Professional Documents
Culture Documents
www.olphparish.org
The Season of
Lent
& &
of our prayer, fasting and almsgiving will be done individually, the Lord wants us to draw strength from one another, to recognize together how much we all need mercy, and to encourage one another in prayer. May the Lord bless our parish family during this special season of grace, that as individuals and as a family, we might be well prepared for the joy of Easter.
P R AY E R
"In the Eucharist is all the power that created the universe and all the love that redeemed it!" Join us for daily Mass and receive the Lords power and love in your life to help you meet the challenges and trials of each day. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Saturday at 8:15am and Thursdays at 9:30am. The Mass readings are specially chosen to help draw us more deeply into Lent. Please join us!
!"#$%&'"((!
/"01"2*+,&.3&4*0.+0#$#",#.+! All of us have made poor choices and have areas where we struggle to love. What if there was a way to start over? What if there was a way to be strengthened so that we could break out of our patterns of sin? God offers us His mercy to do just that. See the last page for the many opportunities we have to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Lent on F r i d a y s , Saturdays and at our Lenten Penance Service. Please see our website for helpful guides to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Come and meet Christ in the Sacrament of His Mercy!
At Mass the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We feed on His Body and Blood at Mass and the Church also adores His real presence in Eucharistic Adoration, when the consecrated host is visible in the monstrance for prayer and worship. Eucharistic adoration takes place every Friday morning after Mass and continues throughout the day and night until Saturday morning Mass. Come and spend some quiet time in the presence of the Lord it is a great time of peace, healing and spiritual refreshment.
!"#$%&)*+,*+&!*-.,#.+"$&
This year the parish staff is offering its own booklet of daily reflections and prayers for the Lenten season. The reflections for each day are drawn from the daily Mass readings, which the Church chooses to help prepare us for the coming Easter celebration. The devotional is available for you on our parish website. Stick with it and witness how your relationship with Christ comes to life this Lent! ! !
5607"1#(,#0&89.1",#.+!
?1#9"%(@&'"107&A&B&8>1#$&C@&DEFC& ",&AGCH>2&#+&,7*&I76107&
Come and spend time in the presence of the Light of the World, the King of Kings, the Lamb of God, our beloved Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus loves you beyond all understanding. He lives in constant hope of you. No matter where you are on your conversion journey, Jesus will meet you. Scripture readings, music, and reflection will gently and beautifully help guide you in praise and prayer in the presence of our beloved Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
5607"1#(,#0&:.$%&:.61(& ;#,7&<1"#(*&"+9&=.1(7#>&
?4L!8J/&M?&)5NK!
&
)*+,*+&/.6>&/6>>*1(&
Join us every Friday evening of Lent from 6:006:50pm in the Parish Center as our parish family gathers to share in a simple Lenten Soup Supper. These simple meals are a good way to build some fasting into Lent and give you a chance to join with other families. No RSVP is needed, just join us!&
/,",#.+(&.3&,7*&I1.((&
8>>(&,.&:*$>&J.6@&J.61&K**+(&"+9& I7#$91*+&<1"%&K7#(&)*+,&
We know you're busy; God knows you're busy; and He wants to be a part of everything that you do. Here are some easy and portable ways to grow closer to Christ and allow Him into your life in a deeper way this Lent... any beyond. 40 Day Spiritual Workout for Catholic Teens by Bob Rice and Franciscan University. Search the App Store for 40 Day Spiritual Workout. Laudate, the most comprehensive free Catholic Prayer and Resource app. Search the App Store for Laudate. CRS Rice Bowl is a simple way to bring Lent into your life, online, offline, anytime, anywhere. Search the App Store for CRS Rice Bowl. www.LentenAdventure.com For your kids and you: free weekly video, music, and fun activities delivered to your email inbox all through Lent! Join the Holy Heroes Adventure Guides for your best Lent ever!
Join us every Friday of Lent at 2:30pm and 7:00pm in the Church as we pray the Stations of the Cross. Early in the life of the Church it became common for pilgrims to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to Calvary, remembering His passion and death. When it became too dangerous for pilgrims to travel to the Holy Land, the Stations of the Cross became an alternative. The Stations commemorate Jesus' journey to Calvary where he died. Originally prayed outdoors, the Stations of the Cross gradually moved inside churches where they became a familiar feature. Join us for this beautiful Lenten devotion.
