Dear Friends of our Pastorate,
We have begun our Lenten Journey this past Wednesday with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. This weekend, we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel each year on this Sunday is the account of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. This occurs immediately after his baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Luke’s account tells us that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit after his baptism and that it was the Spirit that led him into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil. Strengthened by the Spirit, and being united to the will of the Father, Jesus is able to resists the devil’s temptations. All of us have received the Holy Spirit at baptism as well. Therefore, we too have been given the grace we need to resist the temptations of the evil one. Even though we sometimes fail at this, the Lord continues to reach out to us and offer us forgiveness and renewed vigor to fight the battle, so don’t give up! Continue to proclaim and profess every day that Jesus is Lord!
The St. Patrick’s Day Bazaar is this Friday, March 14th from 2pm to 9pm in the St. Jane Frances School hall and classrooms. The bazaar is always a great time as well as a wonderful fundraiser for our parish. Please plan to join us for the festivities this Friday with great food, games of chance, silent auction items, and an Irish pub with live music. The “Winning of The Green” 50-50 Raffle Tickets are still available to purchase at the Parish Office and will be sold at the Bazaar. Special thanks to Teresa “Sparky” Sparklin and her team for pulling together once again our annual St. Patrick’s Day Bazaar!
This Sunday at the 11:30am Mass, we will celebrating the Rite of Sending for our O.C.I.A. candidates and catechumens. O.C.I.A. stands for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults for people seeking to be baptized, enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, or being Confirmed. Our Pastorate has been blessed this year with 13 people who are seeking to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil this year, including a couple of children. We are “sending” them to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen later today to be welcomed by the Archbishop into the final stages of preparation for receiving the Easter Sacraments. Please keep them and our O.C.I.A. team in your prayers during these days.
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
