Pastor's Column 3-10-2024
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March 10, 2024Dear Parishioners,
Back to regularly scheduled programming. We have the dates for our parish Lenten Mission: March 18th, 19th, and 20th. Each day the mission begins at 7:00pm. On Monday, March 18th at 6:00pm we will have two priests hearing confession prior to the talk. Finally on Wednesday, March 20th in addition to the talk, we will also have Eucharistic Adoration. The theme this year is: “Holy Week and a Holier You: Understanding the Sacred Triduum.” Each night of the mission details a different way we can understand Holy Week. The mission preacher is Fr. Jordan Zajac, O.P. from Providence College. Fr. Zajac is an excellent preacher and devoted follower of Christ. He teaches in the English department at Providence College.
Every year we have an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and devotion to Christ and His Church. The Lenten Mission is one part of the puzzle along with prayer, fasting and almsgiving to accomplish just that. I look forward to hearing Fr. Zajac’s words. I hope that you can join us and invite your friends and family members. Part of our mission as Catholics is to be fellow Good Shepherds with Christ; bringing back the lost sheep. Perhaps there is someone you know that has been waiting for the invitation to come back.
I want to thank everyone who came to the Pasta Dinner last weekend to support our Basketball Program. If you did not know, we have a vibrant program here at the parish. Our teams play every weekend throughout the state. Thanks to the dedication of our coaches and volunteers, we provide a space for our kids to grow in athleticism and teamwork. Each event begins with prayer, thus tying the work of sports to the spiritual life.
This weekend everyone always asks: “why are you wearing pink?” Of course, it is hard to tell the difference, but the color is really rose. It is a good question considering that the color is only worn two times a year: in Advent on Gaudete Sunday and in Lent on Laetare Sunday. It shows the connection between the two seasons, which, among other things, are both seasons of anticipation and penance. Every color that is used in church vestments and artwork is symbolic.
The color rose symbolizes joy amidst a season of penance. We wear it to remind ourselves that the season of Lent and preparation is ending and we can look forward to the joy and celebration of Easter. In some ways rose can be seen as the mixture of the white of Easter and the violet of Lent. Laetare Sunday is the oasis in the desert of Lent midway between our start and our end.
Catholicism is primarily a religion of joy. This can be a difficult to experience. As Pope Francis writes, “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress.”
Happy Lent,
Fr. Barrow
