Does it seem like Lent is passing very quickly? Next week is already Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. We still have time to prepare for our celebration of the Paschal Triduum (April 6-9).
We still have time to look back at our Lenten resolutions and evaluate how successful we have been. More importantly, we still have time to reaffirm our choices on how we hoped to improve during this holy season. Let’s make a final push toward the finish line.
Lent is a good time to celebrate God’s healing and forgiveness. I was so pleased with the large number of people who participated in the Mass of the Anointing of the Sick on March 7. The church was almost full on a Tuesday morning. So many people commented on how beautiful it was. Special thanks to the music ministry, the Altar Society, the various ministries, and Fr. Ben who presided. We plan to repeat this Mass again in a few months. But I remind you that you can request anointing whenever you are sick or facing surgery. Just approach one of our priests or call the parish office.
The other great sacrament of God’s healing and forgiveness is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have scheduled confessions every Wednesday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. There are still some penance services scheduled in our neighboring parishes. (See the attached schedule.) Our own Penance Service will be on Wednesday April 5 at 7:00 pm. There will be at least 18 priests available on that occasion for individual confessions.
I encourage you to join our Taizé Prayer around the Cross on Tuesday, March 28. This hour of prayer is peaceful and reflective. It is an excellent way to enter into the mystery of the cross as we approach the Sacred Triduum.
Speaking of the Triduum, I encourage you to make time to join in the special liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. The complete schedule of our Holy Week and Easter Masses and prayer services is attached below. Save it and put it on your refrigerator or bulletin board as a reminder.
So let us finish Lent well and approach Easter with hearts and minds renewed. Our Lord has blessed us with this season of grace. Let us continue to make the most of it.
Fr. Bill Rowland, CJM, was the pastor of St. Patrick Parish for over 16 years. So many of us have grown in faith through his pastoral leadership. He has been a part of so many of our family events through the years.
Fr. Bill was ordained on April 11, 1970. Three years ago, we were preparing to celebrate his Golden Anniversary of Priesthood when the pandemic closed down all gatherings. At his request, we have postponed the celebration a couple times since then. Now is the time to celebrate and thank God for the dedicated service of this great priest.
St. Patrick Parish will celebrate this landmark on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at the 11:00 am Mass. Fr. Bill will preside and following this Mass of Thanksgiving, there will be food and drinks in the Parish Center. Past and present parishioners, friends and neighbors, everyone is invited to participate. No reservations are required.
Fr. Bill does not want any personal gifts. He has requested that any gifts be given to the Eudist Fathers Retirement Fund. If you would like to show your appreciation to Fr. Bill with a gift, your check can be made payable to Eudist Fathers and sent to PO Box 3619, Vista, CA 92085-3619 or you may drop it in the collection basket at church. You may donate online at www.eudistsusa.org/donatewhere you will find the button for the retirement fund.
Come and join us for this special celebration for Fr. Bill.
Refugee Resettlement
The St Patrick Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) has received word we will be sponsoring a Sudanese refugee family of seven (2 adults and 5 children). We are looking for a 3 bedroom apt/condo for around $3000/month. Preferably somewhere on the Hwy 78 corridor. Please email Helen at helen@cox.net (or call 760-518-3901) or Chris at chrisdurnan4@gmail.com (or call 760-533-7139) if you can help with this. Thank you.
Showers of Blessings
In this Lenten time of reflection on how to reach out to the needy and make a difference, we have a suggestion for you. Showers of Blessings is in need of people willing to donate food once a month for our unhoused neighbors in Carlsbad. If you would like to help please call Carol Jerome at 760-845-2704.
During the season of Lent, there are 16 Penance Services scheduled across North County. The priests of the various parishes of the deanery collaborate to provide many opportunities to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. At each of these Penance Services, there will be many priests available for confessions. You may want to print this schedule and put it in a place that you can refer to it.
Our parish priests are also available for confessions in our church every Wednesday at 8:30 am and 6:00 pm. Our parish Penance Service will be on Wednesday, April 5.
During Lent communal praying of the Stations of the Cross will be held in the church every Friday at 3:00pm and again at 6:30pm.
The stations of the cross at 3pm will be led by one of the Deacons.
The evening stations will be hosted by parish ministry groups and prayed either in English, Spanish, or with bilingual material.