& &
)#-#+P&/,",#.+(&.3&,7*&I1.((&
On Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at Loyola University Marylands Reitz Arena, the Archdiocese of Baltimore will host The Francis Factor, an event to mark the one-year anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. Cardinal Sen OMalley, Archbishop of Boston and member of Pope Francis advisory Council of Cardinals, will share his thoughts and observations on Pope Francis and his amazing first year as leader of the Catholic Church. A distinguished panel will join Cardinal OMalley and participate in a Q&A discussion with participation from the audience. Tickets to the event, which is part of the Archdiocese of Baltimores year-long celebration of the 225th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Baltimore, must be requested through the website at https://www.archbalt.org/aboutus/ticket-request.cfm. The Francis Factor will also be streamed live.&
The Living Stations of the Cross is a powerful witness to Jesus passion and death. At each station we use our senses to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus suffering, death, and resurrection, and to simply experience the visual images of Christs love for us. Lead by the 7th Grade class of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, join us for the Living Stations of the Cross on Friday, April 11th at 2:00pm in the church.
FASTING
Lenten Norms for Fasting and Abstinence
Catholics, age 14 and over, are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays during the season of Lent. Adult Catholics, ages 18 through 59, are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting is observed by eating only one full meal and two lighter meals that day and by refraining from eating between meals. Individuals who are pregnant, nursing, or ill are excused from these norms. Fasting is the voluntary giving up of food, drink, and other material things that expresses our desire to bring a healthy balance back to our relationship with God, ourselves, and others. Poor choices in daily life can lead us to become enslaved to certain material things such as food, drink, television, etc. In fasting, we admit that we are not as free as we would like to be. In fasting, we exercise the gift of our free will to say no to certain things (which are not necessarily bad in themselves) in order to allow us to say yes to the Lord and to others. There are a number of benefits to fasting: ! Fasting awakens the heart to the intimate presence of God in one's soul. ! Fasting encourages more serious reflection about the priorities in our lives. ! Fasting strengthens our sense of dependence upon God. ! Fasting sharpens our sensitivity to the spiritual dimension of life. ! Fasting strengthens our ability to say yes to God and no to sin. ! Fasting develops greater appreciation for the gifts of God, especially food and drink. ! Fasting purifies us, spiritually as well as physically.
K7*&M)<:&I7.#1(&"1*&$..O#+P&3.1& "99#,#.+"$&(#+P*1(&3.1&:.$%&=**OQ&
If youve wanted to get involved with the Choir but cant make a yearlong commitment, please consider joining the Traditional Choir or the Sunday Morning Contemporary. Ensemble to participate in one or more of the Holy Week liturgies. Being a seasonal c h o i r m e m b e r is a way to enter more deeply into the celebration of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil. For more information, please contact Dana LaRosa, Director of Music at 410 747 4334 or dlarosa@archbalt.org.
!
Ways to fast:
"The season of Lent already comes with some built-in fasting: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence while each Friday of Lent we abstain from eating meat. Remember, though, that meatless Fridays dont mean we choose lobster instead. Meatless meals on the Fridays of Lent should be simple, sacrificial, and lead us to reach out in generosity to those who are less fortunate through some act of charity. #The classic form of fasting involves giving up of food or drink. As children we may have given up candy during Lent this classic approach can be as valuable for adults as for children. Any time we exercise our free will in a deliberate way over and above our desires we gain control over our lives the same control that is needed to say yes to God and no to sin. $We can also fast from an entire meal lunch on the Fridays of Lent for example. The money normally spent on that meal could be placed in the Poor Box at church. %We can also fast from television, music, or the Internet. While not always bad in themselves, these forms of entertainment can so fill our lives that we have trouble hearing God. In place of television or the computer, we can spend time with those we love or in quiet prayer with God (reading from one of the Gospels, looking at the Sunday Mass readings, etc.) or in service to others. & Remembering that fasting is a form of penance and self-denial, there are many other ways that we can show God our sorrow for our sins: being generous with others, visiting the sick and lonely, feeding the poor, studying Scripture, praying the Stations of the Cross or the Rosary, practicing self- control, and many others.
out of fear, are tempted to abort their children, for those who carry the pain of a past abortion, and for those who work in abortion clinics. Since this became a nationwide prayer effort in 2007, 44 abortion clinics have closed their doors for good. For more information on how you can participate please visit www.40daysforlife.com.
