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Arise and Live!
5th Week of Lent -
Use
your violet candle!
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Friday, March 14th is a day of
abstinence,
so don't eat meat! |
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Need help preparing your family for the
Sacrament of
Reconciliation?
Check out our new Preparation suggestions!
Please add Coming Home Catholic to your safe senders list.
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Start with the
Basics
(Click
here to learn more) |
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Prayer of the Week
We've made it through most of our liturgy. Now we'll review
the Concluding Rite, our return to the world, filled
with Christ. (Learn
more) |
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Celebrate All Year Long!
(Click here to learn more) |
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Saints to Celebrate
Use a
violet candle Sunday through Friday
for the season of Lent.
- Saturday, March
15 is the
solemnity of St. Joseph, so it is one of the few days in
Lent in which a white candle is used instead of a violet
candle. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the universal Church as
well as patron of fathers and families. No wonder. St. Joseph gives us the
most lovely example of humility and fatherly support. He did what all
responsible fathers are called to do: nurture, guide, advise, lead in faith,
and
teach. He showed us how to humble ourselves and allow
God's will to be done.
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.
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Devotion of the Month
Looking Forward to Divine Mercy!
We're already preparing for
Divine Mercy
Sunday, the Sunday after Easter. We'll begin praying the
Divine Mercy novena on
March 21, 2008 (Good Friday) and continuing through March 29, 2008 in
preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday. If you'd like to receive our daily
e-mail prayer reminders for this novena, please let us know at
admin@cominghomecatholic.com.
If you'd like to learn more about the History of Divine Mercy,
click here.
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Keep Building that Faith!!
(click
here to learn more) |
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Start the Week off Right
(prepare for the Sunday Scriptures)
| Ezekiel
37:12-14 |
Romans
8:8-11 |
John
11:1-45 |
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Arise and Live!
From death to life, grave to resurrection, flesh to spirit. All
these readings proclaim Easter and our hope of Resurrection.
The
first reading is the classic passage describing Ezekiel's vision of
a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel prophesied at a time when the Jews
were in exile and had little hope of ever seeing their homeland
again. Ezekiel's vision of resurrection gave hope to a people who
had little reason to hope. God's spirit and love will help us
triumph.
Paul, too, gives us hope. Although our bodies are mortal, the
spirit of God within us is immortal. We need never fear sickness,
pain, or death. When we live lives of holiness, the spirit of God
will give eternal life to our mortal bodies.
John's Gospel tells us the story of Lazarus, the dear friend of
Jesus who died while Jesus was away. We see Jesus' humanity with
His sincere grief. We also clearly see His divinity. How could He
help but be overcome by this evidence of Adam's sin? His own friend
succumbed to the death that the first sin wrought. He shared in the
grief of His best friends. Of course, with Jesus, there is always
hope. He brings to
life a man who had been dead four days, and many came to believe in
Him. In just two more weeks we will relive Jesus' own death. More
importantly we will relive His glorious Resurrection, so we, too, can believe and embrace the opportunity of
a true conversion.
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Daily Dose of Scripture (our
picks of the week)
Lectionary
readings for the 5th Week of Lent:
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Reading 1 |
Reading 2 |
Gospel |
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| Monday |
Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 |
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Jn 8:1-11 |
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| Tuesday |
Nm 21:4-9 |
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Jn 8:21-30 |
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| Wednesday |
Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 |
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Jn 8:31-42 |
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| Thursday |
Gn 17:3-9 |
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Jn 8:51-59 |
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| Friday |
Jer 20:10-13 |
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Jn 10:31-42 |
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| Saturday |
2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16 |
Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 |
Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or
Lk 2:41-51a |
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- Numbers 21:4-9
We love this story of Moses and the bronze serpent because it reminds
us it is okay to use a crucifix. Unfortunately there are some people
who behave negatively when they see a crucifix. A friend of ours will
not let her daughter wear a crucifix to public school because other
children will not treat her nicely if she does wear one. For those of
us who live in primarily non-Catholic communities, this reading is a
wonderful reassurance.
The sinful Israelites are being bitten by poisonous snakes. In
response to Moses' prayer, God instructs him to make a bronze serpent
and mount it on a pole. John 3:14 tells us, "and as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that those who believe in him may not perish, but may have life
everlasting." God actually instructs Moses to make an image, and John
uses this as an example in his teachings. Go ahead, wear that crucifix
proudly! You can gently remind objectors that it is based on
Scripture and is a sign of our hope in salvation.
- John 10:31-42
We can tell we're getting closer to a very special time - the
Gospels this week are from John (except for the solemnity of St.
Joseph!). The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and
Luke all have entire years dedicated to their proclamation. The Gospel
of John is proclaimed only at the most sacred times during our
liturgical year.
In this reading we hear the tension rising among the people who do not
accept Jesus. They are accusing Him of blasphemy, the crime for which
He will be crucified. He just barely avoids being stoned to death in
the streets and somehow eludes arrest. Last week our reading pushed us
toward making the decision to follow Christ. Now we see just how
challenging that decision can be. Above we mentioned how
intimidating it can be just to wear a crucifix. In what other ways is
living our faith a challenge? Are we facing the challenge, or are we
giving in and taking the easy way out? As we get closer to Holy Week,
it is time to accept the challenge.
Open that Catechism!
We're more than half way through Lent, and should be
coming to know ourselves and God a little bit better. Ever wonder how to
get to know God? Just read paragraphs
#31-35 in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
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