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Every Tuesday 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
New Parishioners: We would love to officially welcome you into our family.
Registration forms are available online, in folders in the
church entrance, or by contacting the parish office.
Baptism Prep: Required for all first-time parents. Scheduled on the 2nd
Monday in March, July, and November. Baptism/Marriage/Hall Rental: Please contact the parish office.
Pastoral Council: Chair: Jonathan Dietz, 937.489.9008 Co-Chair: Nancy Topp, 419.629.2753
Prayer Line: 419.778.3632, 419.629.2406, 419.629.2639
Stephen Ministry: 419.302.2223 or 419.733.4440
120 South Eastmoor Drive Post Office Box 67 New Bremen, OH 45869 419.629.2543
Saturday 4:30 p.m.
Sunday 8:00 & 10:00 a.m.
Monday 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday 8:30 a.m.
Wednesday 12:05 p.m.
Thursday 7:00 p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m.
Saturday 4:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Mon/Thu 6:15 – 6:45 p.m.
Tue/Fri 8:00 – 8:20 a.m.
Wed 11:30 – 11:50 a.m.
Mass Schedule:
Reconciliation:
Adoration/Exposition:
Pastoral Staff:
March 22, 2020
Phone: 419.629.2543
Office Hours: Mon-Thu 9 am – 4 pm
Friday 9 am – noon
Pastor: Rev. Thomas Dorn
419.629.3031 [home]
Deacon: Greg Bornhorst
419.305.1977 [cell]
Accountant: Mary Eyink
419.629.2226 [home]
Coordinator of Elementary CCD and
Community Outreach:
Kathy Pape
Coordinator of JH/HS CCD and
Youth Ministry:
Jenny Sailer
Coordinator of Liturgy and Music:
Nick Wilker
Pastoral Associate/Tech:
Brad Feltz
h
There has been questions about using envelopes while
church is closed. Envelopes can be mailed or dropped
off at church, or we also offer ACH or Give+ as
electronic options – see the website for details.
Confessions are still scheduled as normal. Please see the front cover for days and times.
OUR GIFT IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S GIFT
Date Budget* Total Over/(Under) Count
03/15 $6,502.25 $5,057.10 $(1,445.15) 605
February ** $34,615.38 $36,271.66 $1,656.28
YTD *** $294,230.78 $333,049.37 $38,818.59
* Weekly contribution budget excludes give+ & monthly electronic giving. ** Monthly includes weekly collections, Give+, & monthly electronic giving.
*** YTD includes weekly, electronic, and special collections (July-February)
Seeing is much more than just a function of our eyes.
We can look at something with clear vision but not
really see it. Often what we think we see is colored by
our presuppositions, prejudices, assumptions, and
needs. We judge things by appearance, but God looks
into the heart. God’s sight has a much wider range and
far greater depth. Receiving things or people just based
on appearance can lead us to erroneous and hurtful
judgments. We think we are seeing clearly, but we are
not. Allowing God to restore our sight so that we can
truly see is a worthy goal for our Lenten journey. Look
within and look without. What do you see? Allow God
to complete the picture for you. Ask Him to give you
the insight to look into someone’s heart. Don’t draw
hasty conclusions or presume you know the truth. Be
open and humble enough so that you can receive the
sight that only God can give.
INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK
If you ordered EASTER FLOWERS, we will be reimbursing everyone at a later date.
WE NEED
YOU To make our 2020 parish family
directory complete.
Current Available Portrait Sessions: Friday, May 15 – 2:00 pm Monday, May 18 – 3:40 Tuesday, May 19 – 3, 3:10, 3:30, 3:40 pm New Date: Wednesday, May 27: 2-9pm
(28 appointments)
We are also looking into other future dates, as these fill up. If you can not find a time that works, please contact the office. Good quality, high-resolution pictures can also be emailed to the parish office if you cannot make one of the dates. There is a fee of $5 to submit a picture.
