If I were sitting across the table from you right now, and we were each sipping a cup of hot coffee, I would ask you: “How’s Lent going for you so far?” And if I were to ask that question, how would you answer?
Even though we are not actually sitting at the same table, and so we can’t dive into the conversation, it’s a question worth considering. But it’s kind of a trick question. To ask someone how their Lent is going assumes, at least implicitly, that Lent is mainly about their own plans and goals. But in fact, Lent is not something that we do. Rather, it’s something that we enter intoand live through. It is a liturgical season that we didn’t invent (the Holy Spirit did) and that we can’t simply manipulate in accordance with some preconceived, self-help priorities.
A better way to think about Lent then could be summed up in this question: “What’s the Lord doing in your life this Lent? And how are you responding?” Now that would really be a great conversation starter!
Lent has a spiritual purpose. It is a time of discipline and prayer designed to help us tune into the message of love and grace that the Church celebrates each year through the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter. Through our Lenten disciplines, we cut away things that may be hindering us from hearing and heeding God’s Word in our lives – the Word that brings us his love and grace. Through prayer, we listen to and savor whatever the Lord may be saying. That’s the essence of Lent.
So, I invite you as we enter into the second half of Lent to contemplate that important question: what is the Lord doing in your life this Lent? It is my hope and prayer that he is doing a lot! If you can recognize the Spirit’s action in your life, give thanks!
And if you feel like you need some help detecting the answer to that question, never fear! Lent has plenty of time left. Try to listen a bit more attentively. Clear away some of the clutter. Think about your priorities. Restart that conversation with the Lord. Look at the needs of those who are within your circle of influence. Be receptive to the promptings of the Spirit. Keep the spirit of Lent going!
Lent is summed up in the words of one of our prefaces for Mass during Lent: [Loving God,] each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed. You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you, our Father, and of willing service to our neighbor. As we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son to perfection within us.
Pope Francis at 10 Years of Bringing the Gospel to the World
March 13 marks the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. This article appeared in the diocesan newspaper of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC. It is a good summary of the pontificate of Pope Francis.
March 13 marks the 10th anniversary of the Election of Jose Mario Bergoglio who became Pope Francis. As he appeared on the balcony that night, he asked the whole world to pray for him. In these last 10 years, he consistently asks for the prayers of all the faithful.
As we mark this milestone in the pontificate of our Holy Father, let us once again pledge our prayerful support as we give thanks for the one God chose to lead the Church in our times.
The Major Trips of Pope Francis
Ten years ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the Papacy. Alan Holdren gives us a look at the Holy Father’s global outreach particularly to the poor and marginalized. This EWTN report highlights the impact of his major trips around the world.
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.
The annual Lenten Collection supports the works of Catholic Relief Services, the Church in Africa and the Church in Latin America. Your donation is divided among those causes. Special envelopes were sent in your regular packets of envelopes. The date of this year’s collection is March 18-19, but you may put your envelope in the collection any weekend during Lent or visit online giving.
Lenten Penance Services
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 10: Viacrucis (Inmediamente ai terminar la Misa de 5:30pm)
March 17: Stations of the Cross for Families (bilingual)
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 on 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.
An African American Spiritual
There is an old African American spiritual based on the gospel story of Jesus meeting the woman at the well (this Sunday’s gospel). A number of popular musicians have sung this song. This one is sung by the famous Mahalia Jackson.
A Ukrainian Artist Transforms an Object of Death
A Ukrainian artist takes ammunition boxes and uses them as a canvas for art. He has transformed them into icons of devotion and faith.
Each week we will include the total for the Weekly Offerings of our parishioners. There are three categories. Envelope Collection indicates the amount received in our envelopes that are mailed to parishioners’ homes. Plate Collection indicates the amount put in the basket at Mass (not in envelopes). Online Giving refers to the amount given as regular offerings online (not including special funds, etc.).
