TV Mass newsletter for February - Diocese of Fort Wayne

Reflections
A Publication of the Secretariat for Communications
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Archbishop Noll Catholic Center 915 S. Clinton St. Fort Wayne, IN 46802
VOLUME 331
February 2016
The TV Mass
streams live at
www.diocesefwsb.org
Click the upper right
RED TV button.
Lent
what shall I give you . . .
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The holiday
of love
By Stephanie A. Patka, Secretariat for
the Office of Communications
W
elcome to February! The
month that moves from the
tear down of the Christmas decorations and New Year’s celebrations,
to a direct focus of retailers and
commercials on the holiday of love:
Valentine’s Day. The stores become
a sea of red and pink, roses and
chocolates and all sorts of promises
of how to win your true love’s heart
with a romantic gift selected just
for that person. You can see cupids
shooting arrows and plush stuffed
animals with an “I love you” stitched
into their design. There are all kinds
of cuts and colors of beautiful jewelry
to capture attention and promises
for the future. And then there is the
chocolate, of all shapes, sizes and
delectable flavors.
Which poses an interesting
juxtaposition for Catholics because
of another important day in our
calendar year during the month of
February — Ash Wednesday and the
arrival of the 40 days of Lent. Upon
first glance, it’s easy to see how both
of these observances, Valentine’s Day
and Lent, seem to be polar opposites
of one another. One boasts of love
and the other directs our attention to
a more somber tone, one of waiting,
fasting, sacrifice and death.
We implement the three pillars
of Lent, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, through parish activities as well
as personal and family activities.
As Ash Wednesday begins, we are
reminded of our own mortality and
wear ashes on our forehead. We
meditate on the Passion of Jesus
through the 14 Stations of the Cross,
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pondering His suffering
and His brutal crucifixion.
Some parishes have special 6 week study sessions
to delve deeper into the
themes of Lent. Many will
also offer rice bowls to collect change and donations
during this special season of
our Liturgical year.
Catholics are also called to fasting, abstaining from meat and other
self-imposed sacrifices. It’s not uncommon for even non-Catholics to
ask, “So, what did you give up for
Lent?” Perhaps, you’ve even engaged
in the debate of whether “Sundays
count” for whatever you have decided to sacrifice during the Lenten
season.
So, how does one celebrate
love in such a season of suffering?
It’s simple when you consider that
the observance of Lent is actually
the greatest season of love that our
Church has. While the secular society around us would suggest that real
love comes in feelings and romantic
gestures, as Christians, we know
that there is a deeper and more pure
definition of love. That kind of love
requires sacrifice, patience, and hard
work. While we move through the
season of Lent, all of the sacrifices or
calls to go deep into prayer amidst
the distractions of the world may
seem to be a burden or difficult to
endure. But actually, Lent is a beautiful gift to us from God to practice
what true love really means.
We spend so much time meditating on Jesus’s passion and death
because He gives us the perfect
example of what we must do to show
love for Him and for our neighbor. It
is in dying to ourselves and submitting ourselves to God’s Holy Will
that we become more like Christ —
who is love. And the beautiful thing
is that the culmination of Lent is not
death! It
is the celebration
of Easter
and
rejoicing in the
resurrection of
Jesus who
conquered
death forever.
During
this Jubilee
Year of Mercy, we are reminded
that God’s love is also shown to us
through His infinite mercy. We pray
the words, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us
and on the whole world” whenever
we say the Divine Mercy chaplet. It
is the suffering and death of Jesus
that implores us to recall how God’s
love and mercy is extended to us as
sinners.
So welcome to February and the
real season of love: Lent.
Prayer from the Diary
of St. Faustina
(950) Eternal God, in whom
mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible,
look kindly upon us, and increase
Your mercy in us, that in difficult
moments, we might not despair,
not become despondent, but with
great confidence, submit ourselves
to Your holy will, which is Love
and Mercy Itself. Amen.
