In many ways a priest's family becomes his immediate parish and the families who surround him daily with their support, understanding and love. The very title of 'father' implies a relationship based in a family setting. In celebrating the events of family life-birth, marriage, anniversaries, sickness, dying, death and everything that comes in-between-a priest is immersed in the lives of the families entrusted to his care.

However, each priest does come from a physical family. He doesn't drop from heaven with a collar around his neck and a sermon in hand. Like everyone, each priest is a product of a particular family and formed by the relationships and interaction of the family in which he was nurtured and grew up. Like everyone, maintaining and sustaining those important family relationships becomes increasingly more important as one gets older and more difficult as the stress and strain of daily duties pull on one's attention and time. Like the children of the cobbler who often go barefooted, a priest's physical family is sometimes, maybe often, the last in line to be ministered to. Planning a visit home or for a family event is always tenuous until the last minute. The immediate needs of the parish family can come into play, especially a death which is totally unable to be scheduled. With all that in mind, let me tell you about my visit home for three days last month.

COME CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH at ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC MISSION

Thursday, March 15
Mass at 5:30pm
followed by the annual Stew Supper

Lots of home-made stew, hot bread, home-made pies, tea & coffee

ADULTS-$6.00 CHILDREN-$3.00

As Rev. Lawrence E. Mick was quoted in our February bulletin, "The key to understanding the meaning of Lent is simple: Baptism, Preparation for Baptism and for renewing baptismal commitment (Penance) lies at the heart of the season." With this in mind, let us all rejoice in the fact that St. Mary, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Catholic Church in Plantersville has the perfect environment for the Lenten season. In fact, our painted church proclaims our individual baptismal promises all year long!

Each and every Sunday, we enter the church and see the framed German inscription on the right wall that means "Come to me all who labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest." We all have our own "crosses" to bear in life, all of which seem so minor as compared to our Lord and Savior's death on a cross. As we sign ourselves with holy water before entering the church, we recall our own baptism and take comfort in the fact that God truly loves us.

This baptismal theme continues most prominently in the ceiling art. Above the sanctuary a golden shell radiates golden streams of fire among nine angels. The heavenly choir of angels witness the Baptism that Jesus brings to the world: "Baptism of the fire of love." The dove represents the Holy Spirit, the fire of Love. The statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus raises his hands with blessings. At the bottom of his feet are the instruments of his passion: the crown of thorns, the scourging whip, etc.

Crosses of many shapes and sizes abound throughout St. Mary's. The stations of the cross are prominent on the side walls. In each ceiling arch we find a cluster of four crosses. At the end of each pew there is a carved cross in the wood. There is a cross at the top of the Blessed Sacrament Shrine. There is a cross on the right wall behind Mary's statue. The kneeler at the shrine of the Infant of Prague has that same cross. Our processional cross is the identical cross. Notice that on the ends of these crosses there is a bud with three blooms. We are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, "There is only one prescription for happiness and it is taking up our own cross and following Jesus." Our blessings are different from the world's blessings. We are signed with a cross of ashes at the beginning of Lent. We bless ourselves with the sign of the cross each time we pray. We glory in the cross. The cross is the preeminent symbol of Jesus our redeemer and our birth into the Way, the Truth and the Life of Jesus, the Christ.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the stained glass windows on each side of the central Shine of the Blessed Sacrament amplify that burning FIRE OF LOVE that is our HOME on earth and in Heaven. The stars in the ceiling are flames of that same Fire of Love that is in each of our hearts. Above the Sanctuary the Lamb (Jesus slain) is circled with that same Fire of Love.

How fortunate we are to be surrounded by crosses, reminding us of our eternal connection--through our Baptism--to Jesus Christ. Keep that thought close to your hearts throughout this Lenten Season.

The time has now come in the Church year for the solemn observance of the great central act of history, the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. The music for Lent is somber and pleading, with the exception of Laetare Sunday (the 4th Sunday of Lent), when "Rejoice, Jerusalem" is the prelude, and Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday), when the "Hosanna Filio David" (Hosanna to the Son of David) is the prelude; many of the hymns are unaccompanied by instruments, and no instrumental pieces are used during this period.

Gathering Hymn - "Attende Domine" - ("Hear, O Lord")

This penitential hymn is based on a 10th century Mozarabic Litany for the Lenten Season. It will be used as the sung gathering prayer at all Masses during Lent. The Litany response is: R. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon us, who have sinned against Thee.

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 130.

(Ash Wednesday and the Five Sundays of Lent) "Out of the depths" (De Profundis)
The author of this Psalm is unknown. The hard suffering during the Exile of the people of Israel brought them to the confession of their guilt, and had filled their hearts with faith and hope of the Redeemer and confidence in the mercy of God. The De profundis is one of the fifteen Gradual Psalms, which were sung by the Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. It is also one of the seven Penitential Psalms which were used by the early Christians. The Psalm reminds us of the mercy of the Father Who sent His Son for the redemption of mankind.

Sending Forth Hymn: "Led by the Spirit"

The Mass musical setting for Lent is the simple, chanted Latin Mass.

The organ will be used sparingly during Lent, except on Palm Sunday. It will be heard again on Holy Thursday for the Mass of the Lord's Supper to support the singing of the Gloria, with the ringing of bells throughout. It will not be heard again until the singing of the Gloria at the Easter Vigil on Saturday.