March 24: Viacrucis (Inmediamente ai terminar la Misa de 5:30pm)
March 31: Stations of the Cross for Youth (Bilingual)
All parishioners are encouraged to make time on Fridays to pray the Stations in community. The outdoor stations of the cross are also available any time. The church is open during the day for private praying of the Stations.
Taizé Prayer around the Cross
Join us this week, Tuesday evening, March 28, in the Church. We will begin at 7pm in our quiet candle lit church.
The cross will be our focus as we listen to readings from Scripture, meditate in silence, and chant songs in the style of the ecumenical monastic community of Taizé in France.
Gather with us for an hour of prayer witnessing the sufferings of Jesus and our world.
The Most Beautiful Fugue in the World by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110 III. Adagio ma non troppo – Allegro ma non troppo
We are grateful for the generosity of all of our parishioners and visitors.
Online Giving Reminder
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For help with forgotten passwords, please contact Online Giving technical support at 800.348.2886, ext. 2.
Click on the Online Giving icon below to create or access your account.
We appreciate your support!
Catholic Trivia
"Catholic Trivia”... not because they are trivial but because these might be things that not everyone knows. Test your knowledge by reading the five questions, remember your answers (or jot them down), then click the link below to find the answers.
The Church in the United States was established on November 6, 1789 by Pope Pius VI. What was the first Diocese?
Who was the bishop of this first diocese?
How many dioceses/archdioceses are there now in the United States?
What percentage of the world’s Catholics live in the United States?
What percentage of the world’s priests are in the United States?
If you have other members of your family or your friends who would like to be on our email list, just let me know or write to Mary McLain at mmclain@stpatrickcarlsbad.com We will be pleased to add them.
God will open the graves and restore the people of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 130:1-8
With the Lord is forgiveness and mercy.
Second Reading
Romans 8:8-11
The Spirit of God dwells in you.
Gospel Reading
John 11:1-45 (shorter version John 11:3-7,17,20-27,33b-45)
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Our Gospel on this day, the fifth Sunday of Lent, is again taken from the Gospel according to John. The reading from John continues the break from Cycle A’s focus on the Gospel of Matthew. Today’s Gospel reading recounts another sign, or miracle, found in John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus. As our catechumens move closer to the celebration of their Baptisms at the Triduum, today’s reading invites us to reflect upon what it means to call Jesus the Resurrection and the life.
The context for the story of the raising of Lazarus is the Jewish leaders’ growing animosity toward Jesus. Jesus has been in Jerusalem, taking part in the feast of the Dedication, which we have come to know as Hanukkah. The people have been pressing him to declare plainly whether he is the Messiah. Jesus tells them to look to his works, which testify to his coming from God. Many do not believe Jesus, however, and some try to stone him for blasphemy.
Into this scene of confrontation, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, send word to Jesus that his friend is ill. Jesus is said to love Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but he delays his journey for two days. The delay heightens the drama and shows Jesus’ obedience to God, who is to be glorified through Lazarus’s resurrection. When Jesus finally declares that he will journey to Bethany, his disciples fear for his life. Thomas declares that he and the other disciples should prepare to die with Jesus.
The scene described at Bethany is a sad one. Martha meets Jesus weeping and saying that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Yet she remains confident that God will do whatever Jesus asks. Martha affirms her belief that there will be a resurrection of the dead in the last days. Then Martha’s sister, Mary, comes to Jesus with the same confidence, saying that Jesus could have cured Lazarus. Jesus asks to be brought to Lazarus’s tomb where he prays and calls Lazarus out from the tomb. At this sign, many come to believe in Jesus, but others take word of the miracle to the Jewish authorities, who begin their plans for Jesus’ death.
Set against the backdrop of Jesus’ impending death, many elements of the raising of Lazarus foreshadow the good news of Jesus’ own Resurrection. Jesus, facing the conflict with the Jewish authorities, acts in complete obedience to God. In raising Lazarus, Jesus shows his power over death so that when Jesus dies, those who believe in him might remember that and take hope. Just as Jesus calls for the stone to be rolled away from Lazarus’s tomb, so too will the disciples find the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb.
