ENCOUNTER this Sunday!

Youth Group in the Former Church: Encounter for grades 6-8 and Small Group for Grades 9-12; this Sunday, March 23 from 7:15 - 8:30 pm

See you there!

Fr. W

Welcome Bishop Gainer!

Hello Friends,

This Tuesday, March 18th at 7 pm we will host an Evening Prayer and Reception for Bishop Gainer as he prepares to be installed as the 11th Bishop of our Diocese on Wednesday, March 19th.  This is a great honor and will be a wonderful opportunity to pray with Bishop Gainer and meet him after the prayer service in the former Church.

The Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer
11th Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg

The Installation events will be on the web and televised, click here for more information.

Please pray for Bishop Gainer as he accepts the role of shepherd of our diocese:

Heavenly Father,
   the just man Saint Joseph was given by you
   as spouse to the Virgin Mother of God and
   set as wise and faithful servant in charge of 
   your household to watch like a father over 
   your Only Begotten Son.

Grant, through his heavenly intercession,
   protection and growth to the Church in 
   Harrisburg, to Bishop Ronald Gainer, the 
   priests and deacons, the consecrated men 
   and women, and all the lay faithful.

Through Christ our Lord. 
   Amen.

Youth Group this Sunday!

Hello Team!

This Sunday, March 16th we will have Youth Group in the Former Church from 7:15 - 8:30 pm: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter for both HS and Middle school youth.

(Everyone is welcome, first time or even if its been a while since you were last with us!)

Fr. W

A quick look at the week ahead...

Friday, March 14th: Knights of Columbus Fish Fry; From 5 pm - 7 pm in the Social Hall... also, Stations of the Cross; at 7 pm in the Church

Saturday, March 15th: Daily Mass followed by the Sacrament of Confession; Daily Mass is at 8:30 am and Confessions are from 9-9:30 am in the Church... also, The Sacrament of Confession and Vigil Mass for Sunday; Confessions are from 3:30-4:30 pm and Mass is at 5 pm in the Church

Sunday, March 16th: SUNDAY MASS; Mass times are 8 am, 10:15 am, 12 Noon, and 6 pm in the Church... and, YOUTH GROUP: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm

Monday, March 17th: Solemnity of the Feast of Saint Patrick; as St. Patrick is the Principle Patron of the Diocese today is a Solemnity in the entire Diocese of Harrisburg

Tuesday, March 18^th: Evening Prayer for Bishop Gainer at 7 pm in the Church, at 7 pm -- all are welcome!

Wednesday, March 19th: Solemnity of the Feast of Saint Joseph; as St. Joseph is Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church today is Solemnity throughout the entire world... Installation Mass of Bishop Gainer; starting at 2 pm

Parish Devotions!

Hello Team!

Tonight and tomorrow night at 7 pm we will have two great experiences of prayer and devotion for our Parish:

1. Tonight at 7 pm we will have a "Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage" including veneration of a Lourdes Grotto Water and Rock, as well as a Eucharistic Procession -- this will no doubt be a wonderful and very unique event!  I encourage all of you to attend, and bring a friend!

2. Tomorrow Night at 7 pm we will have our "Solemn Closing of Eucharistic Devotions" all day tomorrow there will be Eucharistic Adoration in the Church concluded with this Evening Prayer -- preached by a newly ordained priest, my classmate, Fr. Daniel Richards.  He is an excellent priest, please do make time to come out tomorrow evening and join us in prayer.

God Bless,

Fr. W

Don't forget... Youth Group this Sunday!

Sunday, March 9th: EUCHARISTIC DEVOTIONS and Prayers;

Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church – snacks afterwards, concluding at 8:30 pm

Thanks,

Fr. Wilke

Stations of the Cross and Fish Dinners…

Team,

Tomorrow (or today, depending when you read this post) is our First Lenten Friday for 2014!  Obviously, this is a day when we abstain from meat – as well as keep our personal plan of penance, prayer, and charity (if you haven’t worked out all the details, jot down your thoughts, taking a look at our "ASH WEDNESDAY" post, and stick to your plan!).

