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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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