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Will the Real St. Valentine Please Stand Up?
Each year on February 14 we
peruse the store shelves for the perfect
gift or card for a loved one. According
to Hallmark, more than 163 million
cards — not including packaged kids’
valentines — are exchanged. And
it’s not just an American phenomenon. Valentine’s Day is celebrated
in Canada, Mexico, the United
Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy and
Denmark.
But why? How did this holiday of
love and romance originate and, more
importantly, how did St. Valentine
become involved? The answers to
those questions are not easy ones.
Valentine’s Day is a holiday shrouded
in mystery and legend.
The origins of St. Valentine’s Day
lie in the ancient Roman fertility festival Lupercalia, which was celebrated
on February 15. During the festival,
young women would place their
names in a large urn. The young men
would draw a name from the urn and
then be romantically linked with that
young woman for the following year.
Still other legends cite the fact that
February 14 marked the date when
birds began mating.
The practice of writing letters has
been around for a long time. In fact,
the Bible is filled with letters—to the
Romans, the Corinthians, Timothy,
among others.
Letters can be used to inform,
scold, praise, entertain or endear. The
U.S. bishops write letters to presidents, policy makers and others to
help make the Church teachings and
positions known. Individual bishops
write letters, too, to their people to
inform and encourage them. People
write letters to members of Congress
to weigh in on certain legislative
issues. When a network announces it
will be canceling a popular television
program, what is often the first course
of action? A letter-writing campaign.
Letters can also serve as lifelines
for loved ones separated by distance,
war, employment and many other circumstances. Or they can help bridge
a gap between people who may be
fighting or are estranged, and just
aren’t ready to speak face-to-face.
Spread a Little Love
• Focus on the true meaning of
Valentine’s Day. Aside from the cards,
gifts, etc., the purpose of the day is to let
those we care about know we love them.
This Valentine’s Day, tell family members and friends just how much they
truly mean to you.
TV Mass times and celebrants
2016
Fort Wayne 10:30 a.m.
WFFT-TV, Ch. 55
South Bend 10:30 a.m.
WNDU-TV, Ch. 16
Readings for
February
February 7
Is 6:1-2a, 3-8 Ps 138:1-5, 7-8 1 Cor
15:1-11 Lk 5:1-11
February 14
Dt 26:4-10 Ps 91:1-2, 10-15
Rom 10: 8-13 Lk 4:1-13
February 21
Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 Ps 27:1, 7-9, 13-14
Phil 3:17 — 4:1 Lk 9:28b-36
February 28
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15 Ps 103:1-4, 6-8, 11 1
Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 Lk 13:1-9
Feb. 7
Fifth Sunday
in
Ordinary Time
TBD
Msgr. William Schooler
St. Pius X
Granger
Feb. 14
First Sunday
of
Lent
Father Jacob Meyer
St. Charles Borromeo
Fort Wayne
TBD
Feb. 21
Second Sunday
of
Lent
Father Ben Muhlenkamp
St. Louis Besancon
New Haven
Father Adam Booth
Notre Dame
Feb. 28
Third Sunday
of
Lent
Father Jose Panamattahil, VC
St. Mary of the Assumption
Decatur
Msgr. Michael Heintz
St. Matthew Cathedral
South Bend
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For further information, including ways to support the St. John Paul II Fund,
visit www.diocesefwsb.org/Seminarian-Support or contact the Office of Planned Giving
at (260) 969-9148 in Fort Wayne or (574) 258-6571 in South Bend
F O R S E M I N A R I A N E D U CAT I O N
JOHN PAUL II FUND
THE ST.
1/6/16 12:39 PM
of Northeast Indiana
CatholiC
Community
Foundation
The St. John Paul II Fund for Seminarian Education is a
permanent endowment fund established to provide income
for the education of seminarians for the
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Post Office Box 390
Fort Wayne, IN 46801
Tel. (260) 744-0012
FAX (260) 744-1473
Web site: www.diocesefwsb.org
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