PROGRAM FOR LENT AND HOLY WEEK: MARCH-APRIL 2009

LENTEN MISSION – 13, 20 AND 27 MARCH 2009
6:30 – 8 pm: Friday 13 March, 20 March and 27 March
- Way of the Cross followed by Prayer-Reflection and then Mass

RECONCILIATION SERVICE – 4 APRIL 2009
5:30 pm: To prepare for Easter there will be a reflection-reconciliation service for the parishioners. It will last for 2 hours.
- There will be no evening mass on Saturday 4 April.

PALM SUNDAY – 5 APRIL 2009
7 am and 6:30 pm: Masses with blessing of palms and procession.
- The evening mass will be animated by the Youth Group.

MAUNDY THURSDAY – 9 APRIL 2009
6:30 pm: Mass of the Lord’s Supper
- Animation will be done by Zone B and Kilbil community.
- The venue for the Altar of Repose is the STI Chapel.
- The adoration timings are as follows:
08:30 – 09:15 pm – SHTC and Zone C
09:15 – 10:00 pm – Tanmaya and Zone B
10:00 – 10:45 pm – STI and Zone A
10:45 – 11:00 pm – Common adoration

GOOD FRIDAY – 10 APRIL 2009
8 am: Way of the Cross [animated by zones and communities] will begin at the STI grotto.
6:30 pm: Liturgical Service of the Lord’s Passion
- It will be animated by Zone C and Nirmala Convent.

EASTER VIGIL – 11 APRIL 2009
10:30 pm: Easter Vigil Service at the entrance of Don Bosco Bhavan
- It will be animated by Zone A and Maria Vihar.
- Please bring candles for the Easter Vigil service.

EASTER SUNDAY – 12 APRIL 2009
8 am: Easter Sunday Mass
- There will be no evening mass

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY – 19 APRIL 2009
9 am: First Holy Communion Mass

COMMON PRACTICE OF PENANCE

“All Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days, the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity and to deny themselves by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and specially by observing fast and abstinence” (Can. 1249).

• The days of common practice of penance are Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and every other Friday in the year.
• Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence.
• Abstinence: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The new Code of Canon Law has left it to the Episcopal Conference to determine, in place of abstinence, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety. In virtue of this, the CBCI at its meeting at Nagpur in February 1984, had decreed that the obligations of abstinence can be fulfilled by choosing certain other forms of prayer or penance or works of charity, besides the traditional one of abstinence from meat.
• In the Diocese of Nashik, the faithful may observe the days of common practice of penance by choosing from any one of the following:
  1. Making the Way of the Cross or a Visit to the Blessed Sacrament or a Meditation on the Lord’s Passion. 2. Prayerfully reading the Scriptures or Praying the Liturgy of the Hours.
  3. Preparing for Liturgical Services by reflecting on the readings as a family.
  4. Giving 10 per cent of one’s daily wage in charity.
  5. Donating Blood.
  6. Offering voluntary service to a Social / Charitable Institution through some parish associations.
  7. Offering a meal to a poor family.
  8. Abstaining from meat preparations, if meat is part of one’s regular diet.
  9. Missing any one meal: breakfast, lunch or supper.
  10. Taking strictly vegetarian meals, without even fish and eggs.
  11. Abstaining from alcohol and/or smoking, for those who use these.
  12. Avoiding all beverages like tea or coffee or sweet drinks between meals.
  13. Avoiding films, television and other forms of recreation.
• Fasting:
  (a) The law of fasting binds those who have completed their 18th year till the beginning of the 60th year.(b) The law of fasting prescribes that only one full meal be taken per day. A light breakfast may be taken in the morning and a light supper in the evening. It is always permissible to reverse the order of the meals; e.g. take the full meal in the evening.
  (c) Those who cannot keep the law of fasting without considerable difficulty of health, work, etc., are excused from the observance of the law. Our faithful are however urged not to excuse themselves too easily from this obligation, as it is but fitting that on the two prescribed days of fasting, we unite ourselves in a special manner with the Passion and Death of Our Lord by a more intense form of penance.
• Dispensations:
  In case of difficulty regarding the fulfilment of the obligation of common penance and fasting, or a doubt regarding the existence of factors excusing from these obligations, a dispensation may be obtained from the Parish Priest or Confessor.
  A dispensation from the law of common penance and fasting is hereby granted to members of the Armed Forces in the Archdiocese and to travellers by land, sea or air.
• Easter Duties:
  Easter Duties would require that the Christian faithful who have been admitted to the Blessed Eucharist, receive Holy Communion at least once a year during the Paschal time, unless for a good reason the precept is fulfilled at another time during the year (Can.920). The faithful are reminded that those who have reached the age of discretion are bound to confess their grave sins at least once a year (Can.989).
• This year the Easter Duties can be fulfilled between Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2009 and Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2009.

