Holy Family Catholic Church

830 Main Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818 Telephone: 422-1135 Fax:423-0389 Email: HFC830@gmail.com and Sebchacko@hawaii.rr.com Third Sunday of Lent March 23, 2014 PASTORS CORNER Our Scripture Readings this week-end, bring before our minds and thoughts our physical need for water. We are asked to consider how the people of Israel were given water to drink in the desert. Without water they would have perished. Without faith in God, they would have utterly failed!! In the Gospel we have the famous story of the Samaritan woman, who came to the well to draw water and went back a totally changed person, after meeting Jesus and drinking the spiritual water of faith, given to her by Christ. Water is an element that quenches our thirst and provides physical growth. However, during these days of Lent, through fasting and prayer, we replenish the thirst of the soul for meaning in life. Saint Paul in the Second Reading, explains how the knowledge of Christ and belief in him will transform our mortal bodies to be like His, in glory. We must not keep on worrying about what we shall eat, or what we shall drink. We must learn to live by the bread and water that Christ provides us with. Giving up bread and water as a way of doing penance for our sins, also benefit us by creating in us a desire for the bread and water that fills our spirits with the hope of our glory to come. Terrorism, wars and annexation of territory, sanctions and counter sanctions are the order of the day. These betray human weakness, not human courage and strength. Our desire to eat and drink the spiritual nourishment that God so eagerly provides for us will help us to be just, to be honest and place Heaven as our topmost priority. This course of thought and action, are the only way we will ever be satisfied and contented in life. Fr Sebastian

Mass Schedule
Monday-Saturday: 7:15 AM Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM Sunday: 8:30 AM, 11:00 AM & 7:00 PM 1st SundaySamoan Mass-2 PM 3rd Sunday-Pohnpeian Mass-2 PM Confessions Saturday: 4:004:45 PM and after daily Masses First Friday of the Month Benediction After 7:15 am Mass

2014 THE YEAR OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE Come Follow me.

Matthew 4:19

WEBSITES PARISH: Holyfamilyhonolulu.org ACADEMY Hfcahawaii.org

SIR, GIVE ME THIS WATER.

Annunciation of the Lord March 25 The feast of the Annunciation, now recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realized. The GodMan embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: Mary has an important role to play in Gods plan. From all eternity God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that Gods decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. Because Mary is Gods instrument in the Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a God-given role. It is Gods grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by Gods grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity. No one has greater love than this, to lay down ones life for ones friends Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced
Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Mar. 25-Tuesday-6:30pm Our Lady of Perpetual Help Devotion Annunciation of the Lord Feast Mar.28-Friday-7:00 pm-Stations of the Cross By 8:30 AM Choir Mar. 31-Monday-6:30 pm-Bible Sharing Apr. 1-Tuesday-6:30pm Our Lady of Perpetual Help Devotion Apr. 4-Friday-Benediction after 7:15 am Mass 7:00 pm-Stations of the Cross Apr. 9-Wednesday-Penance Service 7.00 PM Apr. 13-Sunday-Palm Sunday Apr. 17-Thursday-Holy Thursday Apr. 18-Friday-Good Friday Apr. 20-Easter Sunday

We welcome back the Staff and Students of HFCA after their SPRING BREAK. Please continue to pray that the transactions in the purchase proceedings of the Land from the Navy will go ahead without any hitches/undue delays. We have entered the final phase of preparation for the RCIA Program. We will have Four candidates who will be given all the Sacraments of Initiation during the Easter Vigil Service and many who will receive First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Please pray for all the candidates of our Parish.

NEXT INFANT BAPTISM DATE

Infant Baptisms will be done on Easter Sunday April 20, after the 8.30 Mass.

Our Weekly Offerings

March 16, 2014 Thank you for your generous contribution for the past weekend. 5:00 PM 8:30 AM 11:00 AM 7:00 PM $ 956.00 $1,487.21 $898.00 $1,659.10

CONFIRMATION for Parish Youth will be officiated by Rev Fr. Gary Secor on Saturday,
June 7 at the 5 PM Mass.

LENTEN PENANCE SERVICE in our Parish will be on Wednesday April 9 at 7 PM. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Let us pray for the repose of the soul of Deacon Ed Vargas, who served our Parish for a short period of time, three years ago.

