Lenten Corner for Families
When you go to Mass on Ash Wednesday, you will hear Readings from the Bible. To prepare yourself and your family to truly hear God’s Word, read and discuss this short article before you go.
Matthew 6.1-18 Growing as Disciples During Lent
Jesus challenges the disciples to change the way that they pray, fast, and give alms. Like athletes who prepare for an upcoming competition, we develop our strength for life in the kingdom through these practices.
- Prayer reminds us of our loving relationship with God.
- Fasting makes us hungry for God and should lead to new actions and behaviors that fit into God's plan for our lives.
- Giving to those in need helps us be grateful and shows that we are connected to others and responsible for our brothers’ and sisters’ wellbeing.
- Families have a special opportunity to build these strengths during Lent when we prepare for Easter and for life in God's kingdom.
* This article appears on p. 1201 of the Catholic Faith & Family Bible, produced by the Center for Ministry Development, published by HarperCollins, © 2010. Order your copy at www.catholicfaithandfamilybible.org.
Lenten Regulations
All members of the Christian faithful in their own way are bound to do penance in virtue of divine law. In order that all may be joined in a common observance of penance, penitential days such as the Season of Lent are prescribed during which the Christian faithful in a special way pray, perform works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their responsibilities more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence according to the norms of the following directive (Canon 1249):
Abstinence: All persons who have completed their 14th year are bound by the law of abstinence from meat. Complete abstinence is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday during the Triduum. On days of complete abstinence, meat and soup or gravy made from meat are not to be eaten.
Fast: All adults are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their 60th year. According to Canon 97-#1, a person who has completed their 18th year is an adult. The day of fast during Lent is Ash Wednesday (March 9th); the day of fast during the Triduum is Good Friday (April 22nd). The faithful will not lightly excuse themselves from this obligation.
For more detailed information, please see the insert on this week’s bulletin.
Chaminade University Alumni Reunion
Calling all Chaminade University Alumni! Join us at the Alumni Lu’au on Saturday, April 16th at 5PM on the Chaminade Campus. Lu’au Emcees: Frank De Lima ’71 & Sweetie Pacarro ’89. Mass at Mystical Rose at 10AM on Sunday, April 17th. Call Be-Jay at 808-739-8526 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for details and information.
Save the Dates
- 1st Eucharist Preparation Class (Mandatory): March 20th in the Hall after the 9AM Mass
- 1st Year Confirmation Class: Mar. 27th: 3rd Class; Kamiano Hall, 1:30PM - 3PM.
- 1st Reconciliation: April 16th at 8AM at IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
If you have a child preparing to receive First Holy Communion (1st or 2nd year) or Confirmation (1st or 2nd year), please check your schedules and/or the bulletin for the dates and times of mandatory classes. Time is slipping by quickly. First Holy Communion is scheduled for Sunday, May 8th and Confirmation is on the calendar for Saturday, May 14th at St. Michael’s.
Knights of Columbus’ Clergy Night
Appreciation Dinner
The Knights of Columbus Council 13227 will host a Clergy Night Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, March 17th, from 5:30 PM until 9:00 PM at The King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel Ballroom. This special event is held each year to honor the tireless efforts of our Clergy. Tickets are $50.00 per person (which includes buffet dinner and one cocktail plus $5.00 toward a Clergy meal). Tickets will be available after the Masses this weekend. This is not a fund raising event. Instead it is our chance to do what few of us do on a regular basis, which is to say thank you to our Clergy. The Most Reverend Clarence (Larry) R. Silva will be in attendance. This is the first year we have opened this event to the entire Parish. We hope to fill the entire Ballroom with grateful hearts to recognize our Clergy. For additional information, please contact Lito Ilagan at 322-4969 or Robert Dempsey at 326-7973.
Adult Confirmation
There are adults in the parish who for one reason or another have not received the Sacrament of Confirmation. If you are a practicing Catholic and would like to receive this Sacrament, there will be two preparation classes. The first class will be held on Sunday, April 3, at 1PM in Kamiano Hall at St. Michael’s. The second class will be held on Sunday, April 10th at 1PM in the same place. It is necessary to attend both classes and it would be very helpful if you would bring your Confirmation sponsor with you. Confirmation will be held on May 14th. You will need proof of your Baptism in order to be Confirmed.
If you have questions or you wish to register, please call Cynthia M. Taylor at 960-0734.
Vacation Bible School
Provided there is interest on the part of parents and space at Immaculate Conception, we will have Vacation Bible School the second week of July 2011. This year, Bible School will be a half day (9AM to 12 noon). There will be a midmorning snack. We will not serve lunch. This year’s theme will be SonSurf Beach Bash.
