Sacrifice Yourself for Lent

Forsake yourself, resign yourself, and you shall enjoy great inward peace. Give all for all; ask for nothing, require back nothing; abide purely and unhesitating in God and you shall possess Him. You shall be free in heart, and darkness shall not tread you down.

Let this be your Lenten endeavor, this your prayer, your desire; that you may be stripped of all selfishness and follow Jesus; that you may die to yourself and live eternally to God.

 

St. Blase Lenten Journey of Faith
How Will This Lent Change Your Life? Drop your net and follow Jesus. Each year we are called to take 40 days and live in a spirit of penance. This is not a time of punishment, but a graced time to renew our Baptism. This is a season to listen carefully and examine honestly our discipleship. In what webs have we become entangled? Like the call in Mark of the first disciples, what nets must we drop in order to follow Jesus? During this season we are invited to more fully embrace Jesus’ command: Repent, and believe in the gospel.

Lent 2008

St. Blase Triduum 2008 - Schedule

•  Holy Thursday, March 20
  •  7:00 pm     Mass of the Lord's Supper
    
    
•  Good Friday,     March 21
  •  12:00 - Noon - Stations of the Cross
  •  1:00 pm - Liturgy of Good Friday
    
    
•  Holy Saturday,  March 22
  •  11:00 am and 12:00 Noon - Easter Food Blessing in Social Center
  •    8:30 pm Easter Vigil Mass
    
    
•  Easter Sunday   March 23
  •  Masses at 8:00 am, 10:00 am and 12:00 Noon

St. Blase Lenten Fish Fry

Tired of cooking dinner on a Friday night? Looking for a great take-home fish dinner this Lenten season? If so, then stop by the Social Center beginning Ash Wednesday, and every Friday thereafter through Good Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. We server some of the areas BEST fried fish along with all the trimmings.  Spend time with your family and let us server you dinner in the Social Center before you attend the Friday Night Lenten Family Services.

Stop by the Social Center Every Friday during the Lenten Season and through Good Friday from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

MENU:

All Dinners include:
° French fries
° Coleslaw
° Roll with butter
° Tartar Sauce

PRICES:
Note: We offer Baked Fish dinners   

3 - Piece Fish Dinner   $7.00
[Includes French fries, coleslaw, roll & butter, tarter sauce]

2 - Piece Baked Fish Dinner   $7.00
[Includes French fries, coleslaw, roll & butter, tarter sauce]

Sides:

Macaroni and Cheese (8 oz. side dish)	$2.00
Coleslaw (pint)	$2.00
Cakes and Pies (per slice)	$1.00
Can of Pop	$1.00
Coffee (with one refill)	$1.00
Extra tarter sauce or roll (each)	0.25
Carry-out and self-serve dine in is available.

Reconciliation Services

Communal celebrations are scheduled during Advent and Lent. The Sacrament of Penance may also be made by appointment. Haven't been to confession in awhile, see our penance page...

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of penitence leading to the Paschal Triduum after the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence. This is not a time of punishment, but a graced time to renew our Baptism. This is a season to listen carefully and examine honestly our discipleship.

Palm Sunday

The Catholic faithful use palm branches at Mass on Palm Sunday and bring them for home for devotional purposes. "Palm Sunday" is the popular name for the Sunday before Easter, though its full title is "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion." Two Gospel passages are proclaimed at Mass that day: One tells of peole waiving branches or spreading cloaks to welcome Jesus in triumph to Jerusalem, and the other tells of his Passion and death.

Any branches may be used in the Liturgy, but parishes usually provide palm branches, as mentioned in John's Gospel (12:13). The faithful hold them at the beginning of the Mass for the blessing and procession.

After Mass, people may bring the branches homes as a sacramental. Various customs have developed. Some place branches behind a wall-mounted crucifix or other religious image. Others cleverly fold them into crosses. Still others incorporate blessed branches into improvised prayers for protection during harmful weather.

Used palm branches are burned the following year, and the ashes are placed on the head of the faithful on Ash Wednesday. Some parishes burn their own ashes. People who wish to dispose of old branches may offer them back for burning or dispose of them at home in some reverent manner.

Palm branches appear in religious art as a symbol of martyrdom. In the Book of Revelation (7:9), a great multitude praises God with palm branches in hand. In the apocryphal Gospel of pseudo-Mathew (20-21), a palm tree miraculously bends over to nourish the Holy Family on the flight into Egypt, and an angel plants one of its branches in paradise, making the palm a sign of victory in any contest.