Envelope Collection: $9,904.00
Plate Collection: $10,478.00
Online Giving: $18, 434.73
Total 2/27-3/3/23: $38,816.73
We are grateful for the generosity of all of our parishioners and visitors.
Online Giving Reminder
Please remember to log in to your Online Giving account to set up your Ash Wednesday and Easter gift. You can also make sure your payment method is up to date and that your gifts are being processed.
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.
As the story is told in the Book of Genesis, who were their three sons of Adam and Eve?
How did Moses’ mother save him from the Egyptian soldiers?
Who was the first king of Israel?
What was the giant’s name that David killed and how did he kill him?
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 tells Moses to bring forth water from the rock.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 95:1-2,6-9
Sing joyfully in the presence of the Lord.
Second Reading
Romans 5:1-2,5-8
Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
Gospel Reading
John 4:5-42
Jesus reveals himself to the Samaritan woman at the well. (shorter form: John 4:5-15,19b-26,39a,40-42)
Background on the Gospel Reading
On this Sunday and the next two Sundays, we break from reading the Gospel of Matthew to read from John’s Gospel. The Gospel of John is the only Gospel not assigned to a particular liturgical year. Instead, readings from John’s Gospel are interspersed throughout our three-year liturgical cycle.
In today’s Gospel, the dialogue between Jesus and a woman from Samaria is among the most lengthy and most theological found in Scripture. The most startling aspect of the conversation is that it happens at all. Jesus, an observant Jew of that time, was expected to avoid conversation with women in public. The animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans should have prevented the conversation as well. The woman herself alludes to the break from tradition: “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” Yet Jesus not only converses with the woman, he also asks to share her drinking vessel, an action that makes him unclean according to Jewish law.
The initial conversation between Jesus and the woman is better understood if we consider the importance of water, especially in the climate of Israel. At first, the woman understands Jesus’ promise of “living water” in a literal sense: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” With no running water, the daily trip to the well by the women of the community was of paramount importance. The women of the town would have traveled to the well in the early morning, but this woman came to the well at noon, the hottest time of the day. The timing of her visit is a clear sign that she is an outcast within the Samaritan community. We learn in her conversation with Jesus that she is an outcast because of her “many husbands.”
Behind the conversation lies the animosity and rivalry between the Jews and the Samaritans. Samaritans shared Jewish ancestry, but Samaritans had intermarried with foreigners when they lived under the rule of the Assyrians. Samaritan religion included worship of Yahweh, but was also influenced by the worship of other gods. When the Jews refused Samaritan help in the building of the Temple at Jerusalem, the Samaritans eventually built a temple for themselves at Mt. Gerizim (the same mountain mentioned by the woman at the well). Like the Jews, the Samaritans believed that a Messiah would come.
The high point of the conversation is when Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah. His answer to the Samaritan woman’s questions about worship is meant to predict a time when worshiping in truth and spirit will become the way to worship.
After the conversation, the Samaritan woman becomes a disciple. Even though she is an outcast and not a Jew, she returns to her town to lead others to Jesus and to wonder whether she has found the Messiah. The Samaritan townspeople return with her to meet Jesus for themselves, and many are said to come to believe in him.
The significance of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman has many levels. The first is personal: The woman is herself converted to belief in Jesus as Messiah because he knows her sin but speaks with her just the same. The second is social: Having come to know Jesus as the Messiah, the Samaritan woman becomes an evangelist to her own people.
The third level of the story is educational: Jesus uses his encounter with the Samaritan woman to teach his disciples that God’s mercy is without limit. The disciples return from their shopping quite confused to find Jesus talking with a Samaritan, and a woman at that! But the conversion of the Samaritan townspeople is a foretaste of the kind of open community that will be created among those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
Prelude and fugue no. 7 in E-flat major by J.S. Bach
This prelude and fugue ripple elegantly through the mighty Dom Church in Utrecht, which forms the backdrop for one of Bach’s more delicate works, in which Bach pretends he is writing it for the lute and the organ. This type of work, where one instrument imitates another, was one of Bach’s trademarks.