Until our Parish Center is built, we have decided it will be possible to register only 20 children. Therefore, we will offer placement on a first come—first serve basis to Preschool four-year-olds and Kindergarteners, plus First, Second, and Third Graders. The cost will be $15 per child or $25 for two children.
Doing this well will require more volunteer assistance from parents. This bulletin announcement is only to elicit interest in having your child attend. Last year, parents waited until the last minute. This year, we want to have our full complement of children by Easter so we can have everything prepared.
As soon as the Starter Kit arrives, there will be a meeting of volunteers and parents.
Meanwhile, if you think you are interested in having your child attend, please either leave your name and phone number in the parish office or call Cynthia M. Taylor at 960-0734. After determining the level of interest, we will have registration forms available. DON’T WAIT. SO FAR, THERE ARE ALREADY 8 CHILDREN ON THE LIST.
Social Justice Book Club
The next Social Justice Book Club discussion will be held Thursday, March 10th at 12:30 in the Luika Kaumaka Room. Bring a bag lunch and join the discussion of Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Mountains Beyond Mountains follows the life and work of Dr. Paul Farmer, Harvard professor, co-founder of Partners in Health, who has pioneered a community-based model of health care and developed revolutionary treatments for AIDS, malaria and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Kidder takes the reader to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, Russia, Canada, and the U.S. following Farmer as he lives out his philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” There are multiple copies of Mountains Beyond Mountains available through the Hawaii Public Library System.
Waiaha Cemetery Project
Do you have relatives or ancestors whose remains are buried in the Waiaha Cemetery (more commonly known as “Holualoa Catholic Cemetery”) on Mamalahoa Highway in Holualoa? The Heritage Committee would like your help with our project to create maps and databases of our North Kona Catholic Community cemeteries. The cemetery project is in keeping with the Heritage Committee mission to document our One Catholic ‘Ohana history. If you can help us with identifying gravesites in the Waiaha Cemetery, please contact Joyce Trask at 322-0915. .
Where to Send Bulletin Announcements
If there is an announcement that needs to go in the following week’s bulletin, please email it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by Tuesday afternoon at 4PM. That will be the cut-off time each week for announcements. Kindly do not send or bring anything into the office for the bulletin that is handwritten. If you do not have email, please ask a friend to send it in for you.
Psalm 31:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 17 and 25
Today’s responsorial psalm highlights six short verses from a total of 25, making it difficult to get a sense of it in its entirety. In many Bibles, Psalm 31 is ascribed to David, but it is extremely doubtful that there is any direct connection to Israel’s great king at least in terms of authorship. Like many hymns included in the biblical psalter, this one may have been composed for use in the Second Temple and, perhaps, dedicated to David in much the same way we honor people from the past today.
In any case, Psalm 31 is for the most part a lament with elements of both thanksgiving and trust, leading one to assume that whatever the danger was, it has passed by the time this psalm is sung. As is typical of such laments, the cause is not specified; the evil remains generalized, allowing us so many centuries later to adapt it to our own afflictions, whether communal or personal.
Predictably, the psalm ends with an expression of unwavering faith, “Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the Lord.” This may be the most decisive verse in today’s reading. No matter how dreadful the situation, no matter how piteously we lament, it is our steadfast faith in a loving God that sees us through every time.
By Virginia Smith. © 2008, OCP. All rights reserved
Matthew 7:21-27
Of the five sermons in the Book of Matthew, by far the best known is the first, the Sermon on the Mount (or, in Luke, the Sermon on the Plain). The evangelist devotes three entire chapters to it, and today’s reading constitutes its conclusion. Throughout this closing chapter, Jesus has offered his listeners instruction on what it means to accept God’s commandments, even going so far as to amend the Decalogue (Ten Commandments). Now, in closing he strongly encourages through examples and parables total dedication to God as opposed to excessive concern for things of earth.
The sayings in Verses 21-23 also demonstrate that it is not enough to proclaim, “Lord, Lord!”. That alone counts for little. Corresponding actions must accompany such assertions if we expect to live with God forever. This makes the centuries long arguments about faith versus works moot. They are two sides of the same coin. What a horror it would be to hear Jesus declare to us, “Depart from me…” Should those appalling words be said, we would have no one to blame but ourselves. We will have built a house on sand. What kind of house are we building? Will it withstand the storms of life…the winds that rage against our faith?
The final verses of Chapter 7 make up a formula repeated at the close of each of Jesus’ sermons, and they are very telling. Although not included today, they read, “When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” If we truly believe in Jesus’ authority as the Word of God, how much time to we spend taking them to heart?
By Virginia Smith. © 2008, OCP. All rights reserved.
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