Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Here are the readings for the Palm/Passion Sunday, April, 2012:

Procession: Mark 11: 1-10
Isaiah 50: 4-7
Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24
Philippians 2: 6-11
Mark 14:1 -15: 47

And so it begins: our holiest week of the year, when in our liturgies we are invited to enter even more deeply, more physically as well as spiritually, into the Paschal Mystery. If only for a week, our priorities shift: we stop checking our watches and let the services flow, we find ourselves standing for long proclamations of the passion, kneeling again and again, having feet washed, approaching the cross with reverent love, and gathering outside in the dark around a fire as finally, finally, we come to experience once again Christ's victory over sin and death.

It is a story that can not be rushed. Nor can it be abridged or sanitized. Because this is not only the story of Jesus from Nazareth; it is our story, too.

As we prepare for the feast of Easter, please hold in prayer Casandra our Elect, and our candidates for full communion: Allen, Anna, Emma, Grace, Jamie, Jodie, Karen and Tonya. St. Andrew's is blessed by their presence and faith.

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Here are the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 25, 2012:

Jeremiah 31: 31-34
Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-15
Hebrews 5: 7-9
John 12: 20-33

Getting to the heart of the matter... that's what our scriptures this week are doing.
Jeremiah proclaims the Lord's promise of fidelity, of a law inscribed on the hearts of God's people. The psalmist beautifully expresses our yearning in these simple words:  
               A clean heart create for me, O God, 
                  and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
The author of Hebrews relates the reality of Jesus praying in order to learn from his suffering, and in our Gospel, Jesus pulls no punches about what it takes to be his follower. (your whole heart has GOT to be in it!)

With the Easter Vigil approaching quickly, and (our candidates) freshly forgiven by the grace of the sacrament of reconciliation ... how's your heart these days?

The Sign of the Cross

Here's a brief and interesting article on making the sign of the cross.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Here are the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 18, 2012:

2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23
Psalm 137: 1-6
Ephesians 2: 4-10
John 3: 14-21

You know the feeling: you're walking along and trip over a blade of grass or walk into a doorway- not enough to injure anything but your pride... and you look around to make sure no one noticed. And you know that sinking feeling, when you've said something you shouldn't and you can only hope that it doesn't go any further. Or even that panic at work when you've made a mistake in a crucial area, and can only hope that no one notices, or someone else gets the blame. Multiply that by the times when you have seriousness sinned, and I bet you can relate to these sentences from the Gospel:

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

We've messed up. By all accounts, we deserve punishment and derision. And yet, we know that Jesus did not come to condemn us, mock us, make us squirm under the glaring lamp of the interrogation room. Jesus came out of love for us. To show us how to live in the freedom that comes from being in a right and honest relationship with God. And any squirming is self-imposed, from our recognition of our imperfections, paired with a desire to please the God Whom we love, Who first loved us.

God's love is freely offered to us-- that powerful love is what we call grace.

• When and how are you reluctant to accept God's love?
• What happens when you do?

The Catechumenate this Sunday will talk about grace and prepare for the sacrament of reconciliation.

Third Sunday of Lent

Here are the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent, March 11, 2012:

Exodus 20: 1-17 
Psalm 19: 8-11
1 Corinthians 1: 22-25
John 2: 13-25

What an interesting Gospel today: Jesus, the reconciler, riling up the temple marketplace! The moneychangers were actually performing a helpful service- exchanging the Roman and other local coins that had images of emperors or pagan symbols for money that could be accepted as an offering. (But--- were they being fair and honest in their trade?)
What made him so angry? Were people so caught up in the temple business trade that they ignored the purpose of the temple itself, the worship of God?

The Exodus reading gives us the Ten Commandments, and two of the first three deal with not having false gods and the reminder to keep the sabbath holy.

• Are there things (money, celebrity, acquisitions) that have taken over first place  in your heart from God?
• Do you dedicate time every week to thank God for all your blessings, to rest and pray and be recharged in your faith, your relationships, your physical being? If not, might there be some way to re-prioritize whatever it is that keeps you "busy"?

Due to some scheduling adjustments, the Penitential Rite for our candidates for full communion will be celebrated during the 9:30am Mass this Sunday. (Usually on the 2nd Sunday of Lent)

Please remember to set your clocks ahead one hour this Saturday night before you go to sleep!

Second Sunday of Lent

Here are the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent, March 4, 2012:

Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Psalm 116: 10, 15-19
Romans 8: 31b-34
Mark 9: 2-10

This encouraging passage is from Paul's letter to the Romans:

Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

As we continue our Lenten journey, entering the desert to confront our particular temptations and weaknesses, can you find in this scripture a reassurance that God wants only the best for you? And if so, what might that mean for your own ongoing conversion?

There is no RCIA session this Sunday- we will meet at 3:20pm at St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill for the 4pm Rite of Election. If you wish to car pool from St. Andrew's, we will leave at 2:45pm.