February
18, 2007
Ashes
& Desert Dust
Convent
Countdown
Still
waiting for a new tenant...tick...tick...tick...
The police department has now moved out so we’re no longer receiving
monthly rent. We now need to make up $4160 a week in lost revenue. That’s
the same as 200 families giving $20 in the collection each week. This
Lent, if families who haven’t been contributing to the parish
to decide to start making weekly contributions (any amount accepted!)
, we’d be able to stave off possible layoffs and program cuts
in the second half of the year. If you’re a regular visitor to
St. Brigid’s and would like to help us make up for the loss of
rental income, your donations will also be gratefully accepted. And
don’t forget, whether you are a new donor, or an “old faithful,”
our automated giving is available to you,. Call Robert at 334-0021 ext
136 for more info. And please keep praying for a new tenant.
Online
Masses
We are now going to be able to stream masses and other events live over
the internet to homebound folks and to relatives who live in other lands.
If you’re interested in this, in this, click
here.
Away
at College?
Are you or your child away at college? At St. Brigid’s we like
to stay in touch via occasional e-mails as we send photos and news from
“home”. College students wishing to be connected through
our “Letters from home” can sign up online here
or you can mail or
e-mail thecollege names and e-mail addresses to Father Ralph and he’ll
put them on the list.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
Feb11: Get Ready, Get Set,
REST!
Feb.4: Lent Lurking
Jan.28:Catholic Schools
Week
Jan.21:Crying in Church
Jan.14: Love ahead
Jan.7:
So How Was Your Christmas?
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
Ash
Wednesday is this week and we begin our forty-day walk through the
spiritual desert of Lent. Why does Jesus go to the desert instead off
a mountain top or a seashore to pray during his 40 days? (I’d much
prefer those places if I want to feel closer to God!) Well, I suspect
it’s because the desert is much simpler. There’s not much
to see beyond the craggy rocks and lots of sand. And so, in the simplicity
of the desert, Jesus could be alone in peace with himself and the Holy
Spirit and his Father.
I’d like to invite everyone
in St. Brigid’s consider doing the same -- find a way to simplify
for the next forty days so that we can be in solidarity with our God.
Maybe it’s the simplicity of turning off the car radio or putting
away the ipod for 40 days. Maybe it’s using TV time to read and
pray. Each person can find his/her own way to simplify to be more available
to God this Lent.
Notice, though, that Jesus didn’t
just hole himself up in his home. He actually left home and went to a
different place where he could be open to God. I’d like to invite
you to do the same. Come out of your home and be part of four Lenten Tuesdays
(starting March 6th) for
our Lenten Retreat. We’re planning a these four Lenten “Rest
Stops” that help us fulfill the reading we’ll hear next Sunday
where Moses praises God for leading the people from slavery in Egypt to
freedom in the promised land. So mark your calendar and invite someone
to go with you to one of these retreat moments:
Tuesday Afternoons:
Following the 12:10 Mass
(approximately 12:45 • held in St. Anthony’s Hall)
or Tuesday
Evenings: 7:30pm • held in Code Auditorium
The evening retreat will include our annual Tenebrae
service and Taize prayer music.
(If you don’t know what those are, don’t worry -- you’re
in for a real treat!)
In a few days we’ll wear
ashes on our forehead. They are certainly a sign of repentance, but they
are also meant to be a sign of the dusty desert journey we’re willing
to go on together in the days ahead.
