St. Barbara Young Adults

This quote was used last night at Bob Carman's Vigil service. I thought it was beautiful:

Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come -- Rabindranath Tagore.

John of the Cross said that God's first language is silence. It seems we don't have much room for silence in our lives...or for taking time to be rather than to do.

Interesting comments from Fr. Jim Martin [here] about an article in the NY Times. As the Psalm says, "Deep calls to deep," but only if you're listening.

KEYT reports that part of a tabernacle from 1789 has been stolen.



If anyone knows more about this please post a comment.

Just what is it that priests and nuns do all day? How does someone become a priest or nun? Are they holier than the rest of us? How did they decide this was the life for them? Here's a chance to explore the mysteries and ask your questions. Our guests are Fr. Daniel Barica, Sr. Susan Blomstad, and Fr. John Love.

FYI:

Wednesday, March 10
6:30pm
St. Barbara Parish Social Room

Parking: evening events it's easiest to park in the back of the church. Enter the driveway at Garden and Pueblo and turn at the Mission Renewal Center sign. Walk up the ramp next to the Friars' chapel and turn right at the statue of St. Francis.

Imagine that the last words you spoke were the last words you ever spoke and that the last meal you ate was the last meal you ever ate.

Roger Ebert can’t remember the last thing he ate. He can't remember the last thing he drank, either, or the last thing he said. Of course, those things existed; those lasts happened. They just didn't happen with enough warning for him to have bothered committing them to memory — it wasn't as though he sat down, knowingly, to his last supper or last cup of coffee or to whisper a last word into Chaz's ear. The doctors told him they were going to give him back his ability to eat, drink, and talk. But the doctors were wrong, weren't they? On some morning or afternoon or evening, sometime in 2006, Ebert took his last bite and sip, and he spoke his last word.

I found this profile in Esquire to be very moving.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. These 40 days are an opportunity to prepare ourselves for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Everyone is invited to receive ashes on this day as a sign of repentance. There will be Masses at the Mission today at 7:30am, noon, and 7:00pm and ashes will be distributed at each Mass.

Ash Wednesday is one of two fast days in the Church. By "fasting," we are asked to eat lightly -- not more than one full meal and, if needed, up to two smaller meals that don't constitute a full meal. It is also a day of abstinence from meat, so skip the hamburger or steak in favor of fish, pasta, or other non-meat meals.

Fasting and ashes sound so serious...and they are. But it's also important to think about the words that are said as the priest marks our foreheads with ashes: Repent and believe the gospel. Believe the gospel...believe in God's infinite love...

Perhaps you will enjoy reflecting on what that means as you listen to this song:

February 16
6:30pm
Parish Social Room

Join Kathie and Joe Schneider and Deacon Jerry and Bev Heyer to discuss love and marriage from a Catholic perspective. Both couples work with Engaged Encounter. They'll talk about love, marriage, getting married and staying married, communication, and other issues. Please join us with your questions and insights.

Parking: For evening events it's easiest to park in the back of the church. Enter the driveway at Garden and Pueblo and turn at the Mission Renewal Center sign. Walk up the ramp next to the Friars' chapel and turn right at the statue of St. Francis.