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February 12, 2010
Holy Comforter Parish eNewsletter |
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This Week The Sixth Week in Ordinary Time and the Beginning of Lent
During this week, the Church begins the season of Lent with the celebration of Ash Wednesday (February 17). In observance of Presidents' Day, the parish office will be closed on Monday, February 15th. As usual, daily mass will be celebrated at 8:00 a.m. on that day. Bulletin The following are highlights from this Sunday's bulletin. To read the entire parish bulletin for February 14, 2010, view the attached PDF file or click here. NEED FOR ALTAR SERVERS: There is an immediate need for Altar Servers for the 5:00 p.m. Saturday Mass. Individuals should be willing to serve 1-2 times per month. If you are between the ages of 9 to 90, please consider this important ministry. Training will be provided. Please call Jim Morrisard at 973-6570 if you are interested.
RESCHEDULED OPEN HOUSE: Due to inclement weather, the Charlottesville Catholic School (CCS) Winter Open House has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 18th from 9:00 –11:00 a.m. If you are interested in learning what CCS has to offer, please join us for a tour and refreshments. CAN YOU HELP?: Holy Comforter has a group of Sacristans that take turns during the week preparing for the upcoming Masses. Each Sacristan signs up for one or two months of the year. During the assigned months, it takes one hour a week at the Church doing some easy, but essential tasks. If you can spare the time to help in the preparation for our Masses, it would be a great help. Training is provided. Another area in which we are in need of a volunteer is in the washing and ironing of the Church linens. If you can help with either of these important ministries or for more information, please contact Barbara Battiston at 244-0185.
PASTORAL CARE MINISTRY MEETING: The Pastoral Care Ministry Committee will hold its next meeting Tuesday, February 16th at 1:00 p.m. at Holy Comforter. New members are always welcome. If you are interested sharing some time with our sick and our shut-ins, please join us. For questions, please call Carole Ingenthron at 973-6836.
BI-PARISH HAITI COMMITTEE: The committee’s meeting on February 7th meeting will be rescheduled. Please contact Laurie Duncan. Prayer Intentions The Holy Father's Intentions for February
Missionary: That the Church, aware of its own missionary identity, may strive to follow Christ faithfully and to proclaim His Gospel to all peoples. Pro-Life Prayer Intention For the full conversion of abortion providers who are considering leaving the abortion industry. Liturgy Calendar
Devotion
In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receive ashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter commitment. Notwithstanding the secularization of contemporary society, the Christian faithful, during Lent, are clearly conscious of the need to turn the mind towards those realities which really count, which require Gospel commitment and integrity of life which, through self denial of those things which are superfluous, are translated into good works and solidarity with the poor and needy. Those of the faithful who infrequently attend the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist should be aware of the long ecclesial tradition associating the precept of confessing grave sins and receive Holy Communion at least once during the Lenten season, or preferably during Eastertide. From Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (125) Lenten Fast and Abstinence Rules Each Catholic is asked to preserve Lent's penitential purpose and character, which begins Ash Wednesday. Therefore:
 Excerpt from the Catechism Moral Life and Missionary Witness The Catechism continues in its discussion of the moral life by explaining the link between the faithful's practice of the moral life and the witness of the faithful to the Gospel. 2044 The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of the Gospel and for the Church's mission in the world. In order that the message of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians. "The witness of a Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power to draw men to the faith and to God." 2045 Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ, Christians contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and their moral lives. the Church increases, grows, and develops through the holiness of her faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 2046 By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the Reign of God, "a kingdom of justice, love, and peace." They do not, for all that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they fulfill them with uprightness, patience, and love. Church History
