Dear Parishioners,
In my mind, I believe the three happiest words of all time and in any language come from the beautiful hymn, the "Regina Coeli". The words are, "Resurrexit sicut dixit,” or in English, "He is risen, as He said." While the joy of Easter is expressed in the words "He is risen,” it is the rest of the phrase that reminds us of the power of God. The words "as He said" reminds us that our God is a God of promises, and unlike human promises, He never breaks His word.
Throughout scripture, we are reminded of God's promise to love, nurture and redeem His people from their sins. And, in the end, the fulfillment of that promise was made incarnate in the person of Jesus. God could have forsaken us, and justifiably condemned us, because of our disobedience and sinfulness. But, to have done so would have meant breaking His word, and that is something He will never do. And so, through the passion, death and resurrection of His only begotten Son, our Heavenly Father fulfilled the promise he had made long ago, and in so doing changed the entire course of humanity forever.
At the Easter Vigil, 6 new members joined our Parish Community, They are: Kristi Garza, Andrew Voorhees, JoAnn (Meyers) Biats, Alexander Hensley, Nicholas Hensley, and Beverly Candace Sanderfei. We also recognize 3 being Baptized at the vigil. They are: Kayli Ann Garza, Estella Marie Sanchez, and Lorenzo Adan Sanchez. We welcome them and pray that the joy and blessings they received on this Holy Night will remain with them forever!
My prayer is that the joy of our Father's Easter promise might remain with you and your families, every day of your lives.
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A priest friend of mine speaks lovingly about completing the final Easter Liturgy and going home to enter into “the Paschal Coma” for several days of recuperation. In fact, if we are praying the umpteenth Liturgy on Easter Day, it is easy for our minds to drift to Easter dinner, how tired we are, or any of the things that we have been putting off as we have been consumed by Easter preparations. But for other members of our assembly, it is their first time stepping foot into church this weekend ~ or since Christmas! Our challenge is to make the last Liturgy of the day as fresh and as exciting as the first “Alleluia” sung at the Easter Vigil.
I know how hard I work this week, but I always find it awe-inspiring and amazing to look out and see my “touchstones” in the faith community, who have been there on Holy Thursday, Good Friday (the service and stations as well), the Easter Vigil, and once again on Sunday morning. This is my ministry, my busy season, but I have to be here.
When I look at the energy my volunteer choir has devoted since January that culminates in these moments and all the time the Lectors, Ushers, EMs, and other ministers have put in, I am truly humbled. Yet, I recall once more that our sacrifices are nothing compared to God’s great gift to us all.
We are and have been “witnesses of all that he did” and how blessed are we because of it. May we ever remain grateful. Sometimes we are so consumed by the details of making the Liturgies happen that we are not as present to what is taking place as we might be. Each of us certainly deserves a good long nap and some down time, but we should be sure to pray and reflect upon all that we have witnessed this week. I want to thank them and all of you who have brought your time, talent, and energy together to make Holy Week and the entire seasons of Lent and Easter so prayerful and beautiful.
To all Ushers, EMs, Greeters, Musicians, Servers, Sacristans, Readers, and those who cleaned & decorated ~ a HUGE Thank You to ALL of you for helping make our Lenten & Easter season such a great celebration!
God’s Blessings,
Fr. Jared Orndorff, pastor
Dear Parishioners,
Holy Week begins with the Palm Sunday liturgy, celebrating Christ’s triumphant ride into Jerusalem. With the reading of the Passion, the liturgy foreshadows the events of Good Friday, and we try to reflect this musically, with the lessening of instruments until we finally exit in silence.
Wednesday evening is the Tenebrae ceremony. Tenebrae is the public singing of the Liturgy of the Hours, centered around the Passion and Death of Christ. All of the candles and lights are brightly lit to begin the service. During the course of the ceremony, all the candles and lights are slowly extinguished. The gradual darkening of the Church gives Tenebrae its particular tone as the complementary vigil to Holy Saturday. During the Easter Vigil the Christ candle sets everything alight; at Tenebrae there is gradual darkeness and silence, until only the Christ candle remains. The Christ candle is carried out by the celebrant and the Streptis (loud banging) is heard. The banging signifies the people asking for the candle to return. After the candle returns, the people leave in silence. This ceremony is full of symbolism that is easily explained to children. They love to participate in the banging at the end as well.
