The Epistle Online and ASH WEDNESDAY Schedule

Try " offering up" your sacrifices as well. The practice of attaching a purpose or prayer to our sacrifices can help us grow in holiness and become more aware of how God works in our lives.

CLICK HERE for some ideas!

"Have you ever heard someone use the phrase 'offer it up' about a problem? Offering up our troubles to God is a great way to remember that, in our faith, suffering is never wasted or meaningless when it's united with Christ's suffering on the Cross, for atonement of sins."

ourcatholicprayers.com

No pain, no gain; Offering it up is a powerful article about how a marathon runner offered up his pain for a special intention.

Offer it up: Letting God Redeem Your Pain This Lifeteen article beautifully explains what Catholics believe about uniting our suffering with Christ's passion and how our suffering can have redemptive power.

Rather watch than read? The idea of 'offering it up' is also discussed in this short video...

Tree of Knowledge

LENT : Just how much do you know about this important season on the Catholic calendar?

Test your knowledge with these 10 Questions:

1. How many days are there in Lent?

2. What is the meaning of the word "Lent"?

3. Where do the ashes come from for Ash Wednesday?

4. What color vestments does the priest wear during Lent?

5. What word is never said or sung during Lent?

6. On what days are Catholics required to fast during Lent?

7. What food was traditionally eaten the day before Lent begins?

8. How many Stations of the Cross are there?

9. When does Lent officially end?

10. What is the Triduum?

Click Here for the Answers

How did you do?

Whether you passed or failed, you'll want to check out this video that explains Lent in Three Minutes!

Obligations and Opportunities

While the Church views Lent as a time of spiritual growth and recommends fasting and sacrifice, the Catholic tradition of "giving something up" for Lent is not a requirement.

As Catholics, these are our obligations during Lent:

All Catholics age 14-59 are to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, all Fridays of Lent and Good Friday.

Catholics age 18-59 must fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. (One full meal and avoid food between meals. Light sustenance may be taken on two other occasions in the course of the day)

Catholics are also asked to:

Pray
Read Scripture
Give Alms
Go to Confession
Practice self-control (fast)

There are MANY opportunities to grow in holiness at St. Paul Parish during Lent!

Take advantage of all that our parish and our Catholic community have to offer!

Daily Mass - Weekdays 7am or 5pm at St. Paul Church.

Make Ma ss a part of your life during Lent.

Stations of the Cross - Friday evenings at 6:30pm at Sacred Heart Church. February 16 through March 23.

The Rosary - Weekdays at 7:30am at St. Paul Church (after 7am Mass) and Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm at Sacred Heart Church.

The Light is ON for You - Mondays from 7:00-8:00pm at St. Paul Church during Lent. Come for Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, Quiet Prayer or to Talk to a Priest.

Also consider this simple prayer that only takes a few seconds to say...

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Click to learn more about this prayer called The Jesus Prayer.

For Daily Inspiration, check out this Lenten Calendar .

Ministry Madness

There's a lot going on in our parish! There are so many great things happening that we couldn't pick just one ministry to highlight for this issue of The Epistle Online.

St. Clare Food Pantry - This new initiative to help the poor and hungry in our own community began last month. We are so grateful for the strong response from parishioners, and we look forward to the continued success of this program.

Click Here to see some photos.

Click here if you can VOLUNTEER to help with the Food Pantry! Many volunteers are needed .

Helping Hands Ministry - This group of caring parishioners provides support to our senior citizens, many of whom are home-bound or separated from their loved ones. We are currently looking for volunteers to help with this important ministry! Click here if you can spare a little time to check in on our elderly brothers and sisters.

Our growing Men's Group continues to meet and to support each other through friendship, fraternity and prayer. The group recently found this article that led to some great discussions! Guys, Read this!

Memory, Sex and the Making of the New Man

Media Team - A new Media Ministry is brewing! If you are a techie and can share your talents to work the camera and computers in the church, please let us know! Email Fr. Robert directly at frrobert@stpaulkensington.org.

Members of our Culture of Life Ministry recently attended the March for Life in Washington D.C. It was a great experience!

We hope to have many more attend next year!

Our Youth Ministry is very active and is starting to plan for the 2018 Steubenville Conference!

(High School kids: Let John know asap if you want to attend!)

Consider helping out, attending a meeting, or joining one of our many parish ministries ! Lectors, Music, Knights of Columbus, Ladies' Guild, Berlin Fair Committee, Scripture Study... there are many more!

Our Staff

This section of the newsletter aims to help you put names with faces and allow everyone in our parish family to get to know each other better.

Since we recently celebrated a busy 'Catholic Schools Week' at Saint Paul School, it seemed fitting to spotlight the principal of our parish school, Mrs. Fayne Molloy!

Mrs. Molloy began her career as a special education teacher working with students with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities. She subsequently worked as a high school Assistant Principal and then Principal (Watertown HS), Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Special Programs (Salem) and finally Director of Pupil Personnel Services (Berlin). After a brief retirement to care for her young granddaughter, Mrs. Molloy joined Saint Paul School in 2012.

We are fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated educator who is fully committed to all of the children of Saint Paul School, including her granddaughter who is now in 6th grade at SPS. Mrs. Molloy also has three grandsons ranging in age from 4 to 22. She enjoys spending as much of her time as possible with them at the beach in Madison in the summer!

To learn more about our parish school, visit ourschool.stpaulkensington.org.

Parish Calendar

Here's just a preview of some upcoming events.

For a complete listing of all of the great things happening at our parish

visit our online calendar.

Monday, Feb. 12	St. Clare Food Pantry Meeting 6:30pm
	New Member Registration Night 7pm
Tuesday, Feb. 13	13th of the Month Rosary at 12pm
	Choir Rehearsal 6:45pm
	Boy Scout Troop 44 Open House at Sacred Heart 7pm
	Knights of Columbus Meeting 7pm
	Culture of Life Meeting 7pm
Wednesday, Feb. 14	Ash Wednesday - Mass at 7am, 9am, 5pm, 7pm Liturgy of the Word and Ashes at 12pm
Friday, Feb. 16	Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart 6:30pm
Monday, Feb. 19	The Light is ON for You 7-8pm
Wednesday, Feb. 21	TEACH lecture/discussion series 7pm

The Epistle Online

We hope this newsletter will be a helpful resource for you, providing information about what's going on in our parish and sharing content on both spiritual and practical matters related to our Catholic faith. The Epistle is so named as a tribute to our patron, Saint Paul, whose letters to the earliest Christians still guide and inform us today.

As always, w e value you and your opinions. Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Click here to send us an email.

PASS IT ON

Please forward this Newsletter to a family member or friend so they too will have an opportunity to learn something new and to see all the great things that are happening at

Saint Paul Parish.

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"For it is in giving that we receive."

-Saint Francis of Assisi

A Ministry of the Conventual Franciscan Friars, Our Lady of the Angels Province