Bulletin 141

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

February 24th, 2013 Second Sunday of Lent

Epistle: I Thess. 4: 1-7; Gospel: Mt. 17: 1-9

Mass schedule February 25th through March 1st

Monday—Feria of Lent--NO LATIN MASS

Tuesday—Feria of Lent

Wednesday—Feria of Lent

Thursday—Feria of Lent

Friday—Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pot-luck dinner this month will be Sunday, February 24th immediately following the 2:30pm Mass in the school cafeteria.

During the Fridays of Lent following the 12:15pm Mass, there will be Stations of the Cross with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.

On each of the Fridays of Lent, a plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who, after Communion, recite the “Prayer Before a Crucifix.”

The season of Lent affords us a wonderful opportunity to grow spiritually. By practicing self-discipline and self-denial we place ourselves in a position to lift our minds and hearts closer to our God. As Jesus Christ said to Satan when He allowed Himself to be tempted in the desert: “Man does not live on bread alone.” When we practice mortification we identify with the life of self-denial that Jesus Christ Himself chose when He walked upon this earth. God deserves our best. He wants our whole hearts. Hence the first commandment.

We should also realize that the Lenten season reminds us of how we are called to live throughout the entire year, not just for this short Liturgical season. By denying ourselves we learn to amend our lives. Ideally, we also feel sincere contrition for our sins. This was Christ’s basic message when He preached: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” John the Baptist preached the same message as did his predecessors.

Finally, we must make sure our motives for our Lenten observances are pure. We should do all for love of God. When we pray we must pray to sincerely want to amend our lives. We must constantly beg God for true contrition. These are the “higher” petitions that must always be a priority when we seek God in prayer. If we truly want to change and make amends for our sins we will. God, in turn, will give us everything else we ask for besides.

In Christ,

Father Jeff Fasching

Laws of Days of Abstinence: The Discipline of 1962

• Applies on one’s 7th birthday.
• Complete Abstinence: all Fridays of the year, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, and the Vigil of Christmas.
• Partial Abstinence (meat and soup or gravy made from meat permitted once a day at the principle meal): all the days of Lent, the Ember Days of Wednesday and Saturday, and the Vigils of Pentecost and the Assumption.
• Abstinence from meat is dispensed on Holy Days of Obligation
Laws of Fast: The Discipline of 1962
• Applies for those aged 21 to 59, inclusive.
• Days of Lent from Ash Wednesday inclusive, Ember Days, and Vigils of Christmas, Pentecost, and the Assumption.
• One full meal permitted and two other meals may be taken which, when combined, are less than a full meal.
The Law of the Eucharistic Fast: The Discipline of 1962
• The complete fast from all food and drink (except for water or medicine) for three hours before the reception of Holy Communion. In the document reducing the fast to three hours, the Pope still encouraged those who were able to maintain the midnight fast which was the previous discipline.