized and the unbap-

tized, the catechized and the uncatechized. The needs of mature, practic-

ing Christians from other faith traditions are considered on an individual

basis.

The full RCIA process consists of four periods of awakening, growth and

formation marked by celebration of three major rites involving the whole

community.

2018 CANDIDATES FOR RCIA

Hello my name is Connor Sutton. I was raised Protestant and through the help of my cousin, his family, and friends I was able to come to the true-ness of the Catholic faith. I cannot thank God, my friends, and family enough for this opportunity. Deo Gra-tias!

Kirsten Borchert grew up in the Lafa-yette area as a protestant. She be-came interested in the Catholic church a year and a half ago because of her brother Joshua Borchert.

Joshua Borchert I'm happy to be received after investigating the faith for almost decade. I like evangelism and catholic mystics.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

MARCH 18, 2018

SUNDAY OFFERING:$8072

CRS: $2392

“FIND OUT HOW MUCH GOD HAS GIV-

EN YOU, AND FROM IT TAKE WHAT

YOU NEED; THE REMAINDER IS NEED-

ED BY OTHERS”

ST. AUGUSTINE

STEWARDSHIP BY THE BOOK: Easter Sunday is

but two weeks away (April 1). In our First Reading from

the prophet Jeremiah, we hear God tell us, “I will forgive

their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” To af-

firm that forgiveness, St. Paul has this to say in the Sec-

ond Reading: “He (Jesus) became the source of eternal

salvation for all who obey him.” There is a connection

between these two statements which present forgiveness

as the way to salvation.

The Lenten season is one of penance, reflection, prayer,

almsgiving, and fasting, perhaps even in that order, so we

can better prepare ourselves for Easter Sunday and be-

yond. Lent reminds us that God is gracious and merciful.

God’s divine mercy is a central theme of Lent.

One might say that the priceless gift of God’s mercy is

highlighted and celebrated in the Church in the Sacrament

of Reconciliation (confession). That should be a key part

of our Lenten journey. As mentioned only two weeks

remain on that journey so getting to reconciliation is im-

portant if we have not done so already.

Sacramental confession allows God’s loving mercy and

His grace-filled absolution to be confirmed to us through

a priest. God sees us with love, mercy, and an abundance

of forgiveness. Christ, through the priest, helps us to let

go of anything that gets in the way of our relationship to

God. St. Isidore wrote, “Confession heals, confession

justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope con-

sists in confession. In confession there is a chance for

mercy.”

Schoenstatt Holy Hour All are invited to the Schoenstatt Holy Hour

with Father Cassian Sama O.P On Tuesday, March

20, 2018 at 7pm in St Thomas Aquinas Church. It will

“ Every Friday during Lent, the Knights of Columbus will be

cooking up a fish fry from 5:30-8 pm. Bring your Saint

Ann’s bulletin for $1 off your dinner.”

Tippecanoe County Right to Life is sponsoring

its annual Art & Essay Contest for High School

students. Student recognition and monetary

awards will be handed out. Deadline is 4/1 for

Essay and 4/15 for Art. Details on our website

at tcrtl.com