Father Carey’s Pastor’s Corner
(Week of 03/17/24)
My Dear Friends,
This weekend, we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Historically, this time of the year (these two weeks leading up to Holy Saturday) was once its own liturgical season called Passiontide. It was a period of time to focus more intently on the Passion and death of Jesus and so accompany Him on His way to Calvary. While this season formally no longer exists as a result of the liturgical changes which followed the Second Vatican Council, remnants of it can still be felt in some of the readings and prayers at Mass as well as the retained option to cover statues and images in churches. This time of year now “shifts” our hearts and minds to thoughts of our Lord being handed over to suffer and die on the cross. When speaking about Himself in the Gospel He says; ‘unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.’ Farming and gardening are processes of transformation. Seeds are sown in the earth. The ground is tended to and cared for; weeds are removed, and the seeds are watered. Then the waiting starts until what was sown slowly and somehow mysteriously transforms from a single seed into something altogether new and different; a plant bursting with new life. The old gives way to the new. There is in this a sense of sacrifice and dying; the seeds let go, yield and are transformed. One can imagine that this is a painful process of the seed seemingly losing itself. But new life does come from this painful transformation; new life comes from this loss and death.
Holy Week and Easter are in sight, but we are not there yet. The Gospel this weekend leads and points towards the great event of the passion of Jesus. He is the seed that will be ‘sown’ in the earth. He will let go, yield, offer his life for us and be transformed. From his death will come new life. Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus offers us the fruit of eternal life. From this apparent loss will come the ultimate good. Only with death is there resurrection; what seems like Jesus’ loss is our gain. Next week, we begin Holy Week with Palm Sunday. We are being called & invited by Jesus to stay with Him so we can experience Good Friday and the stark reality of the cross. These are only steps on the way. The story does not end there; but we are called to stand at the cross before we can stand at the empty tomb at Easter. The cross is central not only to Lent, but to the whole message of Christianity. In the gospel today, Jesus clearly says, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’ This glory will not come through power or prestige but through his dying and rising. He is the seed that will be ‘sown’ in the earth. He will let go, yield, offer his life for us and be transformed. From his death will come our new life.
This coming Wed., March 20th at 7 PM, we will have our annual combined communal celebration of Penance at St. Katharine of Siena Parish in Wayne. We offer these communal gatherings during both Advent and Lent. We invite you to come and pray together and receive the generous gift of Christ’s mercy and forgiveness in this great sacrament in preparation for Easter Sunday.
Palmweaving is a time-honored tradition in our parish. All are invited to come to Assumption Hall to our last palmweaving session (in person) on Wed., 3/20/2024 from 6 PM – 8 PM. All woven palm will be used to adorn the altar for our Palm Sunday Masses on 3/23 & 3/24. Anyone who creates a woven palm is encouraged to please come back to the church after the 10 AM Palm Sunday Mass has concluded to pick up your palm. They are beautiful to place on the grave of a loved one or to have as a reminder in your home.
Just as a reminder, our church will be open for Confessions & a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament from 7 PM – 8 PM every Tuesday evening during the season of Lent. Also, Stations of the Cross devotions are scheduled for each Friday in Lent at 7 PM. Please consider participating in these traditional Lenten practices & especially bringing your children to participate in them.
Please remember to return your purple “Change for Christ” cup and deposit it with an usher or in one of the glass jars at the entrances of the church. Each year, during the season of Lent, we take up our annual appeal called “Change for Christ”. This year, we are supporting Mother of Mercy House located in Kensington, Philadelphia. I invite you to visit their website: https://motherofmercyhouse.org/ to learn more about them. This is a wonderful cause & a special opportunity to teach ourselves and our children the need to make sacrifices for others and to recognize the face of Christ in those who are poor and needy.
Once again, I am so grateful for your prayerful & financial support of our parish. May you and your families continue to have a fruitful and blessed Lent!
Love and Prayers,
Father Carey