It has been 9 months since my transition from Epiphany to St. Roberts and it has been a wonderful and overwhelming experience for me. I am still learning how to adapt and I’m still learning a lot about the Parish. I have yet to meet many of the Parishioners as this is a big parish. So far the relationship that I have built with many of you has been great and I thank you for accepting me as one of your deacons. I do welcome any suggestions that you may have to help me improve in my ministry,

As we are fast approaching Good Friday and Easter let us remind ourselves who we are—–Good Catholic Christians who think about our neighbors, about sharing the needs of others as well as loving one another, not just during Lent but always.

Please pray for our own beloved Father Joe Healy, Our beloved Pastor Father Bruce Dreier and My friend Marianne Snyder as well as all those who are sick and in need of our prayers not in our parish alone but all over the world.

Remember that we do see the light of Christ in one another and believe in the Resurrection.

We are all sinners and our sins affect one another. Because of this, we come together to forgive and be reconciled to each other and to our God. This service consists of a reading from the Scripture, followed by the Priest’s homily and our Examination of Conscience. Those who wish may confess to the Priest a sin or sinful attitude for which they are sorry. The Priest will give them a penance and absolution from their sins. Christ forgives our sins, speaking through His Priest. All we need is contrition.

Monday-April 3rd
Readings: Dn 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 - Jn 8:1-11

Tuesday-April 4th
Readings: Nm 21:4-9 - Jn 8:21-30

Wednesday-April 5th
Readings: Dn 3:14-20,91-92,95 - Jn 8:31-42

Thursday-April 6th
Readings: Gen 17:3-9 - Jn 8:51-59

Friday-April 7th
Readings: Jer 20:10-13 - Jn 10:31-42

Saturday-April 8th
Readings: Ez 37:21-28 - Jn 11:45-56

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

You are invited to participate in Stations of the Cross, each Friday in Lent, at 6 pm, in the Church. A Soup Supper will follow in Hennessy Hall. This is a light sacrificial meal and an opportunity for members of our Parish family to get to know one another. Please put in the basket provided the amount you would have spent on your usual Friday dinner. Your donation will allow our St. Vincent de Paul Society to feed our sisters and brothers less fortunate than we.

Early Church History

Since I no longer have access to the long palm branches from our motherhouse, does anyone have palm trees in your yard which we could cut for our Palm Sunday décor, the procession and the Passion Play? We’re in need of at least a dozen long palm branches which Tom Dachauer and crew will be happy to cut. Please give me a call at the rectory, 589-2800.

The Children’s Liturgy team will again be having Good Friday activities for children ages 4 and up. Hall doors will open at 1:15 p.m. on Good Friday, and it is requested that children are pre-registered. Last minute registration will be accepted at the door. Children will need to be picked up as soon as church services are over.

Easter flowers will decorate the Church during the Easter Season. If you would like to make a donation of $10 toward their purchase in memory of a loved one, please fill out the form below and return it to the Parish Office by April 10th. A memorial list will be published in the bulletin.

The high point of our life in faith is the Eucharist when we to thank God for the blessings of the week and to pray for strength and wisdom for whatever the coming week holds. We pray together as a community and we pray in the Spirit of Jesus who comes among us as Bread and Wine, food for our journey. We become what we receive.

Please think about your personal gifts. Can you speak well in front of a group? Perhaps, proclaiming the Word of God is your way to serve the community. Would you like to give the Body and Blood of the Lord to those who come? Can you carry a tune, even if you don’t read music? The 9:30, 11:30 or 5 pm choir would be happy for you to join them. Can you come a bit early and welcome the people as they arrive? Would you be comfortable taking up the collection? We’d be happy to have you as a greeter. Many of the elders of our parish have served in these ways for years. Please consider following their wonderful example.

Written on our Hearts
The readings this Sunday are again beautiful. In the Jeremiah passage, the people (and we ourselves) are told of a new covenant: “I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people.” There will be no need for teaching; everyone shall know the Lord. Notice that the covenant is a relationship, so close that we belong to God and God belongs to us. The “law” springs forth from the relationship. We might call this “law” within us conscience, that quiet voice which lets us know whether what we are doing is right or wrong. When Pinocchio is exercising his newfound freedom, his friend Jiminy Cricket serves this purpose. Our decisions aren’t as straight-forward as his were, but we do have our own guides. If we have a conscience well-formed by prayer, scripture and the Christian community we are part of and with which we interact, we can trust the Spirit present in all those sources to guide our conscience, regardless of what our society may present as opposing values. We need to develop the habit of pausing before making significant decisions, so that we can listen to our conscience.

The closing part of this reading says: “I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” Aren’t we blessed! During this season of Lent, we’ve been conscious of our sinfulness and our need for God’s mercy. This Wednesday at 7:30 p.m, we’ll have our Lenten Reconciliation Service, the opportunity to confess our sins or imperfections and start over. Though most of us, I daresay, aren’t “big” sinners, we are all aware of ways we fall short in keeping Jesus’ law to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Our society with its psychological bent tends to downplay personal responsibility, but we know in our hearts that we are capable of thoughtless, hurtful and unloving words and deeds. This evening’s service will help us acknowledge that through scripture readings, an examination of conscience, reflection and the opportunity for confession.

A Lenten Prayer
We pray, give alms, encourage and lean on each other.
We're all in this together.

Spiritual Reading will be available at St. Robert’s after the Masses on Sundays. Please take a few minutes either before or after Mass and check out a book or two that interest you. You may keep the books until you have them read. We have some books on the Library cart but we have many more in the Library/Reconciliation room.