Feb 16, 2023

Greetings,

This week we enter into the great and holy season of Lent. If you have not had time yet to figure out what you are going to do to grow spiritually, mentally and physically, there is still time to give it some serious thought. What do you need to weed out of your life that will make you a better son or daughter of your Father? Now is the time to rid yourself of habits, behaviors, customs, things, distractions and indulgences.

It’s also a time to begin new things! When you throw something out, it is better to replace it with something because nature abhors a vacuum and will attempt to backfill with more of what was just thrown out. Prayer, spiritual and corporal acts of mercy, volunteering, upgrading what is read and seen, developing beneficial physical habits, connecting with others or finally tackling important projects. All of these do not make God greater, but makes us grow into all that our Father created us to be, to reach our holy potential and to better align ourselves with Him and His mission, to be a better people forty days from now than we are today. An exciting concept.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Below are some practices that are available to do as a community to assist you in growing this Lenten season.

ASH WEDNESDAY MASS: For those of you who are able to make it, here are the times for our kick-off Masses for Lent:

Ash Wednesday, February 22

• 9:00am with the parish school
• 5:00pm Extraordinary Form (Latin)
• 7:00pm

STATIONS OF THE CROSS & BENEDICTION: Every Friday during Lent there will be Stations of the Cross with Benediction at 1:45pm and 7:00pm. This is also a great opportunity to invite a non-Catholic friend with you to Church as they can fully participate in the service: sticking their toe into the water so to speak.

PARISH MISSION: Mark your calendars now! Our parish mission with Fr. Michael Denk is coming up March 12-14. If your household has not already received their free copy of his book, please pick it up in the church or stop by the rectory.

CONFESSIONS: We have confessions on Tuesday nights from 7:00 -7:30pm, Fridays from 4:00 - 5:00pm and Saturdays from 9:30 - 10:00am.

DIOCESAN WIDE NIGHT OF CONFESSIONS: On Wednesday, March 8 from 5:00 - 8:00pm you can visit any parish in the diocese and there will be a priest available to hear your confession.

ADORATION: Every Tuesday following the 8:00am Mass until 8:00pm we have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the church. Here is a chance to come by and have a quiet moment or hour to have a heart to heart with our Lord. At 7:40pm there is sung compline (night prayer) with benediction. This is another great opportunity to invite a non-Catholic friend to join you.

FORTY DAY CLUB: Every morning (including Saturday) at 8:00am there is Mass at St. Sebastian. Fr. Byrider started the Forty Day Club to encourage Sebastianites to attend Mass more regularly during this holy season. For those with tight schedules, Mass is under thirty minutes.

LIVE-STREAMING: For those who cannot make it, daily Masses are live-streamed.

OTHER PARISHES: Check out our local parish’s websites for more opportunities for confession, missions, talks, concerts and other actives for Lent.

CLOSED: Our parish offices will be closed on Monday, February 20 for President’s Day.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck