Father Randy Writes . . .
“Jesus went up the mountain to pray.”
The Second Sunday of Lent always focuses us on the Transfiguration event in the life of Jesus. One essential detail is that Jesus went up the mountain to pray which means he also left behind the earthly and sensual pleasures for a time. Prayer is as essential to the spiritual life as breathing is to our physical life. Lent confronts with the deepening hunger to grow in our habit of prayer.
Our recent parish mission focused upon the pathway to prayer and making our minutes count. We reminded ourselves of the great initiative of grace, that God is calling each of us and desires to grow in relationship with us. Simultaneously, we were confronted with “if our hearts are far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.” (CCC 2562) Our Sunday evening session focused upon the gift of Lectio Divina or prayerful reading as we learned and then put into practice the art of praying with the Scriptures. Consider using the www.usccb.org calendar website and learn to pray daily the readings of the Church calendar.
The Monday evening session focused upon the gift of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his Examen prayer. It is an ever simple daily review of life around the themes of gratitude, sorrow, petition and a firm resolve for the coming day. If you are interested in the teaching prayer cards we made for the mission, stop by the parish office. Prayer is a daily habit and there are different ways to pray. The one thing that is required is a willingness to accompany Jesus “up the mountain to pray.”
Join us for several different prayer opportunities during the Lenten season. Daily Mass is at 8:00 a.m. Perhaps it might be a great discipline to come to daily Mass one day a week or even more. Know that each Tuesday during Lent the Sacrament of Confession is available from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. As Pope Francis has often reminded us “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy.” Also, each Friday evening there is Mass at 6:30 p.m. followed by Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m. Lent affords us the invitation to renew our interior life of prayer.
Prayer: Making Our Minutes Count
Thank you for your growing presence in the recent Lenten Parish Mission on prayer. Each night we had at least 300 people in attendance and it was a great way to enter the Lenten Season. Special thanks to the musical efforts of Bob Curley and his team of musicians, Karen Kaehr, Claire Kopish, Paul Mc Donald, John Shea, Brianne Walsh, and Joe Zweck. Thanks to the audio and computer technical gifts shared from Phil McKeown, Paul Stoffel, and Matt Schaeffer; as well as the culinary delights from our kitchen crew that provided great appetizers, Lynn Sullivan, Debbie Dyer, Tricia Mitmoen, Ruth Benesh, Dorothy Ewing, and Peggy Kieffer.
Annual Catholic Appeal
Next weekend we anticipate the Annual Catholic Appeal for the Diocese of Madison. This year there will be a video shown as part of the appeal’s effort. Know of the importance of our connection to the universal Catholic Church through our support beyond our local parish. An insert is included in this weekend’s bulletin for this appeal.
Priest For Our Future Update
In the summer of 2014, the Diocese launched a financial campaign to endow the formation and education of our future priests. Thank you for your faithful participation in this ever important diocesan initiative. If you would like to participate in this campaign contact our Diocesan Director of Stewardship, Jill Driscoll; jill.driscoll@straphael.org or 821-3039 or make a pledge on-line at http://www.madisondiocese.org.
Our Parish Totals as of February 15, 2016
| Goal | Pledged | Paid | |
| Saint Dennis Totals | $855,000 | $998,208 | $404,950 |
| 117% | 47% | ||
| Diocesan Totals | $32,770,000 | $43,777,345 | $17,946,860 |
| 134% | 55% |
Peace, Father Randy