SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
February 15, 2004

On Wednesday, February 11, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, the new statue of St. Anne and the refurbished statues of the Holy Family were blessed in the Daily Mass Chapel with members of Harry Drost’s family present. Harry Drost was generous in donating for these statues and we are grateful for his faith and thoughtfulness.

Along with the blessing of the statues came the rearrangement of the chapel itself. The new arrangement will enable the chapel to enjoy the all too seldom daylight while not blinding the worshippers who used to face directly into the sun.
Over the past three weeks with the Daily Mass Chapel being closed because of the census, I, and many other parishioners have enjoyed the younger members of our congregation being present in the main assembly area with us. It is a real boost to see all of the children. They were not a nuisance or a distraction at all. Occasionally there was a slight commotion but that is not a negative thing at all: IT MEANS WE HAVE LIFE! And with life there is always hope. It is such a beautiful thing. We welcome our younger members and their families. They are our children and they belong to all of us as members of the Body of Christ. We understand that at times a child may seem inconsolable and a parent may feel it necessary to move. If that should become necessary, please see the ushers in the back pew and they will let you into the Daily Mass Chapel as long as is necessary. It’s been such a joy having us all worship in one place!

This is the final week that we will be collecting Census forms after the masses. You may still drop them off at the Parish Office during the week. Beginning in a week or so we will begin mailing out Census forms to those who have not responded to the forms in the bulletin. Our staff appreciates the nearly 400 who have responded so far. The process has gone quite smoothly thanks for your cooperation and helpfulness. Many thanks!

As you can see in the bulletin this week we begin Lent on February 25, Ash Wednesday. There is a lot planned for our spiritual growth. In next Sunday’s bulletin will be two Lent inserts - a Parish calendar and a flyer with all of the needed information for the classes, spiritual formation and worship. We start to think about moving out of Ordinary Time and going into a season that, with God’s grace, strives to make us more...