Copyright 2005, Ministry & Liturgy, Resource Publicaitons, Inc., 160 E. Virginia St., #290, San Jose, CA 95112, (408) 286-8505. Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, MO, holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Saint Anselmo University in Rome. Comment online at www.rpinet.com/wwwboard/forum8/.

Sacred Triduum & Easter

The Triduum is the three days before Easter. Lent comes to an end before the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. That liturgy begins the Triduum, the great Three Days that celebrate the central mystery of our faith.

The Season of Lent ends on Holy Thursday, when the Mass of the Lord's Supper begins. Spend sometime this week to reflect on how these forty days have been a time of conversion and/or renewal in your life. Give thanks to God for your growth.

We have begun "Holy Week." On Holy Thursday we begin the celebration of The Sacred Triduum, the Sacred Three Days. This celebration is actually ONE CONTINUOUS LITURGY over a three day period. There is no dismissal from the Mass on Holy Thursday, no greeting or dismissal from the liturgy of Good Friday (which is NOT Mass) and no greeting at the start of the Easter Vigil. The Church never takes leave from prayer an worship during this sacred time.

~Fr. Randall Phillips, St. Blase Catholic Community, "The Flame," April 9, 2006

Triduum rituals invite us all to baptismal renewal, par excellence. Here are some examples:

	Washing of the Feet After the homily on Holy Thursday, we imitate our master in the washing of feet. This ritual reminds us that our baptismal commitment means we are to be servants of one another. In the time of St. Ambrose in Milan, those who were baptized also had their feet washed, because of Jesus' words to Peter: "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed" (Jn 13:10). Many scholars have seen a baptismal reference in those words.
	Veneration of the Cross As part of our observance of Good Friday, we venerate the cross on which Christ died. The veneration challenges us to be willing to accept the cross, too, for it is the only way to resurrection. Through Baptism, we shared in Christ's death that we might come to new life. Every year we are called to deepen our identification with his cross and resurrection.
	Waters of Baptism The core of our celebration of the Easter Vigil is the Baptism of the elect. As we share in their joy on this holy night, we are all called to renew our own baptismal promises, to live in the joy of life in the Risen One. Lent comes to its fulfillment around the waters of the font.

~ Rev. Lawrence R. Mick, Obtained from Catholic Update, "Lenten Customs: Baptism is the Key"

Easter Vigil Celebrate with us this Night of Nights! Our church the world over assembles on Holy Saturday to hear the Greatest Story ever told...The History of our Salvation. After a long period of prayer, preparation, and life with our parish community, the catechumens and candidates will be called forth to celebrate the Easter Sacraments with us.

Our Easter Vigil Service will be followed by a reception in Room C. Please join us in the feast, to celebrate with and welcome our newly initiated Catholics.

EASTER SUNDAY You are invited to come and celebrate Masses at 8:00, 10:00 and 12:00 Noon

FYI: Lenten Web Sites

www.sacredspace.ie/
If you have about 10 minutes each day, add this to your desktop and make it a daily habit;
put together by Jesuits in Ireland, this is a wonderful meditative site on the daily reading
with some help on using Scripture for prayer.

www.cptryon.org
A gem for prayer, especially Lenten prayers including the Passion and Lenten Sunday
reflections, grief, and virtual retreats. Visit the “Virtual retreat house of
St. Michael the Archangel.”

http://v2000.org/index.htm
Offers short contemporary reflections on Scripture; good stories.

www.wellsprings.org.uk/wellsprings.htm
Worth it for the home page.

www.catholic.org/clife/lent/
Ash Wednesday material is especially good.

www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/index.html
Wonderful site with a daily prayer, link to readings of the day, brief meditation.

www.udayton.edu/~campmin/lent/lent.html
Great Lenten Reflections and links.

www.americancatholic.org/Features/Lent/default.asp
A great site with lots of easily understandable material on Lent;
Lenten calendar has activities, readings and reflections.

http://churchresources.info/pray/index.shtml
Daily Scripture reflections with lovely photos; thought for the day, daily “prayertoon”

www.scborromeo.org/index2.htm
A Parish website where under the “Faith Section” on the left you can find prayers,
saints, an art gallery and a Wisdom category with poems, quotes, short stories.

www.feastofsaints.com
Prayers, different Stations of Cross