Faye Zanaty

From the Pastor’s Desk My Dear People: The two most impressive themes that permeate the Old and New Testaments are first, God’s great love for us, and secondly, God’s great mercy for us. In His love for us, God picks and chooses certain people for certain jobs. God loves all His people but He elects to give certain people extra love and favoritism. God is rich in mercy and He takes people back, as seen in the Old Testament repeatedly; and in the New Testament; the climax of his mercy is Jesus dying on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the human race. Lent is a time to zero in on our relationship with God, appreciating His love and mercy. The Lenten readings keep reminding us that we need His mercy. He has rescued us. The Responsorial Psalm for this past Monday was: “I WILL PRAISE YOU, Lord, for you have rescued me.” Last Sunday, in the reading from first book of .Samuel, God tells Samuel; the prophet and “king-maker,” to go to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king from amongst Jesse’s sons. Samuel checked on seven sons and he thought the right one was Eliab, but God told him that even though Samuel had looked at seven sons he did not find the one. So Samuel asked Jesse if there were another son someplace. The answer was “yes,” the youngest son, David, who was in the field tending the sheep. God told Samuel that this is the one. Also chosen by God are Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mary and the Apostles. Paul is another one specially chosen by God to preach to the Gentiles. As God said, Saul is a vessel of election. In all of our goodness, we tend to forget that God has CHOSEN us, FAVORED us, ELECTED us in a special way through Baptism to be one of His chosen people in the New Testament. Lent means: PRAISE, GRATITUDE and REPENTENCE because of His love and mercy. Before the Gospel in Lent we say “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.”

I love the passage from Hosea, the prophet. The Lord, through the prophet, said: Return to the Lord. You have collapsed through your guilt. Take words with you to God. Say to God: Forgive our iniquity. Receive from us our offering. We will take the best animal from the stalls and offer it to you. Say to God, also, an alliance with Assyria will not save us. Fast horses will not save us and we promise to stop making little gods of the work of our hands. What a meditation on repentance: WE will stop making little gods of the things we do, the work of our hands! On a personal note… Christine Larussa called this past week from the school and told me that my virus doesn’t go away because I don’t rest… Then she said, “But Father, I can’t find a priest for the 8:30 student Mass. You need to rest, but would you be able to offer the Mass on Thursday?” “Yes, Christine. I will offer the Mass on Thursday at 8:30.” That Thursday morning, Jude Tombrello, with cassock and surplice, knocks on my door. “Father there is no priest for the 6:30 a.m. Mass and a hundred people are waiting. Come and offer the Mass.” “Yes, Jude.” The goodness of our people! The goodness of Jude. He called Fr. Booth who already had two Masses scheduled. Jude will keep trying. So on Thursday during Lent we have four Masses, and, some days with funerals, even more. Show me the parish that has this many daily masses and such great attendance. That’s what makes this parish great! After I offered the 6:30 a.m. Mass I went back to my room with a strange vision. Some day when I take my place in my niche in the columbarium, Jude is going to go to the columbarium and knock on my niche and say, “Father, we don’t have a priest… would you come and offer Mass for us?” With prayers and blessings, Father Muller

MASS INTENTIONS Monday, Mar. 30

Thomas Sullivan Anna Ippolito Special Intention Annie Diergo Anna LaDart Ernie Eltz

Tuesday, Mar. 31 Wednesday, Apr. 1 Thursday, Apr. 2 Friday, Apr. 3 Saturday, Apr. 4 Sunday Apr. 5

Donors to OLS School Foundation

Harry Wallace Special Intention Charles Wood Special Int. of Scott Humphrey Special Int. of Faye Zanaty People of the Parish Special Int. of Stacy Smallwood

PRAY FOR VOCATIONS Jesus calls us forth from our graves of apathy and passivity. How will your new life make a difference? Consider ministry in the Church. (John 11:1-45) Please pray for all of our ministers of care with the sick and dying and their families. This ad is sponsored by the Serra Club.

Because the first Tuesday in April falls during Holy Week, there is a new date for V.I.P. Please join us on Tuesday, April 14th, at 11:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall. There will be Mass, followed by lunch and bingo. Singles Ministry-- Due to lack of participation in the Singles Ministry, we have temporarily disbanded until we get some more people interested. The Red Cross Blood Drive will be held on Sunday, May 17th, in the Parish Hall from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. First Friday Devotions will be held on Friday, April 3rd at 6:00 am. First Saturday Devotions will be held on Saturday, April 4th, at 7:15 a.m.