Theology on Tap: Common Good, Common Home
Theology on Tap is a program for young adults and the current series looks at the theme of Common Good, Common Home. It will focus on various dimensions of what Catholic Social Teaching looks like around our Diocese of San Diego. This series will showcase different areas in which the Catholic Church promotes the culture of life and dignity for all people.
Location: Saint Elizabeth Seton Parish, 6628 Santa Isabel St., Carlsbad 92009
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Dates and speakers as follows:
March 16: Dr. Victor Carmona
March 23: Pro-Life Panel: Norman Saucedo, Carlos Salazar, Mariana Marin and Ayla Grazier. This panel will focus on prison ministry, mental health, care for the unborn and care for people with disabilities.
The March Ye Olde Garage Sunday Sale will be this Sunday, March 12 from 7:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. We have some St. Paddy Day decorations on sale and a full house of other items. Because we have had several rain out days, our Shoppe is full of items for you to see. Come and visit us.
St. Patrick Dinner Dance
Our St. Patrick Dinner Dance sponsored by the Knights of Columbus will take place this Saturday, March 11 in the parish center. Corned beef dinner with all the Irish trimmings. $20 per person or $60 per family. Cash bar opens at 6:00 pm. Music by Cillian Bridge. Tickets are available at he door.
Next Family Mass
The next Family Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, March 19 at 9:00 am. This will be the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Bring your children to a Mass with a special message for them.
Summer Job at Whispering Winds Catholic Camp
Are you between the ages of 16-25 and looking for a fun, fulfilling, and faith-filled summer? We’ve got a place for you at Whispering Winds! Summer Support Staff (SSS) live and work at camp in all facets of camp operations, including food service, housekeeping, facilities, and recreation. We have two date sessions to choose from. Visit our website for more information - whisperingwinds.org - or call our office at 619-464-1479.
World Youth Day and Eudist Pilgrimage
Support our parish young people for their pilgrimage by making a donation through Online Giving. Choose Fund "Other" and indicate for WYD!
Jesús le contestó: “El que bebe de esta agua vuelve a tener sed. Pero el que beba del agua que yo le daré, nunca más tendrá sed; el agua que yo le daré se convertirá dentro de él en un manantial capaz de dar la vida eterna”. (Juan 4:13-14). En este Tercer Domingo de Cuaresma, el evangelista Juan nos habla de la historia de Jesús y la mujer samaritana que conversaban a un lado del pozo de Jacob. Este dialogo de Jesús y la mujer samaritana es algo que no debe suceder por varias razones. 1) Los hombres judíos no les hablaban a las mujeres. 2) La mujer era una samaritana, vista “impura” para los judíos. 3) Una mujer casada 5 veces. Para Jesús, nada esto es importante, lo único que Él puede ver es una mujer con un corazón pesado, una mujer que deseaba sentirse amada, necesitada, y con dignidad. Jesús le ofrece agua viva, el agua que se convertirá dentro de ella en un manantial capaz de dar la vida eterna. ¡Esa agua viva es Jesús! Esta tarde Jesús se encuentracontigo y conmigo, y también nos ofrece de esa agua viva. Nosotros también luchamoscon saciar nuestra sed. También nosotros tenemos grandes deseos de sentirnos amados e importantes. Trabajamos mucho para poder comprar esas cosas que, “creemos que necesitamos” para sentirnos según “bien”. La realidad es que no hay nada que podemos comprar o ponernos, para sentirnos bien. Sólo Jesús puede satisfacer nuestra sed. La mujer samaritana reconoce su sed y quien era Jesús, le responde, “Señor, dame de esa agua para que no vuelva a tener sed ni tenga que venir hasta aquí a sacarla”. No perdamos esta oportunidad de responder como ella.
Our parish offices are open, Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 4:30pm
In case of emergency, you can always reach a priest. Call the parish number 760-729-2866 and press number 6 which will connect you directly to one of our priests.
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