Easter Triduum:
The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum— from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery. What really do the liturgies of the Triduum celebrate? Most of us believe we know the answer. We assume that Thursday commemorates the day Jesus instituted the Eucharist; Friday commemorates the day He was executed on the cross; and the vigil commemorates His emergence from the tomb. We assume, further, that the liturgies are dramatic “reenactments” of events, by turns touching, tragic and triumphant-which happened during Jesus’ last days and culminated in His victory over death. Precisely because these faith-anchoring events are historical, however, they cannot be repeated or “reenacted”. That is why the Church’s long tradition insists that what happened once in history passes over into the mystery of the assembly’s liturgical/sacramental celebrations. What the paschal Triduum actually celebrates is mystery not history. They celebrate not what once happened to Jesus but what is happening among us as a people called to conversion, gathered in faith and gifted with holiness. Taken from “The Three Days of Pascha” Nathan Mitchell, In Assembly, vol18:1 C Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, Notre Dame IN
God’s Blessings, Fr. Jared Orndorff, Pastor
March 19, 2017
Dear Parishioners,
IS LENT AWFUL?
It is now the third Sunday of Lent! We are about half way there! How are we doing? Making it through Lent has more to do with our attitude than our practices. Each of us has a decision to make today and there are (basically) two choices.
Choice #1 - Lent is a terrible time of trial. There are extra Masses, Confessions, Stations of the Cross, focusing on my faults, giving things up, doing things I promised to do, extra praying, alms giving (ugh) and so forth. I am miserable and I can’t wait until just after midnight on Easter morning so I can chuck it all and start living again.
Choice #2 - Lent is AWESOME! Through discipline and focus, I will become a better person spiritually, mentally, and physically. I will become more like the person God created me to be. It is like exercise or practice, definitely not always fun, but the results are always worth it. And the best part about it is, I am not alone.
We are one giant community of people setting out to improve themselves and this world. As a way of helping through the rest of Lent, I would like to offer some Fasting and Feasting practices:
- Fast from judging others; Feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
- Fast from emphasis on differences; Feast on the unity of life.
- Fast from apparent darkness; Feast on the reality of light.
- Fast from thoughts of illness; Feast on the healing power of God. Fast from words that pollute; Feast of phrases that purify.
- Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.
- Fast from anger; Feast on patience.
- Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.
- Fast from worry; Feast on divine order.
- Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.
- Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.
- Fast from unrelenting pressures; Feast on unceasing prayer.
- Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.
- Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.
- Fast from facts that depress; Feast on virtues that uplift.
- Fast from lethargy; Feast on enthusiasm.
- Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.
- Fast from shadows of sorrow; Feast on the sunlight of serenity.
- Fast from idle gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.
- Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that strengthens.
So there you go…Choose.
God’s Blessings,
Fr. Jared Orndorff, Pastor
March 1, 2017
Dear Parishioners,
You might be asking, “Where are the “little black books?!”
The purchase of the FORMED.org has provided all parishioners with ever more opportunities to deepen their faith. You might be thinking, what can FORMED.org offer me for Lent? Here are a few ideas to make this a Lent to Remember!
Forgiven: The Transforming Power of Confession, is the latest addition to the Augustine Institute's Library of sacramental preparation programs. Forgiven explores the grace and healing offered in Confession and shows how this sacrament of mercy reveals the depth and bounty of God’s love. By looking at God’s revelation of his mercy in Scripture and making a step-by-step examination of the Rite itself, Forgiven communicates God’s invitation to each one of us to come experience his indescribable love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Opening the Word is a program offering prayer and insights for the Sunday Readings. It offers a deeper reflection to the Lenten readings designed to facilitate thought and discussion for personal faith formation.
Maybe you prefer to read or listen to audio books. You might try reading one of these: Open Wide the Doors to Christ: Discovering Catholicism, Love Unveiled: the Catholic Faith Explained, or Sacraments in Scripture: Salvation History Made Present. If you prefer listening to audio books try some of these: The Passion of Christ: In Light of the Holy Shroud of Turin, This Changes Everything, or The Lambs Supper.
How about a Catholic Movie Night? You might try one of these: Prayer: A Surge of the Heart, Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, or Mary of Nazareth.
All these great Catholic programs can be accessed through FORMED.org. One of the fastest growing Catholic programs in over 2400 parishes in the country, FORMED is a Netflix-like VOD and digital content service for both seeker and believer that features the best audio, video, e-books and featurelength films from some of the world’s most credible Catholic sources, such as the Augustine Institute, Ignatius Press and Word on Fire ministries. FORMED is available to all parishioners through a parish subscription Code: 9KMVCW. Simply input the parish code on the main page of FORMED.org to set up their free account.
No matter what you have done, no matter how long you have been away, Jesus is waiting for you in the Sacrament of Reconciliation! Make this Lent A Lent to Remember! For questions, call Eric Eiermann at the Church Office at 330-928-2173 or email him at eeiermann@saintjoe.org