I am grateful to be going through my first Lent with you all. Can you believe this week marks our midpoint through our Lenten journey? Stay strong with your fasting, prayer, and almsgiving with trust that the Lord will do great things through our small sacrifices. Thank you for your attention to a few updates below, as well as a continued examination of our parish themes identified in our November Listening Sessions.

Solemnity of the Annunciation: Friday, March 25, is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Solemnities are not observed as penitential days. Therefore, by virtue of the law (can. 1251) and the liturgical nature of the day, penitential practices, like fasting or abstaining from eating meat, are not required on this day, even though it falls on a Friday in Lent. Enjoy the reprieve! For myself, I will still be eating fish this Friday simply because I enjoy it so much!

Fish Fry: St. Mary's Fish Fry has been receiving rave reviews! The Fish Fry is open on the Fridays of Lent from 4:30-7:00 p.m., and you can come for all you can eat dinein ($15) or take-out ($13). All proceeds benefit our AdoptA-Student scholarship program for our St. Mary School students. I want to thank our volunteers who make the Fish Fry a success each week. A special shout-out to all our youth who volunteer each week - people who have encountered you have told me about your helpfulness and kindness. They are proud to support our parish and school, so thank you to all who have volunteered. We have three Fish Fry's left this Lent, so be sure to bring your friends and join us for a great meal!

Prayers for Catechumens and Candidates: Please pray for our catechumens and candidates who will be baptized and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church this Easter. We will celebrate the Scrutiny Rites with them for the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent. The Scrutiny Rites are meant to help purify their hearts and give them the strength and resolve to follow Christ more fully as they prepare for Easter Sacraments in the weeks to come.

Prayers for Pre-Cana Retreatants: Please also pray for our engaged couples who are with us this Saturday for their Pre-Cana retreat day. Our Pre-Cana team has kept busy planning a memorable day for them, and we are blessed to offer these engaged couples our blessing at this Saturday's Vigil Mass.

Listening Session Third Theme: Faith Formation: I am eager to continue sharing with you the fruits of our November Listening Sessions. This week we reflect on the third main theme that was highlighted, Faith Formation, with its sub-themes of adult education, youth formation, and school. The number in parentheses corresponds to the number of times that particular sub-theme was mentioned in parishioner comments.

Adult Education: While there is already knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ, a very deep desire is shared by many to invest the time to know him more intimately. (42)

Youth Formation: Young people of our parish need and deserve programs and an engaging worship environment that draw them into the Catholic faith and aid their journey of discipleship. (34)

School: St. Mary School is an important part of the parish mission and needs renewed attention in its growth and development as an exemplary source of education in the community. (49)

“We need to learn ‘what’ the faith really is and then ‘how’ to share this with others.” This sentiment was shared by many who attended the November Listening Sessions! Everything, from Bible Studies to “10-minute Catechism sessions” to Speaker Series on saints and Church Fathers, was suggested as beneficial ways to support parishioners in satisfying their thirst to grow in their faith. Such desires are only natural for Catholics who yearn to grow closer to God, as suggested by Pope Benedict in his Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini: The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only he can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity. (2010)

It also follows that, once relationship with Jesus Christ is experienced, parents want their children to know of that same source of love and joy. Jesus Christ is, indeed, the font of all life, and it will be up to the future generation to share this truth! To that end, great hope was expressed for faith formation for the youth, for lively liturgical worship suited for the engagement of teens, and for the parish school to thrive in its mission. This desire, too, is enthusiastically supported in a variety of church teachings, such as in the Directory for Catechesis, published in 2020 by the Vatican:

“[The young people’s] great capacity to bring about renewal, to urge and demand consistent witness, to keep dreaming and coming up with new ideas” can help the ecclesial community to grasp the cultural transformations of our time and to cultivate trust and hope. (includes quote from Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, 2018)

Only through encouraging one another of all ages to come to know Jesus more deeply, and taking definitive steps to assist in that formation, can we hope to make an impact in building up the kingdom of God in our midst.

I encourage you pray with these themes, and visit https://stmarychardon.org/ faith-formation to read through the individual comments expressed at the listening session.