Youth Groups 13th of March

Pauline Junior

Our youth group for Primary School Students. It meets on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month starting at 5:15pm ending just before the evening mass.

Next Meeting: 13th March: will include a short talk about St. Patrick, and bible based activities on a passage from Matthew’s Gospel.

Pauline Teen

Our youth group for High School Students. It meets on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month after 7pm evening Mass. All welcome.

Next Meeting: 13th March: Night of Adoration and Praise

Youth Group Meetings

This Friday the the 28th of Feb, will be our first meeting with our new Youth Group, Pauline Junior, which is for primary school aged students.  The meeting will start at 5:15pm in the Pastoral Center.  It will include a talk about a saint, and some bible based actives.  It will conclude with the children being taken to the Church at 7pm for Mass if they are not collected before then.

After Mass, Pauline Teen, the Youth Group for high-school students will meet.  This week we are excited to announce that we have a guest speaker Seminarian Matthew Dimian.  We are hoping we get a great turn out to welcome him.  He will he talking about Lent and Holiness.

Both youth groups meet every 2nd and 4th Friday of the Month.

7 Ways to have a Good Lent

This Lent do your best. Strive to root out sin and cultivate holiness. Let it be a lesson in humility that drives you back to the grace of God flowing from the pierced heart of Jesus – for that is the true heart of Lent. Attached is a good read on 7 ways to have a Good Lent. 7 ways of Lent

LENTEN JOURNEY 2020

What is Lent?

Historically, Lent is the 40-day period before Easter, which the Church uses to prepare for the celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

 When does Lent begin?

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is the day on which the faithful have their foreheads signed with ashes in the form of a Cross. It ends at noon on Holy Saturday. The 40 days excludes the five Sundays of Lent.

Why is Lent forty days long?

Because 40 days is a traditional number of discipline, devotion, and preparation in the Bible. Moses stayed on the Mountain of God 40 days (Exodus 24:18, 34:28), Elijah traveled 40 days before he reached the cave where he had his vision (1 Kings 19:8), Nineveh was given 40 days to repent (Jonah 3:4), and most importantly, prior to undertaking His ministry, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2). He also spent 40 weeks in His mother’s womb.

Since Lent is a period of prayer and fasting, it is fitting for Christians to imitate their Lord with a 40-day period. Christ used a 40-day period of prayer and fasting to prepare for His ministry, which culminated in His death and resurrection, and thus it is fitting for Christians to imitate Him with a 40-day period of prayer and fasting to prepare for the celebration of His ministry’s climax, Good Friday (His crucifixion) and Easter Sunday (His Resurrection).

Why do Catholics have their foreheads marked with a cross on Ash Wednesday?

Because in the Bible a mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s ownership. By having their foreheads marked with the Sign of a Cross, this symbolizes that the person belongs to Jesus Christ, Who died on a Cross. This is in imitation of the spiritual mark or seal that is put on a Christian in baptism, when he is delivered from slavery to sin and the devil, and made a servant of righteousness and Christ (Romans 6:3-18). It is also in imitation of the way the righteous are described in the book of Revelation: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3)

What is a day of fast and abstinence?

Under current canon law in the Western Rite of the Church, a day of fast is one on which Catholics who are eighteen to sixty years old are required to keep a limited fast. In this country, one may eat a single, normal meal and have two snacks, so long as these snacks do not add up to a second meal. Children are not required to fast, but their parents must ensure they are properly educated in the spiritual practice of fasting. Those with medical conditions requiring a greater or more regular food intake can easily be dispensed from the requirement of fasting by their pastor. A day of abstinence is a day on which Catholics fourteen years or older are required to abstain from eating meat.

 

Ash Wednesday

09:00am – SMM Primary School & Parish
12:00pm – Parish Mass
07:00pm – Parish Mass
Ashes will be distributed at all Masses.

Ash Wednesday is a day of Fast and Abstinence

Fasting: 1 main meal, 2 light snacks to be observed by those who have completed their eighteenth year, until the beginning of their sixtieth year.

Abstinence: from meat products & sweet treats to be observed by those who have completed their fourteenth year. Why do Catholics have their foreheads marked with a cross on Ash Wednesday? Because in the Bible a mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s ownership. By having their foreheads marked with the Sign of a Cross, this symbolizes that the person belongs to Jesus Christ, Who died on a Cross. This is in imitation of the spiritual mark or seal that is put on a Christian in baptism, when he is delivered from slavery to sin and the devil, and made a servant of righteousness and Christ.

Parish Movie Night – Indivisible

Come join us in the Pastoral Center to watch a film every 3rd Saturday of the Month after the 6pm Evening Mass. The film for February is “Indivisible” based on a true story of an Army Chaplin. Rated PG. Film will be followed by a short talk/discussion