ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH WHITESBORO

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH WHITESBORO

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH
WHITESBORO, TEXAS
“THE SON OF MAN IS TO BE HANDED
OVER TO SINNERS”
by Fr. Jeremy Myers
Mark 14:1 - 15:47
Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, also known as Passion
Sunday. On this day we recall our Lord’s triumphant
entrance into Jerusalem, His arrest by the leaders of
Judaism, and His scourging and crucifixion on the cross. If it
is a difficult story to hear, we can only imagine how difficult it
was to endure. Yet, the Lord Jesus undergoes His betrayal
and death with a calm acceptance and a complete trust in
the Heavenly Father—a lesson for all of us who suffer
during our lifetimes and who must face death someday. As
always, we can learn something important from the Lord
Jesus about how to live our lives. There is a story that
comes from the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. During
this invasion, Buddhist monks were the targets of many
atrocities and cruelties. All of this was done in an effort to
undermine the spiritual foundations of Tibetan society. As
news of the invasion of the Chinese forces came to a
village, the monks would flee into nearby mountains. This
happened many times over, except in one particular village.
Again, all the monks fled, except for one. On learning that
this one old monk dared to remain, the enraged Chinese
commander marched up to the monastery and kicked in the
gate. There the commander found the one remaining monk,
sitting calmly at prayer. The commander screamed at the
monk, “Do you know who I am? I am he who can run you
through with a sword without batting an eyelash.” The old
monk looked at the commander and answered, “And do you
know who I am? I am he who can let you run me through
with a sword without batting an eyelash.” In other words, the
monk possessed an inner calm and outer disposition that
allowed him to face death with equanimity and peace, a rare
quality indeed. Yet, it is the same attitude that we find in the
Lord Jesus as he faces his persecutors and tormentors. He
shows no fear before the Jewish leaders nor does He
crumble before Pontius Pilate. He knows His fate is in the
hands of His loving Father and He is prepared to accept
whatever is in His Father’s plans for Him. So Jesus takes on
the suffering, the humiliation, and the anguish of His
passion, confident that His Father’s love for Him will
continue even through death. That certainty that the Father
is loving and faithful allows the Lord Jesus to face these
final days and his last hours with courage and confidence.
“Into your hands, I commend my spirit,” He prays to His
Father as He breathes His last breath. As we hear again
today this story of our Lord’s passion and crucifixion, we
must examine our hearts to see how close our faith is to that
of the Lord Jesus. When setbacks and trials come our way,
do we continue to stand firm, sure and certain that the
Father’s love is as present with us in bad times as in good
times? Can we undergo suffering and ridicule, injustice, and
prejudice with a calm acceptance that God is with us now
and always? It is faith that allows us to meet these and other
trials with a disposition of trust. Swords will always threaten
us in this world. They are part of the journey. But faith in
God’s love allows us to stare at the sword and not back
away. Faith permits us to see the sunlight of Easter beyond
the darkness of Calvary.
MARCH 29, 2015
PALM
SUNDAY
OF THE LORD’S
PASSION (B) The
liturgy for Palm
Sunday celebrates
the great paradox
of the Paschal
Mystery. We use
red vestments, the
ancient
festive
color; yet after the
palm celebration,
the
liturgy
emphasizes suffering. We celebrate the triumphant
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem; yet a few days later
“hosanna” will be replaced by “Crucify him.” The
Paschal Mystery itself proclaims that Jesus enters his
glory only by way of suffering and death. Our lives
must also proclaim this mystery: By dying to self, we
must affirm God’s reign over our lives. The crown
comes only by way of the cross.
DOMINGO DE RAMOS DE LA PASIÓN DEL SEÑOR (B)
La liturgia para el Domingo de Ramos celebra la gran
paradoja del Misterio Pascual. Usamos vestiduras
rojas, el color festivo antiguo; aún después de la
celebración de la palma, la liturgia enfatiza el
sufrimiento. Celebramos la entrada triunfante de Jesús
en Jerusalén; aún unos días más tarde “hosanna” será
sustituido por “crucificanlo”. El propio Misterio
Pascual proclama que Jesús entra en su gloria sólo
por vía de sufrimiento y muerte. Nuestras vidas
también deben proclamar este misterio: muriendo a si,
debemos afirmar el reinado de Dios sobre nuestras
vidas. La corona sólo viene por vía de la cruz.
