Dear friends,
Thank you for your overwhelming support for --and especially your presence at -- the Lenten Mission offered by Fr. Tim Daly. We were truly blessed to have had his presentation during this time when we are turning our gaze toward our Eucharistic Lord in this year of Eucharistic Revival. All of the dioceses in the country are working to spark a fire of love for the Eucharist. I would like to thank Fr. Tim for his lively presentations and his passion for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Today we enter into the Third Sunday of Lent. One of the intercessory prayers for Morning Prayer on Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent says: “Enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of your Anointed One, that our lives may reveal him more effectively.” This indeed is the heart of Lent: to enter into, to drink more deeply from, the wellspring of God’s life-giving water.
The people of Israel began to complain in the desert to Moses because they did not have water to drink. Moses did as the Lord told him. He struck the rock with his staff, and water began to flow, satisfying the physical thirst of the people. In the Gospel, we have a uniquely beautiful encounter of Christ with the Samaritan woman at the well, where Jesus offers the woman “living water.” Please take the time to reread this passage from the Gospel of John 4: 5 -42. Simply relish the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. May this time of Lent help us to dive deeper in to the mystery of God’s love.
Our outreach ministry is hosting their Lenten Long Sleeve Drive over the next two weekends: March 18/19 and 25/26. This is to benefit the Farm Workers at Fellsmere. Please see the bulletin for more details about what to provide and what not to provide. Thank you again for your generosity.
We are nearing the Feast of St. Patrick (17th March). We know that it falls on a Friday during Lent this year. Every Friday of Lent is a day of abstinence, which means we do not eat meat. But how can we celebrate St. Pat’s Day without indulging in non-veg meals? What do we do? We took the matter to the bishop, and he has lifted the obligation of abstaining from eating meant on Friday, March 17. Does it mean we are totally free? No. If we accept the dispensation, then we are asked to balance this by undertaking a work of charity or an act of comparable penance on some other occasion during the Third Week of Lent.
Gratia Plena is hosting their monthly meeting on Monday, March 13 at 6 p.m. This event is for all women of our parish who are 40+. Those responsible for developing Gratia Plena have done excellently well, and participation in the events is growing from month to month. I am grateful to the team for how they put the meetings together, creating a fabulous ambience and the sharing of sumptuous meals as the participants grow through learning how to identify and share all their gifts – spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical.
I am also grateful to the many small groups that meet under the title Live4More Mens Discipleship. I recently attended a meeting of one of the groups led by Joe Boniface, which is celebrating its 8th anniversary. The men meet regularly to study the forthcoming Sunday Scriptures and to reflect on and share the treasures hidden in them.
Everyone is aware that we need more holy priests and deacons and religious to serve the Church. We know that this is not going to happen overnight. We also know that a vocation is a call from God. However, we can respond to this need by praying for more vocations. To this end, the Office of Vocations in the Diocese of Orlando has begun a prayer initiative to encourage the faithful to pray for healthy, holy, mature vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life in our Diocese. The initiative is called the Vocations Kneeler Parish Pilgrimage. Many parishes are taking advantage of this opportunity to call forth Priestly and Religious Vocations from within the hearts of their parishioners.
As a part of this initiative, St. John’s will receive a special Kneeler from the Diocese. The kneeler is engraved with the words, “Pray for Vocations.” The kneeler will arrive on Friday, March 24, and we will return it on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. It will be placed in the narthex, in front of the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. There will be a small prayer to use when you stop to kneel and pray. Let us pray that our parish will be blessed with Vocations to the Congregation of Holy Cross!
Please see the bulletin for details about all of the parish’s events for this Lent. Every Tuesday we have something to help us enter more deeply into the season. All the Fridays of Lent are filled with time for prayer.
Have a JOYFUL LENT!
With love,
Fr. John