When an adult is baptized, there is a part in the ceremony when the newly baptized is vested in a white garment. It is symbolic
of the changes that baptism brings in the life of the baptized as they are freed from the bonds of sin and brought into the saving
grace of Christ. Realities that are so profound are symbolically presented so that we might better grasp and understand them.
Infants are often dressed in a baptismal dress, which is the baptismal garment. In some places, the extra cloth is used as a kind
of baptismal garment. At the place in the ceremony where the investiture takes place, the cloth is used. Some are poncho-like
and fit over the baby’s head. Others are simply placed on the baby’s chest. If the baby is dressed in a white garment, nothing
else is needed – although many parishes may still use the extra cloth which usually contains many symbols of the Sacramental
life of the Church. The prayer says it all: “See in your white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity ... bring that
dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.” In baptism, we are given our purpose and goal in life as believers and this
is symbolized by the white garment.
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus wants to motivate each one of us to see the truth. After developing a relationship
with Jesus, the blind man “sees” as someone very special. The Pharisees, due to the blindness caused by their ignorance,
prejudice, and need for self-preservation, still remain blind. Presuppositions, prejudices, assumptions, and our needs can easily
blind us to truth. We see what we want or need to see and not what is really there. In addition, our stubbornness continues to
convince us that we are right and that our vision is perfect. Only God can complete the picture.
Look around at our world. So much of what is happening today is due to the reluctance of folks to allow themselves to be
stretched and brought to see what is really there. Many react to what life presents to them more with the lenses of ignorance
than lenses of clarity. The Gospel carries great transformative value. With it, God corrects our vision and replaces our limited
sight with the fullness of his sight. God opens our eyes so that we can see that it is not about preserving what we have created
but of living in the immensity and wonder of God’s kingdom.
Through a simple, loving relationship with God, we can break through the tethers of prejudice, eradicate fear, dispel the darkness
of hatred and sin, discover freedom, live in peace, work for justice, be effective stewards of creation, assist the migrant and the
immigrant, and safeguard our economic systems and policies so that they truly serve all of God’s children. What we see is often
an artificial lie. Our truth is much bigger than what our limited sight believes it to be. Allow God to work in and through you.
Do not be afraid. Be open and be humble enough to know that you need help. Many human beings are living with severe
cataracts that produce sight that is at best blurred. Are you one of them?
GOSPEL MEDITATION
This Week: March 22 – Fourth Sunday of Lent
First Reading – Exodus 17:3-7:
“Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” (1 Sm 16:7b)
The prophet Samuel anoints the young David as the next king, neither Samuel nor David’s father, Jesse, foresaw David to be
God’s anointed. When have you been surprised by God in your life?
Second Reading – Romans 5:1-2, 5-8:
“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Eph 5:14b)
Paul taught the Ephesians that as believers in Christ, they need to live as “children of light” and “learn what is pleasing to the
Lord.” From your own life experiences, what do you think pleases God?
Gospel – John 4:5-42:
When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (Jn 9:35)
Jesus’ healing of the man born blind exposed the blindness of some of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. How do we prevent ourselves
from being blind to God’s presence in this season of Lent?
Next Week: March 29 – Fifth Sunday of Lent
First Reading – Ezekiel 37:12-14: You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! (Ez 37:13) During the dark days of Israel’s exile in Babylon, the prophet Ezekiel foresaw God’s resurrection and restoration of his people. As the season of Lent comes to a close, what parts of your life are still in need of God’s restorative power? Second Reading – Romans 8:8-11: But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (Rom 8:10) Paul assured the believers in Rome that “the Spirit of God dwells in you” and that this same Spirit will raise you from the dead. What gives you confidence in Paul’s words? Gospel – John 11:1-45: Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” (Jn 11:25) John tells us that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, many “began to believe in him.” On what grounds do you believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior?
MASS SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTIONS
Q: What is the meaning behind the white garment or cloth used during baptismal celebrations?