Please join us for coffee and fellowship after Mass
today in the Parish Hall.
Por favor únase a nosotros para el café y compañerismo
después de Misa hoy en el Salón Parroquial.
STEWARDSHIP FOR MARCH 22, 2015
$1,282.00
Thank you for your generosity.
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”
James Keller
Wednesday of Holy Week
Miércoles de Semana Santa
6 - 7 p.m.
Quiet Prayer Time
St. Francis of Assisi Church
hora de la oración silenciosa
en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís
Holy Thursday,
Celebration of Our Lord’s Last Supper
Jueves Santo,
Celebración de la Última Cena de Nuestro
Señor
7 p.m.
Our Lord’s Supper with Washing of Feet (Bilingual)
7 pm
Cena del Señor con Lavado de Pies (Bilingüe)
St. Anne’s Church - Iglesia de Santa Ana
Noon
Mediodía
3 p.m.
3 pm
Good Friday,
Day of Our Lord’s Death
Viernes Santo,
Día de la Muerte de Nuestro Señor
Stations of the Cross - St. Anne’s Church
Estaciones de la Cruz - Iglesia de Santa Ana
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion - St. Anne’s Church
Celebración de la Pasión - Iglesia de Santa Ana
6 p.m.
6 pm
Stations of the Cross - St. Francis of Assisi Church
Estaciones de la Cruz - Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís
6 p.m.
Living Stations of the Cross and Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
(Spanish) - St. Anne’s Church
Estaciones de la Cruz en vivo y de la Pasión del Señor (Español) Iglesia de Santa Ana
6 pm
Holy Saturday,
Vigil of Our Lord’s Resurrection
Sábado Santo,
Vigilia de la Resurrección de Nuestro Señor
8 p.m.
The Easter Vigil (Bilingual)
8 pm
Vigilia de Pascua (Bilingüe)
St. Anne’s Church - Iglesia de Santa Ana
POSTURE FOR WORSHIP TO BE UNIFIED IN MASS
Question: I recently began attending Mass at a
Catholic parish in my neighborhood. After I had been
there several times, the priest said that, since there
were no kneelers in that church, no one was allowed
to kneel during Mass - even during the consecration
or after receiving the holy Eucharist. To do so, he
said, would be disrespectful to other parishioners.
I am very upset, as I am in awe of receiving
my Lord’s actual body and blood and feel called to fall on my knees. Is it the accepted
practice of the Catholic Church to be able to tell people how they can and cannot
worship?
Answer: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal serves as the universal
guidebook for the manner in which Catholics throughout the world celebrate Mass. It
specifies that national conferences of bishops are empowered to determine the
postures of worshippers during the celebration, a provision that wisely allows for
regional differences in customs.
In the United States, the bishops’ conference has decided that the congregation
should kneel during the Eucharistic prayer and stand for the reception of Communion,
with a slight reverential bow just before taking the Eucharist.
Standing is the posture that has, from the earliest days of the Church, signified
that we share in Christ’s resurrection, and standing for Communion shows that we are
about to be united to Jesus, now gloriously risen.
The significance of kneeling has, in the Church’s history, undergone a
transformation. At first, it was seen as demonstrating penance, and early Christians
were forbidden to kneel on Sundays and during the Easter season, when joy was the
prevailing spirit of the liturgy. During the Middle Ages, kneeling came to signify the
homage of a vassal to his lord. Now, kneeling in the liturgy denotes adoration.
Exceptions to the guidelines are envisioned
as, for example, when someone is prevented from
kneeling because of ill health, or for lack of space or
“for another reasonable cause,” as noted in the
general instruction missal. Not infrequently, Mass is
celebrated in a multipurpose building that has folding
chairs and no kneelers. In such a case, worshippers
could logically be excused from kneeling, which is
what your pastor has evidently done.
His desire for uniformity is supported by the
general instruction missal, which states in No. 42 that
“a common bodily posture, to be observed by all
those taking part, is a sign of the unity of the
members of the Christian community gathered
together for the sacred liturgy.”
For the same reason, the U.S. bishops state on
the www.usccb.org website that “we are not free to
change these postures to suit our own individual
piety, for the Church makes it clear that our unity of
posture and gesture is an expression of our
participation in the one body formed by the baptized
with Christ, our head.”
PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION
Please remember in your prayers all the sick and suffering,
especially Paul Cunningham, father of Peter Cunningham,
who had surgery for an aneurysm. May the Lord give him
grace and courage in his suffering.