I stumbled across a nice reflection on our Lenten Disciplines… written earlier this week, it gives some nice insight to our practices!

There will be Stations of the Cross in the Church at 2:15 pm and 7:00 pm – this is weekly standard for Lent... it’s a great Lenten Practice to pray the Stations of the Cross!

Also, the HNJ Knights of Columbus are running a Fish Dinner from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Social Hall.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Fr. Wilke

ASH WEDNESDAY

Okay, Team… here we go – Lent!

Ash Wednesday Masses are as follows:

1. 6:30 am

2. 8:30 am

3. 12 Noon

4. 7:00 pm

Ashes will be distributed at all Masses… for a few thoughts on the distribution of Ashes, read what our friend Jimmy Akin has to say on this unique day of the year.

Remember: Ash Wednesday is a day of both fasting and abstinence.  If you aren't sure what “fasting and abstinence” means… click here.  For a spiritual reflection on fasting, read through this little article.

As we prepare for Lent, I encourage all of you to read Pope Francis’ Lenten Message.  

I also encourage you to be deliberate, write down your plan, about how you will fast, pray, and give alms this lent.  Perhaps it will be as simple as: fast – No Candy, not even chocolate; pray – I will attend the Stations of the Cross each week, or pray them on my own on Friday, and go to the Sacrament of Confession twice between now and Holy Thursday; almsgiving – every week will give $10, from my own money earned this year, to the Church in the tan colored “St. Vincent de Paul Society” envelopes… This is obviously just an example, to get the ideas moving, take it or leave it but I do strongly encourage you to enter into Lent with a plan, a detailed and written plan.

Let’s remember to keep one another in prayer, that this Lent each of us will become a better Christian through our Lenten discipline and the goodness of God!

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world!

Fr. Wilke

Ready... Set... LENT!

Team,

Ash Wednesday is THIS WEDNESDAY (March 5^th) and it is the start of LENT!  

Lent is centered on prayer, fasting, and alms-giving (giving-to-charity, in more modern terms) – this seems like a lot of rules and restrictions, but let me tell you all something important: Lent is how we are supposed to live all the time!  Not that we need to sprinkle ashes on our heads every few weeks… no, on a deeper and more profound level…

Lent calls each of us to live a life that is more about God and less about me.  Living a life that is more about God and less about me, is in the running for the motto of the Christian life – just look at Jesus, he came to do the will of the Father: from his birth in Bethlehem, to his childhood years, through his preaching and miracles, and the Passion, Jesus lived a life for our salvation by following the will of God the Father.  Now that we got a bit more of the whole Christianity thing squared away (My life is about God not about me), lets take a quick look at Lent and Ash Wednesday…

Got 2 minutes? Ash Wednesday and Lent in Two Minutes, from our friends at Busted Halo.

Fasting? Why Fast? Some great thoughts from our Friend Meg at Held by His Pierced Hands.  As well as “few” thoughts on what to do for Lent, and why… nice thoughts!  

[If you want to bounce your idea for your Lenten Sacrifice seems a bit extreme or even tougher than usual, shoot me an email and we can chat about it – the whole conversation will be completely private and do me the favor of adding your phone number to the email, in case its just easier to call.]

We can talk a bit more about Prayer and Almsgiving soon… but with fasting and Lenten Sacrifices first on our agenda, at least on my agenda, I thought these blog posts and ideas would be helpful. 

Remember: we cannot serve both God and the world, so carve some of the world out of your life to make more room for God!

May the Lord continue to bless you,

Fr. Wilke

Sleet and Ice Cancellation of Youth Group

Folks,

Due to more Sleet and Ice scheduled to come into Harrisburg in the early evening tonight, we will not be having our Movie Social Tonight.  Sorry for the late notice on this, I was hopeful that this would change to rain. 

In short: No Youth Group Tonight.

Fr. Wilke