Submitted by SJN parishioner and guest blogger Sally Robb

Dear friends,

In 1952, Father Carlo Carretto left a successful very apostolate in Italy to become a Little Brother of Jesus, a movement of contemplative brothers living in solitude in the Sahara Desert founded by Blessed Charles de Foucauld. He tells a moving story of passing through a small village after sunset and seeing an old man, Kada, shivering near the road. He thought about giving him one of his two blankets but knew that he would be shivering himself that night if he did….the Sahara is “a very cold place that gets very hot in the sun.” That night, as he lay down next to a huge granite boulder, his conscience began to bother him. He fell asleep and dreamed that the boulder fell on him, crushing him, though he was still alive. He opened his eyes and saw Kada shivering before him. He tried to reach the blanket to give to him, but, crushed by the massive weight of the rock, he could not move at all. He knew that he was experiencing Purgatory……seeing with absolute clarity the good he should have done and having no ability to do it.

My dear friends, every day Christ places before us many opportunities. Will we choose the good or reject it? Today, will we choose Purgatory, or will we  choose love?

Image courtesy of www.turnbacktogod.com

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The latest edition of our parish magazine, “The Westlake Catholic,” has been posted online! Go check out Issue 6, the Lenten issue here. You can pick up a hard copy in the new church starting today.

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Benedict XVI reminded the 7,500 pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall that, in the early days of the Church, Lent was a time in which catechumens began their journey of faith and conversion prior to receiving Baptism. Later, all the faithful were invited to participate in this period of spiritual renewal. Thus “the participation of the whole community in the various stages of the Lenten journey underlines an important dimension of Christian spirituality: the fact that redemption is available not just for the few, but for everyone, thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection”.

“The time leading up to Easter is a time of ‘metanoia’, a time of change and penance, a time which identifies our human lives and our entire history as a process of conversion, which begins to move now in order to meet the Lord at the end of time”.

The Church calls this period “Quadragesima”, a period of forty days which has precise references in Holy Scripture. Indeed, “forty is the symbolic number with which the Old and New Testaments represent the most important moments of the People of God’s experience of faith. It is a figure which expresses a time of expectation, purification, return to the Lord, awareness that God is faithful to His promises; … a time within which we must make our choice, shoulder our responsibilities without further delay. It is a time for mature decisions”.

Noah spent forty days in the Ark during the Flood, then had to wait forty days more before he could return to dry land. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai to collect the Commandments. The Jewish People spent forty years wandering in the desert, then enjoyed forty years of peace under the government of the Judges. The inhabitants of Niniveh made forty days penance to obtain God’s forgiveness. The reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, the first kings of Israel, lasted forty years each. In the New Testament, Jesus spent forty days praying in the wilderness before beginning His public life and, following the resurrection, He spent forty days instructing His disciples before ascending to heaven.

The liturgy of Lent, the Pope explained, “has the aim of facilitating our journey of spiritual renewal in the light of this long biblical experience. Above all, it helps us to imitate Jesus Who, in the forty days He spent in the wilderness, taught us to overcome temptation through the Word of God. … Jesus went into the wilderness in order to be in profound contact with the Father. This was a constant aspect of Christ’s earthly life. He always sought out moments of solitude to pray to His Father and abide in intimate and exclusive communion with Him, before retuning among mankind. But in the ‘wilderness’ … Jesus was beset by temptation and the seduction of the Evil One, who suggested a messianic path, a path which was far from God’s plans because it involved power, success and dominion, not love and the total gift of self on the Cross”.

Benedict XVI went on to suggest that the Church herself is a pilgrim in the “wilderness” of the world and history. This wilderness is made up of “the aridity and poverty of words, life and values, of secularism and the culture of materialism which enclose people within a worldly horizon and detach them from any reference to transcendence. In such an atmosphere the sky above us is dark, because veiled with clouds of selfishness, misunderstanding and deceit. Nonetheless, even for the Church today, the wilderness can become a period of grace, because we have the certainty that even from the hardest rock God can cause the living water to gush forth, water which quenches thirst and restores strength”.

“During Lent”, said the Holy Father in conclusion, “may we discover fresh courage to accept situations of difficulty, affliction and suffering with patience and faith, aware that, from the darkness, the Lord will cause a new day to shine forth. And if we have been faithful to Jesus, following Him on the way of the Cross, the luminous world of God, the world of light, truth and joy, will be ours again”.

At the end of the catechesis Benedict XVI greeted pilgrims in various languages. Speaking Polish he highlighted how “fasting and prayer, penance and works of mercy” are the principal means of preparation for Easter.

The Pope also addressed a special greeting to faithful of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who were present in the Paul VI Hall. The ordinariate was set up a little over a year ago for groups of Anglican clergy and faithful wishing to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church. The general audience ended with the apostolic blessing.

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Check out this video about the Steubenville Conference this Summer!

Details of the trip.

Who: All incoming freshmen to graduating seniors
What: Steubenville Catholic Youth Conference
When: June 15-17th
Where: Terrebone Civic Center in Houma, Louisiana
Why: Steubenville conferences provide teens with powerful ways to learn about their faith, grow in community and, most importantly, come into a real encounter with Jesus Christ.
How: We will ride a Coach Bus
Cost: $225

Sign up today on ChurchDB or by contacting the youth office at 512-328-3220 or sjnyouth@sjnaustin.org

For more information on the Conference you can go to the Steubenville on the Bayou website.

