First Sunday of Lent – February 17, 2013 Year of Faith

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

Weekly Liturgical Calendar:

February 17 – February 24

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

FOR LENT 2013 "Believing in charity calls forth charity"

“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16)

Dear Brothers and Sisters, The celebration of Lent, in the context of the Year of Faith, offers us a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God – the God of Jesus Christ – and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.

1. Faith as a response to the love of God In my first Encyclical, I offered some thoughts on the close relationship between the theological virtues of faith and charity. Setting out from Saint John’s fundamental assertion: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16), I observed that “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction … Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere ‘command’; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us” (Deus Caritas Est, 1).

Faith is this personal adherence – which involves all our faculties – to the revelation of God’s gratuitous and “passionate” love for us, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The encounter with God who is Love engages not only the heart but also the intellect: “Acknowledgement of the living God is one path towards love, and the ‘yes’ of our will to his will unites our intellect, will and sentiments in the all-embracing act of love. But this process is always open-ended; love is never ‘finished’ and complete” (ibid., 17). Hence, for all Christians, and especially for “charity workers”, there is a need for faith, for “that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others. As a result, love of neighbour will no longer be for them a commandment imposed, so to speak, from without, but a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love” (ibid., 31a). Christians are people who have been conquered by Christ’s love and accordingly, under the influence of that love – “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14) – they are profoundly open to loving their neighbour in concrete ways (cf. ibid., 33). This attitude arises primarily from the consciousness of being loved, forgiven, and even served by the Lord, who bends down to wash the feet of the Apostles and offers himself on the Cross to draw humanity into God’s love.

“Faith tells us that God has given his Son for our sakes and gives us the victorious certainty that it is really true: God is love! … Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love. Love is the light – and in the end, the only light – that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working” (ibid., 39). All this helps us to understand that the principal distinguishing mark of Christians is precisely “love grounded in and shaped by faith” (ibid., 7).

Sunday 17 Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Psalm 91:1-2, 10-15

Romans 10:8-13

Mass

Luke 4:1-13 Intentions: 8:30 For the people of the parish

10:30 For the people of the parish

Monday 18 Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

Matthew 25:31-46

Tuesday 19 Isaiah 55:10-11

Matthew 6:7-15

Wednesday 20 Jonah 3:1-10

Luke 11:29-32

Thursday 21 Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25

Matthew 7:7-12

Friday 22 1 Peter 5:1-4

Matthew 16:13-19

Saturday 23 Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Matthew 5:43-48

Sunday 24 Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Psalm 27:1, 7-9, 13-14

Philippians 3:17 -- 4:1 or 3:20 -- 4:1

Luke 9:28-36

40 DAYS IN THE DESERT As Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit so are we in these forty days of Lenten retreat. Lent, the desert, is the right place to work on the most essential aspects of our spiritual life. We are presented with three forms of temptation and three great antidotes:

1. Temptation of sensual pleasure >> FAST

2. Temptation of power >> PRAY

3. Temptation of idolatry >> GIVE

HWK: In this first week of Lent make a resolution for each one of these aspects. Fr.Maximo

St. Patrick Announcements:

Mini-Lent Retreat - Thursday Feb. 21st - 5:00 pm. This upcoming Thursday @ St. Patrick we will have an evening of prayer and reconciliation. Fr. Maximo and Fr. Ignacio will be available for confession and we'll expose the Blessed Sacrament so you can pray. We start at 5 pm and end at 7:30 pm. You can stop by at any time, and stay however long you want.

During Lent: Sign up for Spiritual Insanity Do you want to do something different for Lent? Spiritual insanity is a 40 day spiritual work with 4 pillars: daily lectio divina, spiritual coaching, penance on Friday, and some sp. readings. Find more on line: www.stpatrickpdx.org.

Altar Servers Needed We need altar servers for the 10:30am Mass. If your son or daughter is between 10-15 years old and has received First Communion and wants to help at Mass please contact Fr Ignacio or Linda Galloway.

Volunteer for Website Updates If you know something about websites or have graphic design skills, please contact Fr. Ignacio. I need someone to post updates at the St Patrick website. We use the wordpress program.

St. Patrick’s Website Check our website and sign up for our electronic "e newsletter." You can find it on the bottom right side of the St Patrick website. www.stpatrickpdx.org.

St. Patrick’s Bulletin Ads

Renewal of the bulletin ads which run on the back of the weekly bulletin began in Feb. We encourage everyone to support those advertisers by considering their products or services as your needs arise. Rates start at $100 per year for the small size. If you are interested in advertising your business and supporting St. Patrick’s at the same time, please contact Greg Hesser, greghesser@hotmail.com or call the office at 503-222-4086. Now you can see your ad online. www.stpatrickpdx.org.

Catholic Charities - Ministry to the Elderly Committee announces a Lenten Day of Recollection for all who minister to the sick and elderly in any capacity. The Day takes place on Friday, February 22 from 9.30 am to 2.30 pm at St Joseph the Worker parish, 2310 SE 148th Avenue, Portland OR 97233. There is a fee of $15 (which includes lunch) and pre-registration is required. Day of Recollection, Catholic Charities, 503.688-2662.

Weekly Calendar

HELP NEEDED!

We need some people to work the 5th Sunday Coffee Hour after the 10:30am Mass. It is only a 4 Sundays a year commitment. If you wish to volunteer, please call Marianne at 503-241-2819 or Maggie at 503-636-9776.

Archbishop Capital Campaign 2013 On February 10 we held our Parish Commitment weekend for the 2013 Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal. Thanks to all our parishioners who have made their gift or pledge.

St. Patrick is 66% towards our goal of $9,350. We need $3,134 more to make our goal. Every gift means so much! If you have not yet made a gift or pledge, please fill out a commitment card located on the tables by the church entrance and return it to the Parish Office in the coming days. We would like 100% participation in showing our support of Arch. Vlazny and our Catholic Church in western Oregon. More info available on line: www.archpdx.org/appeal/.

Saint Patrick’s Day

Annual Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner with all the trimmings

Sunday, March 17, 2012 11:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Saint Patrick Catholic Church

Sun 17 8-8:30am Confessions (Spanish)

8:30am Mass (Spanish)

9:30am Coffee Hour (Spanish)

10:30am Mass

11:30am Coffee Hour

7:30pm Mass

Mon 18 7:00pm AA Meeting Tue 19 7:00am Mass Wed 20 12:00pm SERRA club

4:30-5:20pm Confessions

5:30pm Mass

6:30pm Quest

Thur 21 7:00am Mass

5:00pm Mini-Lent Rretreat

Fri 22 7:00am Mass

6:45pm Prayer Group (Spanish)

Sat 23 9:00am Sacramental Catechesis

11:00am Tamales Prep. X sale

Sun 24 8-8:30am Confessions

8:30am Mass (Spanish)

9:30am Coffee Hour (Spanish)

10:30am Mass

11:30am Coffee Hour

7:30pm Mass

2/15/2013

Mention St. Patrick’s bulletin

and get $10 off when

you spend $30.00 or more

in Los Jalapeños

Advertise Here!

Contact parish office for details 503-222-4086