TOTAL

$ 5,000.31

Church Bulletin: EditorJoe Padron, Phone 423-2439. Bulletin deadline is Tuesday 12:00 noon. Please email notice and picture if applicable to pad.ronjoe@gmail.com

What are the origins of Lent? Did the Church always have this time before Easter? Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. In the desire to renew the liturgical practices of the Church, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican Council II stated, The two elements which are especially characteristic of Lent the recalling of baptism or the preparation for it, and penance should be given greater emphasis in the liturgy and in liturgical catechesis. It is by means of them that the Church prepares the faithful for the celebration of Easter, while they hear Gods word more frequently and devote more time to prayer (No. 109). The word Lent itself derives from the AngloSaxon words lencten, meaning spring, and lenctentid, which literally means not only springtide but also was the word for March, the month in which the majority of Lent falls. Since the earliest times of the Church, there is evidence of some kind of Lenten preparation for Easter. For instance, St. Irenaeus (d. 203) wrote to Pope St. Victor I, commenting on the celebration of Easter and the differences between practices in the East and the West: The dispute is not only about the day, but also about the actual character of the fast. Some think that they ought to fast for one day, some for two, others for still more; some make their day last forty hours on end. Such variation in the observance did not originate in our own day, but very much earlier, in the time of our forefathers. (Eusebius, History of the Church, V, 24)
When Rufinus translated this passage from Greek into Latin, the punctuation made between forty and hours made the meaning to appear to be 40 days, 24 hours a day. The importance of the passage, nevertheless, remains that since the time of our forefathers always an expression for the Apostles a 40-day period of Lenten preparation existed.

Are You Distracted During Prayer? St. Bernard was traveling with a poor, uneducated farmer, who boasted, Im never distracted when I pray. Bernard objected, I dont believe it. Now let me make a bargain with you. If you can say the Our Father without one distraction, Ill give you this mule Im riding. But if you dont succeed, you must come with me and be a monk. The farmer agreed and began praying aloud confidently, Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name . . . Then, after pausing for a moment, he asked St. Bernard, Does that include the saddle and the bridle, too? St. Francis of Assisi, whenever he was about to enter church for Mass or to pray, would say, Worldly and frivolous thoughts, stay here at the door until I return. Then he would go inside and pray with complete devotion. Sometimes distractions are caused by an insufficient dedication to prayer. Bl. Clare of Rimini was leading a carefree life in which religion wasnt something to take too seriously. At age thirty four, she entered church one day, only to hear a rather blunt message from Heaven: Clare, try to say one Our Father and one Hail Mary to the glory of God, without thinking of other things. Chastened by this rebuke, she took her religious duties more seriously. These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.(Isa. 29:13) For this reason, the Franciscan priest Bl. Thomas of Cori insisted that the Divine Office be recited slowly and reverently, for as he said, If the heart does not pray, the tongue works in vain. Jesus taught His disciples the importance of praying sincerely; indeed, He offered the Our Father as a model of such prayer (Matt. 6:9-13). When someone asked Bl. Jordan of Saxony the best form of prayer, he said, The way in which you can pray most fervently.

NEW PARISHIONERS: Newcomers are encouraged to register with the parish and are welcome to participate in all parish activities and ministries. Registration forms are available in the back of the Church.

Confession of Sin to a Priest The practice of Confession arises from the example and command of Jesus, who showed that human nature could be used by God as an instrument of grace and forgiveness. He said "That you may know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sin..." (Mt. 9:6; Mk 2:7-10; Lk 5:21-24). The Hebrew title He used was "ben Adam" meaning "Son of Adam." This was the Hebrew way of saying "a human being." Jesus always gloried in His Humanity, since through It He redeemed us. He communicated this authority to His Apostles on Easter night, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you shall retain they are retained" (Jn 20:19-23). In this way He gave the Apostles the power to give "Peace" (v.21), which is nothing less than the reconciliation of man with God. The text even makes clear how Confession is to be conducted. Christ's representative, the priest, must decide whether to forgive or retain. Therefore, the penitent must confess each and every serious sin, that is anything which separates him from Christ. If the priest judges he is truly sorry, He must absolve since Christ's Passion merited forgiveness for every repentant sinner. Only if the person shows no willingness to give up sin does the priest retain, that is withhold absolution. In one form or another the Sacrament of Penance has been in continuous practice in the Church. Its existence in all the Churches of the First Millenium, even those separated from Rome, shows its apostolicity. The present Catholic discipline of secret confession dates to the early middle ages, though there are suggestions of an even earlier practice.

PENANCE SERVICE will be on April 9th at 7:00 pm.

Examination of Conscience
Before celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, one should prepare themselves with an examination of conscience. An examination of conscience is a prayerful self-reflection on our words and deeds in the light of the Gospel to determine how we may have sinned against God How Often Should You Go to Confession? While Catholics are only required to go to Confession when they are aware that they have committed a mortal sin, the Church urges the faithful to take advantage of the sacrament often. A good rule of thumb is to go once per month. (The Church strongly recommends that, in preparation for fulfilling our Easter Duty to receive Communion, we go to Confession even if we are aware of venial sin only.) The Church especially urges the faithful to receive the Sacrament of Confession frequently during Lent, to help them in their spiritual preparation for Easter. What Is Required?:

50% OF MY EARNINGS DONATED TO CHARITY

WHEN I REPRESENT YOU to Buy or Sell Real Estate

EdYost@ccim.net
PHONE: 722-9678
Midpac INTERNATIONAL Realty

Three things are required of a penitent in order to receive the sacrament worthily: 1. He must be contriteor, in other words, sorry for his sins. 2. He must confess those sins fully, in kind and in number. 3. He must be willing to do penance and make amends for his sins.

Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