Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Join us this week for our Parish Lenten Mission with Fr. Ricardo Pineda! Father Pineda will preach at Masses this weekend. The Mission begins on Sunday at 6:30pm in Old St. Mary’s. The schedule for the week, Monday – Thursday, will be: 5:30pm Mass; 6:00pm Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and confessions; 6:30pm Mission conference followed by more confessions. We will also keep confessions available as usual 4:45-5:15pm.

Please take advantage of these extra confessions with a visiting priest. Please do not wait until Good Friday or Holy Saturday for Confession. The lines are always very long! You might end up adding extreme impatience to your list... Ever more deeply now we delve into our Lenten observance this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the beginning of what is traditionally known as Passiontide. It is amazing what we take for granted until it is taken from our sight. The crucifix can become so familiar that it can run the risk of losing its incredible impact. It is the image of the total self-gift of Jesus for His bride, the Church – for you and me. This is precisely what He continues to do through the Eucharist. The Holy Cross will be solemnly unveiled during the Passion Liturgy of Good Friday. Other images remain veiled until the Great Easter Vigil when all veils will be removed, and we will see again with hopefully a renewed understanding and appreciation of Our Lord and His Saints.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Laetare, Jerusalem” – “Rejoice, Jerusalem... Be joyful, all who were in mourning!” (From Isaiah 66:10-11; Introit for the Fourth Sunday of Lent)

You deserve a break today! Here at the halfway point of our Lenten observance, we enjoy a little break from our Lenten penances on the Sunday of Joy - Laetare Sunday. The reason we do penance is to prepare ourselves to celebrate once again the greatest, most astounding part of our faith: The man they put on a cross, who died and was buried, is alive. He was seen by literally hundreds of witnesses, who then scurried around the world telling everyone they could, even to their own deaths. Why? Because that death on that cross made an atonement you and I could not do on our own. “He bore the punishment that makes us whole; by His wounds we were healed” (Isaiah 53:5). So, rejoice!

What a joy to share the good news that Anastasia Pierce, daughter of Deacon Bob and Donna, has been accepted to the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus! This active -contemplative religious Order runs several assisted living and nursing homes attached to their convents. The Northern Province, of which she is entering, has convents in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Starting this week, we will modify our weekly stewardship information to better the reflect the reality of our parish stewardship and to offer reporting that gives more clarity about our parish finances. Over the past several years our parish campus has expanded significantly. We have several small and large projects underway, including the projects associated with the Bicentennial Campaign from 2020. The Parish Finance Council and I thought it would be important to provide you with a more comprehensive view of our finances and these projects.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not merely a military operation, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery.” At his weekly Angelus on the First Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis delivered this impassioned plea: “Above all, I implore that the armed attacks cease and that negotiation – and common sense – prevail. And that international law be respected once again!” As average citizens we often feel helpless when it comes to the world stage. However, first of all we remind ourselves that prayer is powerful. We may not detect its effects in the time we want (which is always yesterday), but Our Lord teaches us that somehow, someway, our humble prayer is moving mountains. Pope Francis continued, “Let us pray together for Ukraine: ... Let us pray together, as brothers and sisters, to Our Lady, Queen of Ukraine. Hail Mary...”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On Feb 22, with great joy we received the news that Pope Francis has appointed Rev. Jacques E. Fabre, as Bishop-elect of Charleston. Bishop-elect Fabre is a priest of the religious order of the Missionaries of St. Charles. Originally hailing from Haiti, he immigrated to New York City while he was in high school. He was ordained to the priesthood in Brooklyn, New York on Oct 10, 1986, for the Missionaries. The Bishop-elect is perfectly fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Creole. Bishop-elect Fabre will be ordained and installed as the 14th Bishop of Charleston on Fri, Apr 29. More news will be forthcoming.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Masses for Ash Wednesday, Mar 2, 7:00 am, 8:20 am, 12:00 pm, 5:30 pm, and 7:00 pm in Spanish.

