Overturned: On this third Sunday of Lent we hear the Gospel story of Jesus going to the temple in Jerusalem and driving out from the temple area the money changers and those who sold oxen, sheep and doves, saying, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” Pope Francis remarked that this Gospel leads us to ask ourselves if we allow the Lord “to ‘cleanse’ our hearts and to drive out the idols, those attitudes of cupidity, jealousy, worldliness, envy, hatred, those habits of gossiping and tearing down others.” “Jesus, the Pope said, “cleanses our hearts not with a whip, as He cleansed the Temple, but with tenderness, mercy, and love.”
Thirsty: At the 10 am Mass we are celebrating the First Scrutiny with the candidates and catechumens entering the Church at the Easter Vigil. During this Mass we will have different readings. The Gospel is the beautiful story of Jesus encountering the Samaritan woman. Both Jesus and this woman are thirsty. Remarkably, after their conversation the woman’s deep thirst is quenched not with natural water but with life-giving water. And Jesus’ thirst is quenched by her conversion.
Root: I am grateful for Fr. Dan as he preached at all the Masses last weekend. What I appreciated the most is the realization that our world’s problems are rooted in sin. In other words, no new laws are going to solve the problems of this world but only conversion and our lives centered on God.
24 Hours: Next weekend, March 9 -10, we are doing an adapted 24 hours with the Lord. This is happening throughout our diocese and the world. The schedule is listed on page 4.
Orphan: This Sunday Fr. Dan and I are going to watch the Orphan Annie play in Flint. Some of our parishioners are performing. We look forward to attending!
B-ball: On Friday evening, Feb. 23, I went to Sacred Heart Seminary to participate in the annual priests vs. seminarians basketball game. The seminarians won 72-70. We had thirteen priests on the team. I played about four minutes. My stat line wasn’t any good: 0-1 (an air ball nonetheless); no rebounds and two turnovers. It’s time to retire from hoops.
Mourning: Many of you know our beloved secretary at the parish, Theresa Dyer. Her mother, Marion, passed away on Feb. 25. Please keep Theresa and her family in your prayers.
Congrats: Congratulations to parishioners Veronica Alfaro and Veronica Sikora, seniors at Grand Blanc High School who have qualified as 2018 National Merit Finalists! This title is given to high school seniors based on high PSAT scores and academic excellence. They are two of over 15,000 Finalists in the U.S., representing less than one percent of graduating high school seniors across the country. Both girls have volunteered countless hours at our parish in various programs such as VBS, Mission Makeover, and mission trips.
Mercy: Jesus instructs us to be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. I used the following prayer of St. Faustina at a daily Mass recently:
Prayer to be merciful
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, O Lord, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, O Lord, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness (…)
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor.
Many blessings on your Lenten season. With love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
“Labor without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time.”
–Saint John of God, whose feast day is March 8. He is the patron saint of booksellers, firefighters, heart patients, hospitals, nurses, printers and the sick.