With our catechumens preparing for their Baptism at Easter, the Gospel today calls us to reflect on Baptism as a dying and rising with Jesus. In Baptism we die to sin’s power over us, rising as children of God. In Baptism we join ourselves with Christ, who conquered death once and for all so that we who believe in him may have eternal life. With Martha and Mary, we are called to profess our belief that Jesus is indeed the Resurrection and the life.
Easter Flowers
It’s hard to believe that Easter will soon be here. Would you like to memorialize a departed loved one or honor a relative or friend by donating money toward the flowers that will adorn our church at Easter?
You will find an Easter Flower Offering envelope in your February-March packet of envelopes. There is space to list the names of those you want to remember and honor. Put your donation inside the envelope and deposit it in any collection basket of send it to the parish office. If you do not have the special envelope, just use an ordinary envelope and write the names on it.
All of these names will be included in a bulletin after Easter.
Annual Lenten Food Drive
The Knights of Columbus will be collecting items for the Lenten food drive to benefit the San Diego Food Bank North County Branch!
The food drive will continue until this Sunday, March 26th. Knights will be there to collect donations. Non-perishable food items (except for glass containers) will be accepted along with cash and/or checks.
The donation station will be located just outside the front door of the Parish Hall or look for the red food donation barrels on the patio.
Someone will be there to help with any heavy items.
World Youth Day Fundraising
The young adults attending World Youth Day will be out on the patio today fundraising. They are
asking for your contribution by taking an envelope off of their Giving Board and filling it with the appropriate dollar value. Envelopes can be returned to participants or dropped off at the parish office. Also, if you would like to purchase a St. Patrick Hoodie, they will be happy to take down your order! We thank you in advance for your generosity.
Los jóvenes adultos que asistirán a la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud estarán hoy en el patio
recaudando fondos. Están pidiendo su contribución tomando un sobre de su tablero de donaciones y llenándolo con el valor en dólares apropiado. Los sobres pueden devolverse a los
participantes o dejarse en la oficina parroquial. Además, si desea comprar una sudadera de San Patricio, ¡estarán encantados de ayudarle con su pedido! Le agradecemos de antemano su
generosidad.
St. Patrick Parish is 80 Years Old
March 17 (appropriately) marks the anniversary of St. Patrick Parish which was founded in 1943. It has served the Catholic Community of Carlsbad and North County for those 80 years. We thank God for all those who have gone before us and we pray for them and with them.
One way of marking this special anniversary is a St. Patrick Catholic Community hoodie with the 1943 date on it. The proceeds from the sale of these hoodies will benefit the St. Patrick youth who will be attending World Youth Day.
“Luego gritó con voz potente: “¡Lázaro, sal de allí!” Y salió el muerto, atados con vendas las manos y los pies, y la cara envuelta en un sudario. Jesús les dijo: “Desátenlo, para que pueda andar”. (Jn. 11: 43-44). Hoy celebramos el 5º Domingo de Cuaresma, aun más cerca a la Pascua. En las semanas pasadas, leímos la historia de Jesús y la mujer samaritana, y Jesús le ofrece esa agua viva que saciará toda sed, y la samaritana responde, “dame de esa agua”. Y el domingo pasado leímos del ciego de nacimiento, Jesús haciendo lodo con su saliva y la tierra, se la pone en los ojos del ciego y le da la vista. Y el ciego cree que Jesús es el Señor, se postra y lo adora. Y este domingo, Lázaro, ya cuatro días muerto en el sepulcro, y Jesús después de su oración al Padre, grita con voz potente, “¡Lázaro, sal de allí!” Y Lázaro sale en vendado del sepulcro y Jesús les dice que lo “desaten para que pueda andar”. ¿Porque la Iglesia nos da este milagro en este tiempo de cuaresma? Todos luchamos con el pecado: la avaricia, la autosuficiencia, el machismo, diferentes tipos de adiciones, el chisme, resentimiento, coraje, etc. Y cada una de estas cosas, nos quitan nuestra libertad y nuestra paz, y afectamos a otros. Pero no tenemos que rendirnos al pecado. Esta semana Jesús ha ordenado que se mueva esa piedra grande que tapa nuestro “sepulcro personal”, y ha gritado con voz potente nuestro nombre, y nos dice, “¡Sal de allí!” Lázaro salió del sepulcro y se puso a andar. ¿Saldremos nosotros para caminar con Jesús?
Our parish offices are open, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 4:30pm
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