“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” – St. Matthew 9:15

Into the desert we go with Jesus once again to fast and pray. Why bother? Well, Jesus did it (that should be enough reason), and He gives us instruction on how we should do it (see Matt. 6:16-18). Also, all the great Saints practiced it. “Fasting gives birth to prophets and strengthens the powerful. Fasting is a good safeguard for the soul, a steadfast companion for the body, a weapon for the valiant, and a gymnasium for athletes. Fasting repels temptations, anoints unto piety. In war it fights bravely, in peace it teaches stillness” St. Basil the Great. We get the most out of things we prepare for.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:9)

Several years ago, I read an excellent article about preparing for Lent. This great season is an ideal time to reassess where we truly are in our faith. It is a much-needed time when we allow God to ask us the same question He asked Adam, “Where are you?” The article mentioned that, not that long ago, the Church had three weeks of preparing for Lent. Our Eastern Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters still retain this time of preparation. Because of it, you could almost feel Lent on the horizon so that, when it finally arrived, you were prepared and could hit the ground running.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As the omicron variant of the coronavirus finally begins towane and ensconce itself as endemic, I’d like to offer thisexcerpt from an article by Bishop Robert Barron, written inthe midst of the pandemic. As always, let us pray for eachother! – Father Wilson

“[In the book of Exodus], … first, God teaches Israel to trustin his power; secondly, he gives Israel a moral law; andthirdly, he instructs his people in holiness through rightpraise. …

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Mark your calendars! Ash Wednesday is March 2. Begin thinking how you will mark the forty days in ways that will increase your desire for and love of God, and how a good penance during the holy season of Lent can help you turn away from sinful habits, placing God firmly in the center of your life and heart. Masses on Ash Wednesday will be 7am, 8:20am, 12noon, 5:30pm, and 7pm (in Spanish).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“The anniversary of a church’s dedication is celebrated with the rank of a solemnity.” – Roman Pontifical, Rite of Dedication of a Church, 27.

Annually, Holy Mother Church invites us to recall the day our church buildings were consecrated and dedicated to the worship of God. That dedication/consecration Mass marked the moment this space was changed from being merely a building into becoming a church – a true, holy place of worship. If you were present on that night of 2 February 2015, you might recall the first action of the Bishop was to sprinkle the people, the walls, and the altar with blessed water. This symbolized the moment of your own baptism, that exact moment when you went from being a “regular person” to becoming a true temple of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16-17) At most Masses this weekend, we will again sprinkle the gathered people with holy water as a reminder of this change and our subsequent mission to spread the faith beyond these humble walls.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Next Sunday, our parish will not celebrate the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Instead, the Church asks us to recall the date of our parish church’s consecration for divine worship, and she provides special prayers and readings for the Mass. (The liturgical observance is transferred to the closest Sunday so more people can join in the celebration.) Recalling our dedication year-to-year helps remind us of our mission as a local parish within the world-wide Catholic Church. Pray for our parish that we fulfill our mission well, which is always ultimately to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to each of our homes, to Aiken, to our nation, and beyond.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This Saturday, January 22, is a voluntary day of fastng and prayer for Respect for Human Life. Each human being is made in the image and likeness of God, regardless of age or even stage of development. God Himself revealed this by taking on human fesh in the Virgin Mary’s womb, a reality we have just celebrated in the season of Christmas. There never was a tme that His miraculous concepton and gestaton could have been considered “not human enough” or “not human yet.” Saint John the Baptst even leaped at the presence of Jesus, newly conceived, in the womb of his own mother, St. Elizabeth. In the words of Mother Teresa, “Any country that accepts aborton is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is aborton.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Before all else, we should show gratitude. I am grateful first to God for His gift of you and our outstanding parish. We pray for God’s gracious blessings as we begin a new year of grace. I know that I speak for all of you when I also express our immense gratitude to all the “angels and elves” (as they like to be called), who did such an outstanding job decorating the church for the Christmas season. They are truly dedicated and bring such joy to their work!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This year, we arrive a little early to the Epiphany of the Lord, a.k.a., Three Kings Day. Traditionally celebrated on the Twelfth Day of Christmas (Jan. 6), liturgically in the United States and some other countries, it is moved to its closest Sunday after Jan. 1.

The word “epiphany” comes from a Greek word that means “manifestation,” i.e., making something known. From the Catechism: