As we serve at Sunday, Daily, and Holy Day Masses in our roles from Altar Server and Lector to Eucharist Minister, we are all called to be welcoming to our guests, visitors, and parishioners. It is part of our mission here at MQOA to welcome everyone who walks through our doors and into a holy, peaceful, and healing space. We want to get to know them over time, build trust, and invite them into a relationship with Jesus. This takes time but it starts with a simple hello and a smile.
The Triduum, also known as the Paschal Triduum or the Easter Triduum, is a three-day liturgical period in the Roman Catholic Church that commemorates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It begins on the evening of Holy Thursday and concludes on the evening of Easter Sunday.
The fifth Sunday of Lent reminds us of the importance of starting over and recognizing that something new must begin. In the readings today, there is a sense that God, in the Hebrew Scriptures, is going in a new direction with the Jewish people. What God has learned; we know too.
The aim of this series is to provoke thoughts and ideas about sharing your faith. You’ll notice that we haven’t been prescriptive about how to do so. That was intentional. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to evangelism and, as soon as you offer one, people tend to immediately count themselves out.
Join us for Adoration, Confession, prayer, reflection, and music. Fr. Murray and lay ministers will be available throughout the church to pray with you one-on-one. The Anointing of the Sick is also available for those in need.
This week we launch the Catholic Appeal. It is our annual archdiocese-wide appeal to help the local church support the work of the wider archdiocesan church of which we are a part. Today, we hear from the cardinal and then a parishioner, Deb Adair, who will be making an appeal to all of us parishioners. We have two numbers each year that we are given by the appeal managers. The first number is the assessment number of $25,082.
Next weekend, the 2024 Catholic Appeal will officially launch here in our parish and across the Archdiocese. One of the most meaningful ways that we witness the presence of Christ and deepen the impact of our Church’s ministries is by supporting the Catholic Appeal.
Serving Butternut Squash Soup! The Search is an innovative video series that tackles the key questions of every human heart. In seven beautifully filmed episodes, Chris Stefanick and experts from multiple fields of science, medicine, psychology, art, and religion examine our place in the larger story of existence.
The second week of Lent reminds us that it feels like a long way to Easter, but the task is to remember that we are here for the whole story. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are marked by moments of glory and suffering, Our Lenten journey, although it may pale in comparison, hopefully has some of the same experiences. We might feel the loss of whatever it is we are giving up or sadly recognize we use “that word” more frequently now that we are trying to stop it. On the other hand, it is important to continue to try and complete whatever we have started, even if it ends up in some failure.
Through Biblical teaching from leading Christian voices and real stories of invitation, each session explores what it means to live out God’s call to share our lives and our faith with friends, colleagues, and neighbors. It has been designed to spark conversation, prayer, and action leading up to the spring's Alpha!
Once a year, Catholics throughout the Archdiocese are asked to partner with one another to support their parish and the many outreach ministries by contributing to the Catholic Appeal. Many of you have received a letter from Cardinal Seán requesting your participation and early support of the 2024 Appeal.
Each Lent is another opportunity to begin the process of growing in holiness. I sometimes think of it as an imitation of Jesus, because it is, but also because it is a preparation for something bigger than us. Jesus was tempted in the desert with food, power, and privilege; he responded with humility and patience.
MQOA will be hosting the Sisters of Life. In I.C. Hall, we will have food, a talk by the Sisters, and a discussion. After, in the church, we will have adoration and music (led by the Sisters). The talk is on the topic of “You are Good”, an interpretation of the Seven Last Words of Jesus.