Dear Prince of Peace Parishioners:
- In the midst of a long Lenten Season, the Church continues to give us some model of faith to imitate in celebrating the witness to the gift of Faith in the lives of different saints. Last Wednesday was the Feast of St. Patrick (Irish for the day?) and the great Feast of St. Joseph. This week, the Church celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord on March 15 (9 months from this Feast will be Christmas!).
Also, another big Liturgy is from our Archdiocese of Seattle. Archbishop Paul Etienne invites you to attend the Chrism Mass scheduled for Thursday, March 25, at 3:30 p.m. at St. James Cathedral via livestream, given the ongoing restrictions on the numbers that may gather. This is one of the most significant archdiocesan liturgies of the year as we bless the sacramental oils and consecrate the Sacred Chrism to be used throughout the year and our priests publicly renew their priestly promises.
- The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) invites us to fix our gaze upon Jesus:
“Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. They do not come simply to catch a glimpse of him, to have some general audience with him, but rather to "see" him. In John's Gospel, "seeing Jesus” is believing in him.
We see God's face revealed to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
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- How often do we long to “see” the face of Jesus?
- Where are we seeking his face today?
- What do we do when we finally “see” the face of Jesus?
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- For this Sunday (March 21), the Elects will be participating in the Third and the Final Scrutinies, in preparation for their three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). This Sunday’s reading - “Jesus raised Lazarus from the death –
John 11:1-45” from the Gospel of John and desires to give “New Life” to those who are willing to die to sins in order to receive an “everlasting Life” with Christ.
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- Where do I need new life?
- What do I need to die to before new life can be born within me?
- As a process of preparation for the Holy Week and anticipating the “Joy of Easter”, I’d like to invite you to plan for your families to attend these special Liturgies:
At St. Gabriel:
***Daily Mass is at 11:00 AM (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday)
***Friday: 12:00 PM - Station of the Cross.
At Prince of Peace:
***Thursday Daily Mass 10:00 AM
***Friday 3:00 PM – Stations of the Cross in English and 7:00 PM – Stations of the Cross in Spanish
***Confession: Thursday Morning after 10 AM Mass and Saturday afternoon 4-4:30 PM
- Please take home the Lenten Season Resource – Lenten Black Book, Package of the Year of Eucharist with reflection question for each week until the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body and Blood of Christ) and the Archdiocesan …. as you come into the Church.
- Register at the parish website for this 5-parts Workshop via ZOOM (each session will last about 45 to 60 minutes) by Ron Belisle on Pope Francis Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti – On Fraternity and Social Friendship”. This workshop has started on February 24. Don't worry if you miss a session or two, it will be available Online to view for you to get caught up. The next three sessions are on Wednesdays, March 17 and 24 – starting at 4:00 PM.
Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Phuong Hoang