We have a lot of events this week. Happy Valentine's Day to each and everyone of you. Do something nice for someone close to you today. Happy Presidents' Day! As I said last week, we used to celebrate Washington and Lincoln on two different days when I was growing up. Now we celebrate them together. Tuesday is Mardi Gras. I hope you can all celebrate this at home this year. Due to the virus, we will not have our usual gala. But you can let the good times roll at home!
Lent begins on Wednesday, the 17th. We will have one Mass with ashes at 6 PM on Wednesday. Due to the virus, we will distribute ashes by dropping them on your bowed head to avoid touching. We will as we do at all Masses be masked and socially distanced. Lent is a time to prepare for Easter and we are asked in the Ash Wednesday Gospel to do three things: pray, fast, and give alms. The Church asks us to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. That means eating less. We are also asked to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. One of our Lenten Resolutions should be to pray for an end to the pandemic. We can also pray for President Biden as he tries to unite the country.
On Valentine's Day we celebrate the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In our first reading from the Book of Leviticus, Moses lays down the law on leprosy. A person with leprosy was to be considered unclean and was forced to live apart from the community because people were afraid that it was contagious. This belief held up until our own time. The US had leper colonies both in Louisiana and Hawaii up until the 20th century. Lepers were put aside. That is why today"s Gospel is so powerful. The leper kept his distance from Jesus and begged "If you wish, you can make me clean." "Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, 'I do will it. Be made clean.' The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean." Jesus touched and cured this leper. Shouldn't we take pity on the most needy today? St. Paul says it clearly in the second reading: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
We continue our Sunday Masses at 8:15 and 10:30 AM with masks and hand cleaning and socially distanced. Cheryl and Francine continue to video the 10:30 and then put it online around 1 PM. The connection is on our webpage. On the 21st, next Sunday, we will do a special zoom program for Black History Month. Click in and hear some of our favorite Black Spirituals. Brother Roy will give a reflection as well. We still have lots of envelopes sitting in the foyer. They can be picked up during and after Mass or during Soup Kitchen MWF all morning. I want to thank all those who have been sending in tithes to keep the church going. You can still do that even if you haven't picked up your new envelopes. Most of the numbers have stayed the same and so have your names. I also have printed out the Contribution Statements for 2020, even though they upgraded the program and made it more difficult. Don't you love upgrades?
On the 12th, I received my second Moderna Vaccine Shot. I hope it works! Please, get your shots when you are eligible. Pray for the victims of the pandemic.