Everyone loves happy hour! Join us Friday, March 2, 2012 between 6 to 8 p.m. at Cru Wine Bar, located at 238 West 2nd St., to enjoy fellowship, conversation and spirits. It’s a laid-back way to come see what we’re about!

RSVP here.

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WHO: Individuals, couples or families from SJN parish

WHAT: The honor and privilege of having in your home a chalice that has held the Precious Blood of Jesus

WHY: To pray for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life

HOW: During Mass, receive a consecrated chalice known as the Elijah Cup, put it in a place of honor in your home for a month and gather together at least once a day to pray for vocations to religious life, especially vocations from our SJN parish

WHEN: On an available date and Mass time that are convenient for you

Watch for the next presentation of the Chalice on March 4, 2012 during the 9 a.m. Mass. Please contact Eileen Dalston (512-506-9848 or ) to participate in the Traveling Chalice Program.

Image courtesy of http://mumbailaity.wordpress.com

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Pictures from Saturday’s New Member Dinner (2/18/12)  have been added! Go check them out here. It was great to spend time with our newest members and learn more about all that’s coming up at our active parish.

A special thanks goes to the planning committee: Suzie Alvarez, Patty Floyd, Aynsley Interiano and Julie Sosa!

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We are pleased to welcome the Saint Louise House to our SJN community as a Partner Ministry! We think they will be a great fit for many of our parishioners looking to serve women-led families with children to overcome homelessness in Central Texas. Read more about them below, which is excerpted from the organization’s application to partner with us, and contact Jen Crowley at (512) 328-3220 x121 or if you’re interested in joining this Partner Ministry!

How long has your organization been in existence?
Saint Louise House was founded in  2000.

Why did the Saint Louise House desire to partner with SJN?  
We wished to partner with SJN for several reasons:

• Wished to become better known in the Catholic Community, especially to parishes that have a strong awareness of social justice.
• Wished to help educate your parish about the needs of homeless women with children in the Austin area. We know of your involvement with Mobile Loaves & Fishes. The homeless community we serve through SLH is very different from the community served through MLF and, therefore, our approach in working with SLH families is likewise different.
• Hoped that your parish may serve as a vehicle in making the needs of SLH and its families better known.
• Hoped that some of your members might volunteer for specific short-term projects as they arise and help us address needs we have.

How do you understand this potential partnership fitting in with SJN based on what you have read on our vision statement?

We, the parish community of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, will focus on Catholic faith formation as the means through which our children, youth, families and adults will actively and deeply engage in their faith and, in so doing, witness to God’s grace and serve those in need.  We believe that formation is a lifelong process whereby growth, both individual and as a community, provides a deeper understanding of and relationship with Christ in our lives.

This partnership with SLH is a great match for SJN in that it is yet another opportunity for your children, youth, adults and families to live out their faith through service and prayerful reflection on that service. We must witness to the Gospel, not merely mouth the words, and we know that is what your parishioners want to do…live their faith with action.

With what other churches and organizations do you partner?
As we understand the way you define “partner” – the only groups we currently partner with are St. Austin Parish, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, the Seton Healthcare Family and the Daughters of Charity.

SLH had its “birth” through a small Christian Faith Community at St. Austin – the parish gives us a mailing address, meeting space and many volunteers and individuals who support us with financial contributions. St. Catherine parishioners, from pre-schoolers through adults, do projects, volunteer and provide financial support to SLH on a regular basis. Seton Healthcare Family has provided critical financial support, provides meeting space for our Board Meetings and several of our Board and Board Committee members are Seton employees. The Daughters of Charity have likewise given important financial support, are a presence and support in our activities and two members currently serve on the SLH Board.

We are just beginning our efforts to specifically reach out to Catholic parishes that do not currently have much involvement with us – yours is the first that we approached. We have volunteers from other Catholic parishes, but those parishes would not qualify to be called “partners” in the way that term was defined to us.

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Join other 20- and 30-somethings, married and single, with families and without, for worship, food and fellowship! Join us every fourth Sunday for the 11:30 a.m. Mass and brunch afterward, the next one being Feb. 26, 2012. Children are welcome! We’ll meet before and after Mass in the center of the church narthex, just in front of a large archway. We’ll sit together at Mass then head to Trento (located at 3600 North Capital of Texas Highway, building D) for brunch afterward. You go to Mass on Sundays anyway, and who doesn’t love brunch? Join us!

RSVP here.

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Submitted by SJN parishioner and guest blogger Sally Robb

Carlo Carretto, in a beautiful book called “Love is for the Living,” wrote about being immersed in God.

Halfway on my journey through life

I found myself in a dark wood

Far from the path

This is how Dante described himself at the age of 35. Alas, I did not wait so long to enter the dark wood of sin. I was there long before the poet, when I was only 18.

But then halfway through life I was bathed in God’s Light, a full searching light that penetrated every corner of my being and filtered through it like the sun through the leaves of a forest.

I feel immersed in God like a drop in the ocean, like a star in the immensity of night.

More: in God I fell like a child in its mother’s lap, and my finite freedom everywhere touches His Being, which wraps me round tenderly; my need to grow and expand my thirst for fulfillment are sated every minute by His living Presence.

I can do nothing without Him; I can see nothing except through Him….He is the sea in which I swim, the atmosphere in which I breathe, the reality in which I move.

Image courtesy of http://ellenlandreth.wordpress.com

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