Dear Friends of our Pastorate,
This weekend, we celebrate the Third Sunday of Lent. Our first reading is from the Book of Exodus and recounts for us the call of Moses, who sees fire coming from a bush but the bush is not burning. As he goes to investigate what is happening, he comes to realize that it is the Lord God calling him to take on a mission to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and deliver them to the Promised Land. If you read the entire passage (we only have part of it today), Moses is hesitant to accept this mission. He comes up with excuse after excuse until finally the Lord God tells him to go do it, and trust that the Lord will be with him on this journey. Ultimately, Moses is successful in his mission, even though he did not believe he had what it would take to accomplish it.
Do you ever feel that way when it comes to a task or mission that you have to do? It could be something at work or it could be something that you hear the Lord calling you to do. Whatever it may be, today’s first reading is a wonderful reminder of our call to trust in the Lord, no matter what. God’s expectations for us as disciples are to bear fruit for the kingdom, as we hear in the Gospel today. Jesus offers us every opportunity to do this, and we can accomplish it, if we trust in the ways of the Lord who is kind and merciful.
Thank you to everyone who helped with our annual St. Patrick’s Day Bazaar at St. Jane Frances last week. It was another successful evening! Special thanks to Teresa Sparklin, Melissa Boyle and all of the many volunteers who assisted us. These events are great opportunities for us to evangelize our community by helping all who attend to experience the Spirit of the Lord dwelling within us and guiding our pastorate’s mission.
Join us this week at 7:00pm on March 24-26 for our Annual Lenten Mission entitled “Hope in the Lord.” Our presented will be Fr. Brian Nolan, pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Ijamsville, MD and former associate pastor at St. Jane Frances. March 24th and 26th will be held at St Jane Frances in the Church. The Session on Tuesday, March 25th will be held at OLC and will conclude with the opportunity for Confessions. Please plan to join us!
It is not too late to register for the 2025 Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference being held on Saturday, April 5th from 8:00am to 3:00pm at St. Joseph Fullerton Church. To register, go to catholicmensfellowship.com or talk to Fr. John for more information.
Don’t forget our weekly Stations of the Cross on the Fridays during Lent. We are offering Stations at 12:00pm on Fridays at OLC and 7:00pm on Fridays at St Jane Frances. Also be sure to come to the Lenten Fish Frys on the Fridays during Lent at St. Jane Frances hosted by the Knights of Columbus.
Thank you for keeping St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—our Pastorate of the Visitation—in your daily prayers!
God Bless,
Father Steve