Wednesday, February 6th is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Our primary focus the next few days is preparing for Lent, but don't forget the last hurrah - MARDI GRAS! Although recognized as a secular day for questionable behavior, this day has its roots in Catholic celebrations and can be a day of spiritual fun. Click here for details.

It is always best to prayerfully prepare for Lent. Take this Family Lenten Inventory - we hope it helps you evaluate areas which can be improved over the next six weeks. Then consider some suggestions for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving throughout the season of Lent.
 

Use your green candle Sunday and Monday to celebrate  Ordinary Time.. Switch to a violet candle for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for Lent.

• Sunday, February 3 celebrate Boy Scout Sunday!
   
• Tuesday, February 5 use a red candle for the memorial of St. Agatha, virgin, martyr, and patron saint of nurses. Agatha is known for her courage under severe torture, including the cutting off of her breasts. For this reason she is also the patron saint of breast disorders.
   
• Wednesday, February 6 use a violet candle for  Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of Lent, the season to recall our baptismal promises of professing our faith and rejecting sin. It is not a holy day of obligation, but Mass is well worth attending. Click here for basic fasting and abstinence guidelines.
   
• Friday, February 8 is a day of abstinence.

A solemnity is a day of greatest importance. The celebration starts the evening before the actual solemnity. Easter is our most important solemnity. A feast is the next most important day. It commemorates Mary, the apostles, martyrs and other saints, and the events associated with them. Mass readings often reflect the special feast day. A memorial is a special day, but often an optional celebration. The scripture readings for Mass may or may not be specially selected for the memorial.
 

We Think We Understand Evening Prayer!
Learn the Liturgy of the Hours with us.

Our family has never prayed the Liturgy of the Hours together, but we hope to start during Lent. This week we've figured out Evening Prayer! Please join us. (Click here to learn more)

Daily prayers for the Liturgy of the Hours are found in these sources:
 Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours
 Saint Joseph Guide for the Liturgy of the Hours (St. Joseph Liturgy Guides)

Beatitudes - Just in Time for Lent!

To prepare for this week's Scripture readings we looked up Beatitudes on the Internet. The amount of information was overwhelming. It seems everyone has tried to figure out what "living the Beatitudes" really means! We've concluded it means being counter-cultural. That seems to be the message from all three readings this week.

Zephaniah was a "fire-and-brimstone" prophet of Jerusalem around 635 B.C. He saw the Jews once again lapsing into sinful behaviors, and warned them they would be destroyed unless they returned to God and embraced complete conversion of heart. He preached that the people of God must follow God's law by humbly loving one another and seeking justice in all things. Unfortunately, the Jews failed to take his advice, and their kingdom was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians likewise calls us to conversion. His words may seem surprising; after all, he claims society's wise, strong, and important people will be defeated by the foolish, weak, lowly and despised people of the world. The idea seems almost bizarre, until we move on to this week's Gospel.

In Matthew's Gospel we hear the famous Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus raises the Jewish Law to a new, and more challenging, level of love and counter-cultural conversion. In these few lines Jesus describes Himself: the humble, homeless Man who showed mercy to sinners and suffered persecution to bring eternal peace. Jesus teaches us that selfishness plays no role in God's Kingdom. The Beatitudes teach us how to love one another as God loves us - completely.
 

Lectionary readings for the 4th Week of Ordinary Time: