Guess what? The beginning of Lent is only two and a half weeks away! Ash Wednesday is on Wednesday, February 26. This year our schedule for Ash Wednesday services will be a little different from previous years. And, we are adding something new for families. We will have a distribution of ash service at 5:30pm following by a cheese pizza dinner and Lenten activities for families. This is open to ALL parish families, not just families in RE. Reservations will be required so we know how much pizza to order and supplies to provide. Make reservations by calling or emailing the Religious Education office. The Ash Wednesday schedule of services is as follows:

Ash Wednesday – February 26, 2020
6:30am Mass
8:00am Mass
12:00noon Scripture Service
4:00pm Scripture Service
5:30pm Scripture Service (family)
7:30pm Mass

We also want to give you advance notice of a change in Mass time for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. These Masses are longer than usual due to added rituals. To give proper time to celebrate these Masses and reduce congestion in the parking lot, please make note of the following Mass times for Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

Palm Sunday – April 4 & 5, 2020 – Mass Times
Saturday 4:00pm
Sunday 7:00am 9:00am 11:00am 1:00pm 5:30pm

Easter – April 11 & 12, 2020 – Mass Times
Saturday 8:00pm
Sunday 7:00am 9:00am 11:00am 1:00pm No 5:30pm (There will be Mass in Church & Gym at 9:00am and 11:00am)

We have also added additional confession times during Lent. That schedule will be posted shortly.

Have a blessed week!

Fr Don

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Forty days after His birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the rites of purification and dedication as prescribed by the Torah. According to the Book of Leviticus (12:1-4), when a woman bore a male child, she was considered “unclean” for seven days. On the eighth day, the boy was circumcised. The mother continued to stay at home for 33 days for her blood to be purified. After the 40 days, the mother and the father came to the temple for the rite of purification. For some, this feast concludes the Christmas celebration and they leave their Christmas decoration up to today. So, the Presentation is a proclamation of Christ – Messiah and Priest, Lord and Savior. He is the light who came into this world to dispel sin and darkness. Since the seventh century, candles that will be used throughout the year at church and in homes are blessed at Mass today giving birth to another name used for this day, “Candlemas Day”. As we consider the feast of the Presentation, we remember that our parents presented us at church for our baptism. We were dedicated to God, and given the name “Christian.” We, too, received a lit candle from the paschal candle, at which the priest or deacon baptizing said: “You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light and keep the flame of faith alive in your heart. When the Lord comes, may you go out to meet Him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.” Therefore, as a light, each of us must bear witness to Our Lord. We must be the beacon that guides others to Christ.

In an effort to create a greater sense of awe and reverence in the celebration of Mass, you may have noticed our altar servers doing things a little differently. First, some of our senior servers and selected adults have been trained in the role of Master of Ceremonies. They wear a cassock and surplice. They help our servers to carry out their tasks at Mass in a more uniform, reverential, and prayerful way. Our hope is that this assists you in your reverence and prayer as we celebrate Mass. Also, we have been keeping the doors between the church and the narthex closed before Mass so that it is more quiet in church before Mass. We encourage conversations be held in the narthex rather than the church.

And finally a reminder…….please park in the designed handicap parking spots ONLY if you have the appropriate placard….especially in the small parking lot between the rectory and church building. I have spoken to the Aurora police department, and if parishioner or staff sees a violation, they may call the police department and an officer will come out and issue a ticket. If it continues to be a problem, officers may drive through the lot during Mass times and ticket any violators.

Have a blessed week!

Fr Don

As you know, in the year 2000 when Pope John Paul II canonized St. Faustina, he established the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. On September 30, 2019, on the memorial of St. Jerome, Pope Francis announced that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time will be celebrated as The Sunday of the Word of God. This year, the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time falls on January 26th. In Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter “Aperuit Illis” instituting The Sunday of the Word of God, he writes: “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45). This was one of the final acts of the risen Lord before his Ascension. Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, broke bread with them and opened their minds to the understanding of the sacred Scriptures. To them, amid their fear and bewilderment, he unveiled the meaning of the paschal mystery: that in accordance with the Father’s eternal plan he had to suffer and rise from the dead, in order to bring repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Lk 24:26.46-47). He then promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them strength to be witnesses of this saving mystery (Lk 24:49).

The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”.

We as Catholics have a history of ignorance of the Sacred Scriptures. I suspect the “older” crowd reading this article, like me, were taught that reading and interpreting Sacred Scripture was the job of the bishops and priests. They would tell us what the Scriptures meant. So personal study of the Scriptures was not encouraged. Many of you, like me, probably had a decorative family bible with our family tree inscribed in it sitting on the coffee table in the living room as a decoration, but was never opened and read. All of us probably have protestant friends who can put us to shame by quoting chapter and verse passages from the Bible.

Since Vatican II, Catholics have been encouraged to study and discuss the Sacred Scriptures and incorporate them in our spirituality and daily life. Many programs and bible studies have followed. Many Catholics seem not yet to have made the connection between being disciples of Jesus and devouring the Word of God. It is Pope Francis hope that: “The Sunday of the Word of God help his people to grow in religious and intimate familiarity with the sacred Scriptures.”

Have a blessed week!

Fr. Don

Last Sunday ended the Christmas season and I have not yet taken the opportunity to express some words of appreciation. Fr. Mark and I want to extend our appreciation and acknowledge all the time, energy, dedication and efforts that went in by so many of you to make our Advent and Christmas celebrations visually and musically joyful and prayerful.

The Art & Environment Committee consisting of Jeanne Daill, Linda Eichoff, Marty Kadzelia, and Karen Schwartz spent many months and hours reading liturgy documents, developing ideas, planning and procuring materials. They implemented their plans with the help of many volunteers. Those who helped set-up decorations indoors or outdoors for Advent and Christmas at the church and rectory include: Therese Tyk, who designed and made all the festive outdoor pots displayed at the entryways to church and the rectory. Others who helped in various ways with making bows, floral arrangements, moving trees and nativity figures, setting up and taking down, and various other tasks include: Len Eickhoff, Claudia Molina, Soledad Diaz, Jim Fisher, Phil Zwick, Anne Clark, Phyllis Anderson, Jessica Guajardo, Luz Rivero, Georgina Rodriguez, Cristina Ramirez, Rosy Pina, Maria Galvez, Veronica Manzanares, Daniela Molina, Jessica Molina, Jordan Young, Kurt Daill, Aaron & Ryan Woods, Cristina Ramirez, Ruben Manzanares, Miroslava Manzanares, Lucera Manzanares, Ruben Manzanares Jr., Imelda Orig, Shirley Staples, Elise Flagg, Chris Harvey,John Shea, Doug Tyk, Mary Orvino.

Unfortunately, the squirrel families that live in the trees behind the rectory played Christmas grinches! Mr. Feldman provided lights on the trees and bushes surrounding the outdoor Mary shrine, but the squirrels chewed the wires and the lights went out! They did it also to the colored LED lights on four large bushes outside the rectory. Shame on them!! They better watch out if I turn Chardonnay loose on them!!

The music, under the direction of our Director of Music Ministries Frank Sauter, was especially outstanding! The choral and orchestral music prior to midnight Mass was truly inspiring. Thanks to all who played instruments in the orchestra and to the guest conductor, Shaun Schaefers and to Ben Gruman who played cello in the trio version of “O Holy Night”. Thanks to our Adult Choir for their voices leading us in prayerful song and to soloist Emily Brink. Thanks to our Children’s Choir, Mercy Singers, and all the musicians and cantors who provided music for our Masses during the Advent and Christmas season. Thanks as well to all the liturgical ministers who served for Advent and Christmas Masses.

The parish staff thank all who dropped off goodies in the office for us to share. Fr. Mark, Deacon Senovio and I wish to extend our deep gratitude for all the personal gifts and cards we received. We are humbled by your generosity and kindness! We truly feel the love and support of the wonderful parishioners at Our Lady of Mercy.

Our 2019 Christmas collection through envelopes, cash, and on-line giving totaled $64,400. This is approximately $12,000 less than the Christmas collection last year. Thank you for your generosity.

Have a blessed week!

Fr Don

Today’s feast of the Baptism of Jesus ends the Christmas season in the church liturgical calendar. I suspect that the vast majority of you have long ago taken down Christmas decorations. If you have waited until now to take them down, good for you! Some people leave their Christmas decorations up until February 2, which is the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Nevertheless, back to today’s feast.

Did you ever wonder why Jesus was baptized? He was sinless, so why did he submit to baptism? Matthew tells us in the gospel today that Jesus requested John to baptize him. First, unlike the baptism we received, John’s baptism was a Jewish ritual to prepare for the end time, which John said was coming quickly. In addition to changing one’s life in a positive way, this kind of baptism was also an entry rite for those who wanted to follow the teaching of John the Baptist. Jesus was portrayed as being attracted to John the Baptist and his message. Matthew makes it clear that the situation is awkward, which both Jesus and John recognize. But as soon as Jesus emerges from the waters of baptism, the real meaning of the event becomes clear. His identity as God’s beloved Son is confirmed by the Holy Spirit and proclaimed by the voice of God, declaring that Jesus is God’s beloved Son. In a real way, Jesus’ baptism can be seen as inaugurating Jesus into a ministry that will begin immediately. This confirmation of Jesus’ divine ministry fulfills the Old Testament prophet’s proclamations. The next step for Jesus will be his confrontation with the devil in the wilderness. There, he will be challenged to prove his identity.

While Christian baptism we have received frees us from original sin, it does much more than that! Quoting from the baptismal ritual book: “Baptism is, above all, the sacrament of that faith by which men and women, enlightened by the Spirit’s grace, respond to the gospel of Christ….Further, baptism is the sacrament by which men and women are incorporated into the Church, built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit, into a holy nation and a royal priesthood.” In other words, our baptism is our entry rite for those who want to follow Jesus and his teachings. And, as Jesus commissioned his apostles to “Go make disciples of all nations…” at our baptism we are commissioned to do the same.

The vast majority of us were baptized as infants and likely do not realize that making disciples of Jesus isn’t just the calling of priests and religious. ALL who are baptized Christian are supposed to be making disciples! The feast of The Baptism of Jesus is a wake up call for all of us to be about doing what we are commissioned to do!

Fr Don