Lent seems to be passing by too fast, as it always does; somehow forty days sounds like a long time, but isn’t.
This week we get a bit of a respite from the dreariness of the season with two celebrations: Saint Patrick’s Day and Saint Joseph’s Day. While in reality the 17this an ordinary day in Lent, it is a day when many of us take liberties with our Lenten Fast and enjoy the day. However, the 19th is a solemnity on the liturgical calendar and as such we are freed from the obligations of Lent. Joseph, the husband of Mary, is the Patron of the Universal Church. We will bless – and partake of – the St. Joseph’s Table after the 9:00 a.m. Mass. We will celebrate a Mass also at 7:00 p.m., and enjoy the goods from the table afterwards as well.
On Friday evening our celebration of the Stations of the Cross will shift to the outdoors. In this way we can replicate the sense of the pilgrimage which is central to the Stations. We are praying for decent weather. Please come and pray the stations with us, and dress accordingly. Walking the Way of the Cross with Jesus is always a moving experience.
The eighth grade students from SBS will be presenting the Living Stations on Wednesday, April 8th. Please put that evening on your calendar as well.
The early registration deadline for Camp Explore, our introductory season for the preschool summer camp program here at SBS is today (March 15th) – if you have yet to register go on-line and enroll your children for camp. It looks to be very interesting and fun!
School registrations are ahead of the pace for the past several years, so we are hoping to be able to break the 400 student enrollment for the coming year. This year we have 396 students at the school. Registration for the pre-K4 program is almost done. There are only four spots remaining! If you are interested please call asap. Kindergarten is the lowest grade, but demographics from the surrounding preK programs have suggested that this could be the case. We are confident that we will be able to meet our benchmark by the beginning of the school year.
Thank you for your response to the ACA. Early returns are also ahead of last year. Please consider a gift to the campaign if you have yet to complete the form. You can bring it to the parish office or drop it in the collection basket, and we will send it to the diocese for you. This actually helps us to track the gifts more easily. Our goal is $95,000 this year. I will give specific numbers – as I do not yet know how much has been sent to the diocese directly – as soon as I have them. Thank you to Carol DeMuria for her leadership on the campaign.
We are presently undergoing some work in the FAL Kitchen. Once completed, I will let you know what we have done, and why, and offer an opportunity to visit and inspect. It is a small improvement, but one that will greatly increase the functionality of the kitchen and expand its usefulness for the school and parish.
As always, there is much going on here at the parish. Hopefully we will see everyone at one or more of the opportunities this week for faith and fellowship.