ALMSGIVING
Almsgiving is not only an offering of money to those in need but an attitude of generosity and a willingness to share in the burdens of others. Almsgiving is closely tied to fasting whatever we save (money or time) should be offered to the needy. Here are a few concrete ways to give alms this Lent:
! !
This is the holiest night of the Churchs year as we recall Christs Resurrection from the dead. Beginning in darkness with the light of candles, we enter into the celebration of his resurrection singing the Gloria and Alleluia for the first time since the beginning of Lent. It is on this night that we welcome men and women into the new life of Christ and His Church by celebrating the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist for those becoming Catholic.
The Sacred Triduum (Latin for three days) is the 72 hour period at the end of Holy Week marking the Passion, Death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus. The three days are counted as the Hebrews counted their days, from dusk to dusk. Therefore, the three days of the Easter Triduum are from dusk on Holy Thursday to dusk on Good Friday (day one), dusk on Good F r i d a y to dus k on H ol y Saturday (day two), and dusk on Holy Saturday to dusk on Easter Sunday (day three). Each of those days celebrates and commemorates the final days of Jesus as he offered himself for our salvation. We look at the Easter Triduum as one single celebration that lasts for three days. We cannot separate the death of Jesus from his resurrection. Please join us for these special celebrations!
Holy Thursday
On this evening we remember and enter into what Jesus did with his disciples the night before he died: He gave them the new commandment of love (Love one another as I have loved you. John 13:34), symbolized in his washing of the disciples feet, he instituted the Eucharist (Do this in memory of me. Luke 22:19) and prayed for strength in the garden of Gethsemane (Let your will be done, not mine. Luke 22:42). The Church celebrates these same events, washing the feet of parishioners, celebrating the Eucharist and then ending the evening in prayerful vigil before Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Good Friday
Today is one of the most solemn days in the Churchs year when we recall the death of Jesus on the cross. This is the only day of the year the Church does not celebrate the Mass. Instead, the ritual is in three parts: the Liturgy of the Word (when we read the account of his passion and death), veneration of the cross, and Communion (consecrated on Holy Thursday evening). This service does not stand alone; it is a continuation of what began on Holy Thursday. The veneration of the cross is a practice unique to Good Friday. It is our opportunity to humble ourselves before the awesome saving action of Christ.
Easter Vigil
The Rite of Sending and the Scrutinies Special Prayers for Those Becoming Catholic
Throughout Lent the Church offers special prayers for those preparing to become Catholic at the Easter Vigil. On Sunday, March 9 at the 11:00am Mass we will celebrate the Rite of Sending, a special prayer in which our RCIA candidates are sent out to the Cathedral where the Archbishop formally elects (chooses) them to enter into the life of the Church at Easter. This is followed by the Scrutinies on the last three Sundays of Lent when the Church offers special prayers asking God to deliver them from the power of sin, to protect them against temptation and give them new strength in Christ. Each of these prayers is based on who Christ revealed himself to be: the Living Water, the Light of the World, and the Resurrection and the Life. Please join us for these special prayers on March 23 at the 9:00am Mass, March 29 at the 4:30pm Mass and April 6 at the 9:00am Mass.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Friday afternoons at OLPH (March 7-April 11): 4:30pm-6:00pm Saturday afternoons at OLPH: 3:00pm 4:15pm Friday, April 11, 3:00 8:00 pm The Light is On For You confessions here at OLPH and at all parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore Monday, March 31, 7:00pm Ellicott City Lenten Penance Service hosted at OLPH Tuesday, April 1, 7:00pm " Regional Penance Service hosted at St. John, Wilde Lake Center