Deep Cleaning for Easter! Please join us after the 8AM Mass on March 23rd. Please bring rags and buckets and a vacuum if you can. A pizza lunch will be provided following cleaning. Sign up sheet located in the Holy Family Cenacle. The Blue Army/ World Apostolate of Fatima 3pm, 2nd & 4th Mondays @ SSPP School All SSPP parishioners are invited to join this prayer cell of the World Apostolate of Fatima to pray & learn about Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima. For more info, please call Leah Allison “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” That short passage from today’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah expresses a simple and beautiful truth. God has formed with us a covenant – an irrevocable bond of love. This covenant has been renewed with us in a definitive way in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are reminded of this each time at the Mass when the priest says the words of the Lord which He spoke at the Last Supper: “This is the Chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant.” Each time we receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist we say our “Amen” to this covenant.
Next Sunday we begin Holy Week with the commemoration of the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We read two Gospel accounts on Palm Sunday: this year from St. Mark. First we read the (briefer) passage recounting our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem. Then, after the readings from Isaiah and Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, we read the long Passion narrative. It serves as a sort of prelude to the events which we commemorate during Holy Week. As preparation for Holy Week, I encourage you to read this week those Gospel ac- counts from St. Mark. Along with your other Lenten practices this will be an effective means to follow our Lord more closely as we celebrate these great Mysteries of Faith. We are entering the final weeks of Lent. Let’s sprint to Easter! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller A RUMMAGE SALE will be held in the SSPP gym on Thursday April 25- Saturday April 27, 2024 to benefit youth ministry at the parish. We welcome any donations you have for the rummage sale, as long as they are clean and in working order. Please place dona- tions in the box in the Holy Family Cenacle through
the middle of April. If you have any questions, please contact Amy Eichsteadt at wierzbicki.amy@gmail.com. Lenten Soup Suppers
Wednesdays, Feb. 21 - March 27 @ SSPP 5:15pm Stations of the Cross & Confessions 6:00pm Soup Supper All are invited to soup supper &/or the surrounding events. 3 types of homemade soup (1 meatless) & bread, all provided by parishioners & FNE. Free-will offerings will be accepted. Soup Volunteers Needed! If you would like to provide a soup for 1 or more Wednesdays, please call Bernie Lager. Soup may be made in the church kitchen or at home. The different seasons of the Church (Liturgical) Year present us with opportunities to express our faith in a variety of ways in accordance with our human nature. For example, this season of Lent is an occasion for disciplining our bodies and our spirits. Just as every athlete needs training to sharpen his skills and tone his muscles, so the Christian’s spiritual life needs training to “tone” his soul. Since God made us with a body and soul, it is natural and good that we discipline our bodies along with our souls. This is the benefit of ascetical practices (the “giving up” of certain good things which we enjoy, like sweets, television, etc.) Fasting, along with almsgiving and prayer, is the means to spiritual growth (as we heard in the Gospel on Ash Wednesday). Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting and praying. The forty days of Lent are truly a Season of Grace, since we can become more like our Lord by following His example in prayer and fasting.
The special devotions during Lent help us to appreciate its penitential character. Please note that we have Stations of the Cross each Wednesday at 5:15pm (SSPP) and Friday at 3:05pm (SVdP), and the Sorrowful Mother Novena each Friday at 5pm (SSPP). In addition to the regularly scheduled confessions one hour before every Mass (both parishes), the Deanery Confession Day will be from Noon – 6pm on Sunday, March 10 at SSPP, so that many more people might have the chance to receive the Graces of this Sacrament. Also, as we did during Advent, we will have a Holy Hour of Adoration from 3-4pm, with Solemn Evening Prayer (Vespers) each Sunday (concluding with Benediction) at SSPP. Finally, SVdP will host the 7 Week Lenten Journey Series “Who Am I To Judge” on Monday evenings at 6:00pm in the parish Gathering Space. (See bulletin for details.) Make this a Holy Lent! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller The Gospel this week again records the healing of the sick. In this case the most horrible disease known to the ancient world, leprosy. In this column last week I spoke about the continuation of the healing ministry of Jesus present in the Church today, especially through the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. I would like to review a few things about that sacrament in this column. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches that this sacrament “was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament” and “is intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness.” (#1511) “The Anointing of the Sick is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful be- gins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.” (#1514) The oil used for the sacrament is blessed by the Bishop (at the Chrism Mass during Holy Week, along with all the oils used for the other sacraments). In the rite the priest prays over the sick person and anoints him or her on the forehead and on the palms of the hands. If possible, it is appropriate to receive the Sacrament of Penance beforehand. Though the Anointing of the Sick may be celebrated anytime in emergency, it is also proper, if it is possible to do so, to arrange its celebration (e.g., before surgery) for a time when family members can be present. The Church also recommends communal celebrations of the sacrament. (This is typically done periodically in nursing homes or care centers.) To learn more about this sacrament, I recommend reading paragraphs #1499 - 1532 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We begin our Lenten journey this coming Ash Wednesday. Let’s have a Holy Lent! May God bless you! Fr. Schaller Souper Bowl Weekend Please bring your donation of cans of soup or boxes of crackers to the church by Feb. 10/11 This will help restock the shelves of our local food pantry. For questions call Steve Janowiak The Gospels record much about the life of Christ. Frequently, as in today’s Gospel, the Gospel relates how the Lord spent His time teaching. One of the chief responsibilities of the Bishop is to teach the Faith within his diocese. Not just his ideas or opinions; but the Faith taught by Jesus, handed down by the Apostles, and still taught by the Church today. One of my responsibilities as pastor is to teach the Catholic Faith here at SSPP and SVdP parishes. And finally, parents have the responsibility (and the right!) to teach their own children within the family. The Church has always stressed the primacy of parents as the first and most important teachers of their own children, especially in matters of the Faith. Though some parents may rightly choose to homeschool their chil- dren, most make use of public, private, or Catholic schools. In every case the parents retain the privilege of directing their children’s education. It is proper for parents to have an active interest in how their schools are operated – not only regarding fiscal responsibility, but especially concerning the content of the curriculum. This applies to all schools: public, private, and Catholic schools. This week the Church celebrates Catholic Schools Week - an occasion to give thanks for all that our Catholic Schools have accomplished, and to re-commit ourselves to excellence in our Catholic Schools. I strongly encourage you who are parents to consider the value of a Catholic School education for your children. Now is an excellent time to explore the opportunities available for your child(ren) at Assumption Catholic Schools. My sib- lings and I benefitted greatly from our Catholic School experience. (For the record, I attended eight years of Catholic school at Saint Patrick’s in Onalaska, and graduated from Holmen (public) High School, and Marquette University). May God bless you! Fr. Schaller |