Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Community - Carson City, NV
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February 21, 2010

As we enter into the holy season of Lent our catechumens and candidates are sent to the bishop for the celebration of the Rite of Election this First Sunday. All those in the process of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults from parishes throughout the western part of our diocese will gather at St. Rose of Lima parish for this special rite with our bishop. This is preceded by the Rite of Sending which will be done at the 11:15am mass. We will send over 40 catechumens and candidates along with their sponsors. The catechumens then receive a new name, the \"elect,\" for as testimony will be given about them by their sponsors they will be formally chosen by the bishop for the call to the Easter sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Likewise, the candidates (those already baptized but who have not received the other Easter sacraments) are also sent to be acknowledged by our bishop for their call. It is a great day for our parish and for the Church everywhere as we recognize the growing faith we all share. Please keep our elect and candidates in prayer during these next six weeks before Easter, a time for them called the \"Period of Purification and Enlightenment\".

I guess we could say St. Teresa of Avila Catholic School has been \"enlightened\" through the process of accreditation which concluded last week. The accreditation team came February 10, 11 and 12, reviewing the very extensive self-study prepared by staff and members of the school board and finance committee, visiting classrooms, and interviewing faculty, parents and students. I am very happy and proud to report that our school passed with flying colors, receiving many commendations from the team. Among other things, they applauded our academics, our strong sense of community and family, the happiness of the students and proud satisfaction of the parents. Perhaps receiving the highest commendation was the level of Catholicity expressed throughout the school community and the school itself. Some areas for recommendation were those also noted in our self study, including strengthening our financial condition and increasing enrollment. Those tend to go hand in hand. All in all, Mrs. Perdomo, the faculty and I were beaming after the final evaluation meeting on Friday. Thank you for your prayers and constant support of St. Teresa School!

If you weren\'t at our first parish Mardi Gras Ball you really missed out! There was a spirit of fun celebration in the air as attendees feasted on specialties of Louisiana cooking headed up by Brittany Stewart, Donna and Yesinia Pigman, Cathy Cole and Kelly Lusardi. We danced and clapped to some wonderful Dixieland jazz and big band sounds put together by Terri Bond - one of her group was even part of the original Harry James Band! It was really a great time and one I hope we can repeat in future years. Special thanks to our youth minister, Doug Stewart, and the many who helped decorate, prepare, clean up and provide such great music! Once again our youth and young adults stepped up to present this as a gift for the parish. Thank you!

It\'s time again to begin praying and reflecting about what leaders from our parish community might be suitable to serve on our Parish Pastoral Council. As you may recall, periodically the terms of some members of the council expire and so we enter into a discernment process of who will then be called in their place. This year three members will be completing their terms, and more, so please begin to pray about this for our parish. Candidates must be active regularly in our parish by attending mass weekly and serving the parish community. They must be people who have skills of observation, wisdom and counsel for me as pastor and be flexible, open, friendly and able to work with others. In a few weeks we will begin the nomination process. More on that later. In the meantime, let us pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on this matter.

This weekend will be the final sign-ups for Why Catholic?, a wonderful process of group gatherings, prayer and learning about our faith. If you have not yet signed up to be a part of this diocesan-wide process, I encourage you to do so. We have over a hundred participants in our parish at this point and I would very much like to see that double. As Catholics it is important that we understand our faith when making decisions about our lives and when calling upon the Lord for strength in times of trial. Please check this out and be a part!

Finally, I would like to highlight two special people who give of their time to prepare our weekly bulletin. Alternating months, Terry Forde and Judy Conrad, spend hours each Tuesday morning placing all the various announcements and articles and working on the computer to bring it all together. Thank you, Terry and Judy, for all you do!

Blessings on you all this First Week of Lent!
Fr. Chuck
 
 
 
 
 
 
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