Ash Wednesday is on February 17th this year. In the Western Church, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40-day period of fasting before Easter. On Ash Wednesday, ashes are blessed, mixed with either holy oil or water, and imposed on the head with the sign of the cross, or sprinkled on the forehead. The ashes are made from burning palm branches blessed the previous year on Palm Sunday. When the priest imposes the ashes he says either "remember man you are dust, and to dust you will return" (see Genesis 3:19), or "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). The ashes serve a dual purpose. First, as the above words imply, we are reminded of our mortality and humanity as we begin the Lenten Fast. Second, the ashes are a Biblical symbol of repentance, sorrow, and humility. There are many cases in the Scriptures of wearing ashes as a sign of penitence, often while wearing sackcloth. In 2 Samuel 13:19, Tamar puts on ashes and tears her clothes as a sign of sadness and repentance. In Esther 4:1-3, after learning of the king's decree to kill all Jews, Mordecai tears his garments, and puts on sackcloth and ashes. His fellow Jews do the same thing, as well as beginning to fast. The prophet Jeremiah (6:26) urges his readers to "gird on sackcloth and roll in ashes." Fasting is a major component of Ash Wednesday, and Ash Wednesday is an official fast day of the Church, along with Good Friday. Fasting has a long history in the Church. In Acts 13:1-3, it was while "worshipping the Lord and fasting" that the Holy Spirit led the Apostles to set apart Paul and Barnabas for their work. In Matthew 9:14, Jesus assumes that after he leaves the earth his followers will fast. The history of the Church is filled with stories of fasting and its spiritual value. However, Jesus warns us not to be obvious about our fasting, or only fasting to impress others. Thus, Ash Wednesday is based on the biblical concept of repentance, and the ashes and fasting that are associated with repentance. Ash Wednesday is unknown in the Eastern Church, and developed only in the West. Orthodox Churches begin Lent on a Monday, known as "Clean Monday." Ash Wednesday as an official fast day dates to at least the 8th century, since it appears in the Gregorian Sacramentary from that period. Originally, Lent began on a Sunday. However, in order to bring the number of days of Lent to 40 (the days Jesus fasted in the wilderness), the beginning of Lent was eventually transferred to a Wednesday Originally, Ash Wednesday was the day when public penitents in Rome began their penance. Recall that in the early Church, penance was often public and protracted. It was only later that private confession and penance began, for pastoral reasons. When public penance gradually fell into disuse by the 8th century, Ash Wednesday became a day of penitence and fasting for all members of the Church. Today, Ash Wednesday is a universal Fast day in the Catholic Church. Many Western Protestant churches also observe Ash Wednesday, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and United Methodists. From ChurchYear.Net Link of the Week Priests for Life
From Catholic Culture. |
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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS: The next meeting of Father Louis A. Rowen Council 3670 will be held on Monday, February 15th at the Church of the Incarnation’s Activities Building. The Church of the Incarnation is located on Route 29 North behind Toys’R'US. Recitation of the Rosary will be at 7:15 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
BOOK CLUB: Are you looking for a chance to deepen your understanding of your faith? To share your views with other parishioners? If you are, we invite you to read the book "A Key to The Doctrine of The Eucharist" by Abbot Vonier and to come to the next meeting of the book club on Tuesday, March 2nd from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at 150 Bennington Road. For questions or to get directions, contact Therese Stong at 296-9961 or 
PHILOSOPHY CLUB: The next meeting of the Philosophy Club will be February 14th at 6:00 P.M. at which time we will discuss "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" by David Hume. For more information, please contact Suzanne Bailey at 296-5033 or 
IMPACT: The Research teams, both in preschool education and interpretive services, have been working hard to find out what is available in this area, what needs to be done, and what can be done considering the area's financial situation. Come to the Rally at Incarnation Church on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 p.m. to learn what is in the works. And also come to our light supper in the Stone Chapel prior to the Rally, from 5 to 6:30 PM. Sign up today!
PANTRY: It is Reverse Collection time again. This month, except for chunky soup and cash, which we always need, we are looking for items that many of the people who come to our pantry would consider luxuries, such as coffee, tea, sugar, mayonnaise, mustard, and salad oil. We do not need these items on a weekly basis, but it is wonderful to be able to provide them when someone asks. Thank you for your generosity.
ANNUAL DIOCESAN HAITI GATHERING: This will be held on Saturday, March 20th at St. Thomas from 8:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. All those involved in Haiti Twinning or interested in Haiti are welcome to join in a day of celebration, education and networking. This year’s focus is "Haiti Solidarity – After the Earthquake Our Stories, Our Struggles, and Our Search for Solutions". The registration fee of $20 includes continental breakfast, lunch and handouts. To register, call Patrice at (804)545-5974 or email 
General: For all scholars and intellectuals, that by means of sincere search for the truth they may arrive at an understanding of the one true God.
