Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This weekend we come to the end of this period of Ordinary time that is before our season of Lent. It seems a little funny this year, because we have done more of Ordinary time than we usually do. Most years we are in Lent by now. This year, Ash Wednesday is this coming Wednesday and it is finally time for all of us to begin our Lenten time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I love the beginning of Lent because it is so full of possibilities. It all begins in just a couple of days. What are you going to do for Lent this year? Now is the time to decide! Ash Wednesday Masses are at 8:00 AM and at 5:30 PM this Wednesday. Hopefully we’ll see you at one of them. Ash Wednesday is a day of both fast and abstinence. This means that in addition to abstaining from meat, as we will do every Friday during Lent, on Ash Wednesday we also eat less than we usually do. As Church, together we agree that healthy adults, ages 14 to 60, will have only one full meal and two lighter meals or snacks on fast days. Certainly, most of us can do more than that, if we want to. The Church is telling us what the minimum expectation is for the fast. Let’s all do our best to show our love and appreciation to Jesus by fasting and abstaining from meat this coming Wednesday.

This weekend we are announcing the resignation of our business manager for the past four years, Mr. Steve Hood. Steve has done a great job of financially leading our Parish family through incredible growth, the construction and opening of our new church, and through some moderate to serious financial situations that could have been disasters, if we hadn’t pulled together. Steve has led us all in being faithful stewards of what God has given us. He has been responsible, and conservative, and extremely careful with our money, our resources, and our facilities, so that St. Maria Goretti Parish can stay strong for many years. He has done a great job. I am very grateful for all that he has done. There will be more time to thank Steve later. He will remain with us until April 7 th. Immediately, St. Maria Goretti is announcing the open position of business manager and will start accepting resumes right away. We are looking for someone with a background and experience in business administration, accounting, and facilities management. If you or someone that you know have this background, and would be interesting in joining our St. Maria Goretti Team, please send your resume to me at the Parish Office as soon as possible. Let us all pray that God sends us just the right person for the job. I know He will.

I would like to thank all of the adults who helped out with last weekend’s Destination Jesus. It was so good to see so many St. Maria Goretti folks helping out in so many ways. Thanks also to all of the guys from Christ Renews His Parish and from the Holy Name Society who facilitated our housing all of the guys from the weekend here at St. Maria Goretti. It is an enormous task. But everybody working together got the job done last weekend. I am so grateful to all of you.

Next weekend is the Men’s Christ Renews His Parish weekend. Guys, this is your last call, the Christ Renews His Parish weekend is an amazing experience. These weekends have had a profound affect on our Parish family. It is our goal to get everybody in the Parish to eventually do Christ Renews His Parish. There are still guys out there who should be on the Men’s weekend this time around. Is this your time? What are you doing next weekend? Guys, call Dan Dessauer at 770-7190 today. You asked God for an answer. He’s telling you to go on Christ Renews His Parish next weekend. Take the hint.

The month of March is our busiest month of the year around here at St. Maria Goretti. The entire month is one, endless, 31 days of constant activity. We have so much going on. It’s going to be a great month. I would ask for your patience this next month, most especially with me. We’re going to be spread more than a little thin this next month. We’re really trying to do as much as we can as a Parish, especially for Lent. We want as many opportunities available to as many people as possible. Please be patient. And please pray for Fr. Dale and myself and all of our staff and volunteers as we head into March. We need to all stay focused and rooted in prayer, most especially when we’re really busy. Buckle up!

We are so blessed! Have a great week. Don’t Mardi Gras too much or it will just make Ash Wednesday that much harder!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you’ yet?