From the Desk of Father Tharp

Next Sunday….Spring forward!

Next Sunday, March 8 Daylight Savings Time returns!   Remember that it will be 7:00 a.m. “old time” when 8:00 a.m. Mass begins!   It is a lot easier in autumn to “gain an hour sleep” than it is to “lose an hour sleep” in spring.  Nevertheless it is time to reset our “body clocks” for Daylight Savings Time.

Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA)

At the time this is written, we (St. Ann) have achieved nearly 68% of our target in gifts and pledges, but only about 14% of the parish has donated or pledged.  Please remember that the Archdiocese relies on each parish to do its “fair share” so we can fund facilities like the Mt. St. Mary Seminary, Catholic Social Services and Catholic Charities, St. Rita School for the Deaf, Campus Ministries at Public Universities, Catholic Chaplains at public (non-Catholic) hospitals, Prison Ministries, New Evangelization, and retirement for Archdiocesan priests; purposes we could never achieve as individual parishes, but only when we work together as an Archdiocese. 

Please prayerfully consider your donation.

Youth Ministry

The next meeting is March 8 in the Sacred Heart undercroft, 7:00-8:30 pm. For a topic this time, we will be covering "Why be Catholic?" Parents of new attendees, please make sure to sign our permission form. Contact sylvia.ulmer@saintanncs.com for details.

Stations of the Cross

During the Season of Lent, I will have Stations of the Cross and Benediction at St. Ann on each Friday evening at 7:00 p.m.  I will have Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart on the Sundays of Lent at 3:00 p.m.   To the best of my knowledge, the Lay Presiders will still offer informal prayer of the Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. on Fridays.  

Reflection on Scripture  

The three temptations of Jesus are not intended as “temptations” of the Divine Son of God.  They are representative of the three temptations the Early Church must overcome so as to truly be the Mystical Body of Christ in the world.  The first temptation is to use miraculous powers to provide for physical necessities or tangible wealth.  Do we sell or trade that which is holy for short term physical gain?  The second temptation is to use miracles to astound and capture the attention of the whole world.  Jesus did not come into the world to be the greatest magician and garner the greatest audience.  The third temptation is political or social power.  If the Early Church becomes an end in itself, where is Jesus in the equation?   Secular messianism makes the Church nothing more than another god in the Parthenon of objects of false worship. 

Wealth, notoriety, and pride are three pitfalls Jesus says the Church must encounter without submitting to any.  This is true not only for the Church as a whole, but for every member of the Church.  Wealth, notoriety, and pride are like three holes in the bucket of faith.  By the time you get to the house from the well, the water has escaped through the holes, and the bucket is empty. 

Next Week:  The Second Sunday of Lent

Gn 12:1-4a

2 Tm 1:8b-10

Mt. 17:1-9

Theme: Transfiguration