I guess March came in like a lamb, even though on the 1st it was cold but sunny with a few snow flakes. I hope it doesn't mean it will go out like a lion. Never the less we can enjoy the nice weather, while we have it. Get out in the sun and get some vitamin D.
On the 7th and 14th we will have zoom presentations for Lent. Margie and Biff will make the presentation on the 7th at 1 PM. James Summers will make the presentation on the 14th at 1 PM. The theme of their presentations will be Lent 2021. I hope you enjoy them both.
The Pope is making a pilgrimage to Iraq this weekend. Let us pray for him and the Iraqi people, especially the small number of Christians still there.
This Sunday, March 7, is the Third Sunday of Lent. Yes, even Lent is flying by. Our readings today once again deal with God's Covenant with his people. The first reading gives us the Ten Commandments. The first three deal with our relationship to God. Through Moses he tells us: "I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods before me. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God in vain. Remember to keep holy the sabbath day," The other seven tell us how to deal with each other. Jesus sums them up into two: Love God and love your neighbor. God loves us first and then our covenant is to keep God's commandments.
Our Gospel has Jesus cleansing the Temple to make it a place of prayer and not a marketplace. But then Jesus goes on to talk about his death and resurrection, saying his body is a temple, a temple that replaces the Temple of brick and stone. Remember at Confirmation, we too say we are temples of the Holy Spirit, because we are. God's covenant replaces the Temple in Jerusalem with the "Temple of the Holy Spirit."
Our second reading gets into language and thought, philosophy and theology. "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." We tend to be more like the Greeks when we think about things. We want logic and we see things as simply black and white. A good example of this is Pilot's answer to Jesus: "What is truth?" Jewish thinking in the time of Christ was more grey. You had to see it to believe it. Thus, the many appearances of Jesus after his resurrection and the many miracles the early Church performed. Things can get even more confusing when deliberate lies are told as if they are true. Jesus is the truth and the light.
We continue to have Mass at 8:15 and 10:30 AM on Sunday mornings. Cheryl and Francine continue to video the 10:30 and put it on line Sunday afternoons. All who attend are masked and socially distanced. The Soup Kitchen is still open MWF from 11 AM - 12:30 PM. Our Vincent de Paul is still bringing food to shut-ins. Deacon Mel has his Bible Study on zoom on Tuesdays at 6:30 PM. The Black Catholic Advisory Board continues its series on those American Blacks on the road to sainthood each Thursday at 7 PM. I thank those of you who continue to contribute to the support of the parish. Even if you haven't picked up your envelopes, which can be picked whenever the building is open, you can still mail in your tithes.Get your vaccination as soon as you can and pray for an end to the pandemic.