Fourth Sunday of Lent

Shakespeare had nothing on St. John, who gives us a real piece of drama in this week’s gospel—The Man Born Blind. It’s a three act play all about faith. Act One: The Miracle; Act Two: The Argument; Act Three: The Encounter. In the first act, the blind man acknowledges that he has seen a miracle—Jesus has given him his sight. A miracle, but no faith yet. In the second act, the blind man acknowledges what is only reasonable—Jesus must be of God because he has done good things. An argument, but no faith yet. In the third act, Jesus comes looking for the blind man when everyone else has rejected him and thrown him out of the synagogue. Down and out and feeling nothing but human woundedness, the blind man personally encounters Jesus. Then and only then does the blind man believe. Then and only then is their faith—a faith not born of the empowerment of the Pharisees, but of the blind man’s woundedness, which he shares with Jesus, who is about to bear the woundedness of all humanity.

The Middlers, who seem to enjoy being hams, put on their own version of this play. The adults were an enthusiastic audience.

Grace by Ms. Houlihan’s 4th Grade

Dear God,

Thank you for our food, our families and, most importantly, ourselves.

Thank you for making us, the earth, the animals, the sun and the water.

Thank you for everything we have and you have given us.

And for all our sins, we are sorry.

Bless the food set at this table.

We love you forever. Amen.

First Communion Parent Meetings

An E-vitation went out last week to all the parents of our 2nd Grade First Communion Class. The E-vitation read as follows:

Dear First Communion Parents,

Let's talk about First Communion. No, let's do more than talk. Let's pray. No, you're right. Let's do a little of both.

Since nothing fits all, I'm proposing three dates to meet. You choose the ONE that's best for you. Saturday, April 9, 4-5 pm Monday, April 11, 7:30-8:30 pm Thursday, April 14, 7:30-8:30 pm

We (i.e., parents only) will spend a half hour in prayer and conversation about the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Then, we will move on to the real good stuff: dress code, tickets, seating, photography and more.

My hope is that a little time spent in prayerful reflection and practical planning by all of us will help prepare us to better prepare our kids to receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

Please reply by clicking on this link RSVP [which is in original email and not here in Blog post] and completing the form.

***Please make your choice of meeting and reply to the E-vitation as soon as possible by clicking on the reply link in the email from last week. If you lost the email. go to First Communion News on the Parish Website. The letter is there and that's where you will find the link.***

JAPAN RELIEF SUNDAY

May 22nd

Calendar Reminder and Change

There is NO KidsRelig on April 19, 20 & 21. Our last regular sessions are April 26, 27 & 28. These last days are listed on the calendar as “Funraiser Days.” Instead of fun and fund—raising, those days will be devoted to preparations for Japan Relief Sunday, when we will really raise some fun and funds.

Love,

Deacon Charlie