High School Youth Group meets on Wednesday nights from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday mornings from 10:00 -11:15 a.m. Come to meet friends, eat, and learn about the faith! Junior High Youth Group – 6th, 7th, and 8th grade will not meet again until April

The OLS Youth Group will be sponsoring the movie The Passion of the Christ. It will be shown on Wednesday, April 8th, at 6:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Light refreshments will be served. Everyone is invited.

Register now for OLS Vacation Bible School Discovery Canyon, which will be June 8-12 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m... This is for children going into K4 through 4th grade as of August 2009. Registration forms are located in the front entrance of the Church. We will continue taking money for Holy Childhood until April 5th.

Children’s Eucharistic Adoration Please join us for Children’s Eucharistic Adoration, Wednesday, April 1st, from 9:00 am to 9:30 a.m. in the Church. Children of all ages are welcome including newborns and infants. This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage your child’s faith and prayer life while fulfilling Christ’s command to “let the little children come to me…” (Mark 10:14) For more information, please call Kim Stephens at 823-8886.

Join us Sunday March 29th for Adult Education in the Parish Hall at 10:00am. Retired Catholic journalist and OLS member John Wright, Jr., will present “The Civil Rights Movement and Catholic Response in the South.” Light refreshments will be served.

We need someone to take the job of Secretary – Administrative Assistant for the P.S.R. program to help Mrs. Elizabeth Sutton, the new Director. Qualifications: • Proficiency in office skills with the computer, etc. • A people-person (social skills) • Dedicated practicing Catholic. Part time: • 20 hours per week. • Sundays (30 weeks of the year) from 8:00 a.m. till 12:30 p.m.

The Chapel of Our Savior The Chapel will be closed for the Holy Triduum beginning April 9th, Holy Thursday, at 3:00 p.m. until Easter Sunday at 1:00 p.m. NOON MASS There will be no noon Mass on Tuesday, April 7th, as all priests will be attending the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Eucharistic Adoration Sign up sheets for Eucharistic Adoration on Holy Thursday are located in the vestibule. Adoration will be from 9:00 p.m. until midnight in the Church.

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St. Joseph Day Altar-The St. Joseph Feast was a huge success. The altar was beautifully decorated with candles, flowers and food. Thank you for your help in building the altar, cooking and cleanup and for your donations. Over $1700 was collected for the Catholic Center of Concern

Please return your Easter Flower envelopes no later than Friday, April 3, to be published in the Easter Bulletin.

WANTED

And four mornings a week from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Salary: • Call the office for information… • IF interested send in resume to search committee, attention: Mrs. Elizabeth Sutton, chair of the search committee. Beginning Experience ministry is a support group designed for grief recovery and personal growth for the divorced, widowed, and separated of this community. Beginning Experience ministry is Christian-based, interdenominational and all are welcome. BE is a levels program with 4 levels running simultaneously each 10 weeks. The next session begins on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009, at 6 p.m. The meetings are held in the Family Life Center. The cost for the 10 weeks is $25.00. Childcare is provided at no cost. _______________________________________ Chapel of Our Savior The Chapel needs permanent Committed Adorers for: Monday at 11:00 AM (To Share Hour)

Monday at 11:00 PM (To Share Hour) Thursday at 5:00 PM (To Share Hour) Saturday Morning at 3:00 AM Saturday at 4:00 PM Sunday at 11:00 AM (To Share Hour) Our goal is to have at least 2 people on each hour. These are the hours needed, but do select an hour that best fits your schedule. Please call Ida Wilker at 933-2281 or Mary Claire Brouillette at 871-2909. "Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has His hands full of graces, and He is ready to bestow them on anyone who asks for them,” - St. Peter of Alcantara (5th Century)

Join the fight against cancer with Homewood Relay for Life, April 17 from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. at Homewood Park. Money raised by the teams goes to the American Cancer Society for cancer research, education, advocacy, and support programs Come see honorary chairman, Coach Pat Sullivan, and participate in fun family events such as yoga, marshmallow roast and self defense classes throughout the night. Volunteers and teams of people will walk along a track to support the fight against cancer. Survivors are honored and those lost to the disease are remembered with a luminaria ceremony. For more information contact Michelle Galloway at [email protected]. Register a team or individually at www.relayforlife.org/homewood. Raising Dollars for Scholars 3rd Annual Luncheon to benefit Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School will be held on April 17th. This year’s Luncheon and silent auction will be at the Harbert Center from 11 am to 1 pm. Proceeds benefit the school. Individual tickets are $50 per person. Corporate Sponsorships are available. Call Scott Denton at (205) 263-0137 for more information. _______________________________________