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 1 MARCH 2009

• Today is the First Sunday in Lent.
• 6 March is the First Friday of the month. In the evening there will be the Way of the Cross animated by Zone A at 6:30 pm followed by mass.
• The next meeting of the Parish Council will be held on Saturday 7 March at 5:30 pm. All parish councilors are requested to attend.
• Catechism classes are held at 5 pm every Sunday evening. We will close for the year on March 15. Children please attend the last three Sundays for a special surprise.
• All those interested in joining the choir for Easter are requested to give their names to Fr. Vinod as soon as possible. The practices will begin from 1 March.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. Please assist us by collecting your cards after the mass.

LENTEN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

By Father Erik Pohlmeier

(Father Erik Pohlmeier is the theological consultant for Arkansas Catholic and pastor at St. John and St. Mary churches in Hot Springs.)

Published in Arkansas Catholic

Q. Is Ash Wednesday a holy day of obligation?

A. Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation. The days of obligation all celebrate an event in the life of Jesus or Mary or a person (or persons as in the case of All Saints Day). Ash Wednesday does not, but it marks the beginning of a season. The day is chosen based on the fact that it's 40 days before Good Friday.

Q. Why do we receive ashes on Ash Wednesday?

A. The prayer that is said as ashes are given explains it very well. The words are a reminder of our origins, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." The ashes and the whole season of Lent are a time to refocus on our relationship with God and that relationship starts with a dependence on God for our very existence. To recall that only with the breath of God can we have life is motivation to reorder whatever part of life needs it. As God breathed life into the dust at the beginning he can breathe new life into those who have fallen into sin. The ashes are a sign of mortality and a sign of renewal in Christ.

Q. What are the rules about fasting and abstinence?

A. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. The law of fasting allows one full meal and two smaller ones. The law of abstinence prohibits the eating of meat. Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence in the United States. The obligation of abstinence begins at age 14. The law of fasting obliges all between the ages of 18-59. Pastors and parents are to see to it that minors, though not bound by the law of fast and abstinence, are educated in the authentic sense of penance and encouraged to do acts of penance suitable to their age. All members of the Christian faithful are encouraged to do acts of penance and charity beyond what is prescribed by the law.

Q. Why should we perform acts of penance?

A. The primary reason is that we take Christ as our model and he himself undertook acts of penance in preparation for his ministry and before his passion. Acts of penance are theological in following the example of the Master. They are also practical in helping to accomplish goals of certain days and seasons. In particular Lent is a season to reorder priorities and penance helps to be sure that created things are subordinate to divine realities in our lives. As it says in the Church's documents "Penance is a religious, personal act which has as its aim love and surrender to God." ("Paenitemini," chapter 1) Of course Scripture is clear as well that the rending of our hearts is the sacrifice the Lord desires. The various acts of penance put into physical reality what should be happening in our hearts.

Q. Why can't we eat meat on Fridays?

A. This practice is one of the disciplines of Lent that has the goal of love and surrender to God. It requires a break in the normal routine of our day and serves as a reminder that the basic needs of life should point us to the goodness of God. Scripture has a long record of abstaining from certain foods as part of religious practice. In our day that practice continues, not because eating meat is bad, but as a discipline to turn the mind to God.

Q. Are Sundays part of Lent?

A. Sundays most definitely are a part of Lent as they are listed the first through fifth Sundays of Lent, and not of something else. The Sundays do, however, take on a different character than other days because Sunday is always a celebration of the resurrection. There is no rule on whether Lenten practices continue on Sundays since such practices are voluntary anyway. Without a doubt we should maintain our preparation for the Triduum on Sundays, whether or not that includes acts of penance.

Q. Why can't we say "alleluia" at Mass during Lent?

A. The point of the season is a kind of exile. While the event of the resurrection has occurred in history, the days of Lent serve as a reminder that we do not yet experience the kingdom in its fullness. We live in the hope of the resurrection, but the weakness of human existence is all too evident in this life. The omission of the alleluia is one symbolic way to enter into the spirit of the season of Lent. The days of Lent are days of penance and recollection of human weakness but also days of anticipation and so we long for the day when the kingdom is fully realized. To be deprived of certain things during the days of Lent is designed to create a longing for the realization of all that the life of Jesus promises.

Q. What determines the date of Easter or when Lent begins?

A. The Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) set the date of Easter as the Sunday following the 14th day of the paschal full moon, which is the full moon whose 14th day falls on or after the vernal (spring) equinox. The reason was because that was the date of Passover in the Jewish calendar, and the Last Supper (Holy Thursday) occurred on the Passover. Therefore, Easter was the Sunday after Passover.

PARISH NOTICES - SUNDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2009

• Today is the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.
• Catechism classes are held at 5 pm every Sunday. Parents please ensure that your children attend. This Sunday 22 February at 10 am there will be a meeting of parents whose children are due to receive their First Holy Communion in April this year.
• On 25 February we begin our Lenten season with Ash Wednesday. Masses in the parish will be at 7 am and 7 pm. The blessing and imposition of ashes will be done at both masses. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.
• On Friday 27 February there will be the Way of the Cross at 6:30 pm followed by mass.
• All those interested in joining the choir for Easter are requested to give their names to Fr. Vinod or Fr. Matthew as soon as possible. The practices will begin from 1 March.
• We have begun collecting Church support through volunteers who sit outside the parish office after the Saturday evening mass and the Sunday evening mass. Please collect your cards after the mass