Please join us in congratulating Fr. Antonio on the
MASS INTENTION FOR APRIL 5, 2015
occasion of his 38th Ordination Anniversary this Sunday,
March 29th. May he be blessed for his faithful service to
†Max Kelley by Jimmy Ferguson Family
the people of God.
Por favor, únase a nosotros para felicitar al Padre
LITURGICAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR APRIL 5, 2015
Antonio, con motivo de su 38 aniversario de ordenación
Margaret Pack Servers
Casey Balak
este domingo, 29 de marzo. Que sea bendito por su fiel Lector
Markos Morales
servicio al pueblo de Dios.
Eucharistic Ministers
JC Crosby
Mike Crone
We want to wish a happy birthday to all in our Parish Family
Gary Dale Lewis
Mike Maberry Ushers
celebrating a birthday this week, especially Oscar Gonzales
th
st
Sharon
Sandmann
Cleo Dreyer
today, March 29 , Roger Balak on March 31 , Ralph Vannoy
on April 2nd, and Juana Breidenstein and Nancy Croney on Gift Bearers
Minister to the Homebound
April 3rd.
Ken Podborny Family
Larry Sandmann
We want to wish a happy anniversary to all couples All parishioners are invited to the reception for the
celebrating a wedding anniversary this week, especially catechumens and converts which will be held this Saturday,
Jorge & Anita Morales on March 30th.
April 4th following the Easter Vigil Mass. This reception will be
Now that you have received new palms, we
are collecting any old palms you may have.
Please place them in the basket near the
entrance of the Church. They will be used
to make ashes for next year’s Ash
Wednesday service.
Ahora que ya ha recibido nuevas palmeras, estamos
recogiendo cualquier palmas viejas que pueda tener. Por
favor, colocarlos en la canasta cerca de la entrada de la
Iglesia. Estos datos se utilizarán para hacer cenizas para el
servicio Miércoles de Ceniza del año que viene.
at St. Mary’s Parish Center in Sherman.
Todos los feligreses están invitados a la recepción para los
catecúmenos y conversos que se celebrará este sábado, 4
de Abril después de la Pascua Vigilia. Esta recepción será
en el Centro Parroquial de Santa María en Sherman.
Our monthly food drive for “Your
Neighbor’s House” will be next Sunday,
April 5th. Please bring some nonperishable food items and place them in
the container at the entrance of the
church.
Nuestra campaña de comida mensual
para "La casa de tu vecino" será el
próximo domingo, 5 de abril. Favor de
traer algunos alimentos no perecederos
y colocarlos en el contenedor a la entrada de la iglesia.
Youth Group will meet this
Wednesday, April 1st from 6:30
- 8 p.m. in the St. John Bosco
Meeting Room.
Grupo de jóvenes se reunirán
este miércoles, 1 de abril de Legion of Mary members will be handing out
6:30 - 8 p.m. en la sala de rosaries, along with information about saying
reuniones de San Juan Bosco. the rosary, next Sunday, April 5th, following
Christians around the world are united in a special way Mass.
during Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Our hearts, minds and Miembros de la Legión de María serán Los
prayers are also especially aware of the Holy Land. Each encargados del el manejo de nuestros
year on Good Friday parishes are called on to support rosarios, junto con información sobre como
Christians in the Holy Land. As a pontifical collection rezar el rosario, el domingo, 5 de abril
requested by Pope Francis, this annual Good Friday después de la Misa.
Collection offers a direct link for parishioners to be witnesses
of peace and to help protect the Holy Places. Your
contributions will go for housing and feeding the poor,
providing religious formation and education, maintaining
shrines and parishes, and conducting pastoral ministry.
If you would like to have an Easter
basket blessed, please bring it to Mass
Easter Sunday.
Si a usted le gustaría tener una cesta de
Pascua bendecida, por favor traerlo a la
misa del Domingo de Pascua.
Bishop Kevin Farrell invites you to the 22nd Annual Bishop’s
Pro-Life Dinner on Saturday, April 18th at the Irving
Convention Center at Las Colinas. This spectacular event
benefiting the Catholic Pro-Life Committee raises critical
funds to save babies, support families, provide education and
facilitate post-abortion healing. Dinner reservations are
requested by April 6th, and can be made at prolifedallas.org/
dinner or call 972-267-LIFE (5433).