The purpose of the Pope Pius XII program is to help Boy Scouts examine how being a Christian affects daily life in a real world, to challenge them to evaluate their own personal talents and abilities, and to give them an opportunity to share faith and practice their religion among peers. The Pope Pius XII program deals with church-related ministries and vocations (single, married, ordained).

We have 3 Boy Scouts from the parish who have just finished the one-year program to earn this medal. Please congratulate the following boys on being presented their medal by Archbishop DiNardo himself on Sunday, February 4, 2007.

Justin Felderhoff
Hayden O'Brien
Joshua Welsh

Confirmation News

Projects:

March 4-Confirmation Classes Serve Coffee. If you have not done two Sundays this is your last chance for credit. See Maureen for information.

March 4-Activity/project Class following the Coffee at 2 pm in the hall. All students are required to be at this meeting. Make plans NOW to attend. This is considered a class; roll will be taken.

March 23-Living Stations of the Cross 6:30 pm St. Mary

March 30-Living Stations of the Cross 6:30 pm St. Joseph; All Students that did not do both of the Living Nativities are required to do the both of the Living Stations. If you did one complete Sunday of the Living Nativity, you are required to do only one of the Living Stations. If you did the Living Nativity at all 4 masses you are not required to do this but we would love for you to join us for the Living Stations.

Thanks to all the young men and women that helped with the Road Clean-up project. Bob Dean said you did an awesome job. Keep up the Great work! Anyone that would like to be part of this ongoing project call Bob or check with the RE office.

If you did not make one of the retreats we offered this year it is you and your parents' responsibility to complete one by April 4th for Level 3 (if you plan to make confirmation this year) and the end of April for levels 1&2.

Level 3 projects, mass journals, retreat and any other material must be in April 4th if you plan on being confirmed April 21, 2007

Thanks to all the Teachers, Aides, active volunteers and office staff. With out your help and dedication we could not bring this Awesome R.E. Program to the children at St. Mary - St. Joseph Parish Community. Parents, take time to thank the RE personnel whenever possible. They are all giving their time to make this a great program for your children. They put a great amount of time in teaching and planning the lessons.

We are looking for volunteers for next school year. We need teachers, aides, retreat coordinators, youth ministry coordinators and office staff (loading children into cars after class, hall monitors, registration personnel, phone coordinator, email coordinator, etc.) Please pray to God to give you guidance in helping with the RE program. Fill out a volunteer application or stop by the RE office to talk with a staff member. We would like to have the 2007-2008 RE staff completed by June 1.

A few changes have been made to help the program run smoothly. We have moved the RE office to the room next to the Family Life Room. Visitors please sign in and get your visitor's pass in the office. The Family Life Room will not be open for parents to use as a waiting room for their children. However, the social hall is open for parents that would like to wait in a comfortable environment. ALL PARENTS ARE TO PICK UP THEIR CHILDREN IN THE DESINATED CAR PICK-UP AREA. After finishing their jobs, teachers, aides and volunteers may continue to walk their children to their cars. No exceptions!

Attention Parents: The Religious Article Store in the hall has some great books for your children. Check out the Teen Area, there is some wonderful reading for you and your teenager. If you need a particular book, talk with the ladies to place an order. Spend a little time in the store-you will be amazed with what you may find.

Come and enjoy a spaghetti dinner, traditionally meatless, at St. Mary's parish hall provided for everyone in the parish. Your only cost is to bring a sack of non-perishable items to help benefit those in our Parish community who are in need.

Dinner will be served after the 10:30am Mass on March 18, 2007

THANK YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU EACH AND EVERY DAY.

Well, as the cold weather starts fading away, it's time to start pruning your roses and other plants. This year with the freezing nights we had, some of the hibiscus plants might have gotten some frost bite. To find how far to cut them back, lightly scrape the bark-when you see green, cut there with a nice clean cut.

It's also time to clean out your flower beds and don't forget to mulch; 3" to 4" is recommended to prevent most weeds from coming through.

For those of you who have vegetable gardens, it's finally time to get started. The usual time for planting potatoes is on Washington's Birthday, so if you haven't planted them yet, you better hurry up! You should also be planting your tender leaf vegetables (such as lettuce), peas, spinach, squash, peppers, and onions. Make sure to have food for the plants so they don't start good, but then run out of nutrients and fail to produce at harvest time. And we now have a bulletin board in St. Mary's Social Hall. Come take a look at all of the useful information posted.

Next month, the God's Gardeners group is planning an outing on Saturday, April 14th. We’ll leave St. Mary's at 9:30am to go to the Rose Emporium in Independence; from there, we'll go to Martha's Bloomers in Navasota for a light lunch and stay long enough to see all they have to offer. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board for all those wishing to go...and you don't have to be a member to come! All are welcome-please sign up early so we'll have an idea of how many will be going.

For more gardening information in the Montgomery County area, just go to the Montgomery County Extension Office website at www.montgomery-tx.tamu.edu or call 936-539-7822.

If you're interested in joining our group, please call Roy Klaus @ 832-419-6027.

The First Sunday of the Month is Food Pantry Sunday. A few can goods from each family add up to a parish family reaching out, sharing and living the teachings of the gospel and Saint Vincent de Paul. Large wicker baskets are provided in the foyer of the St. Mary hall and St Joseph to accept your offerings.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
One-Week Novena
Schedule:

March: St. Joseph's
April: St. Mary's
May: St. Joseph's
June: St. Mary's

A simple one week Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Have her blessed picture in your home and honor her with a daily rosary and your petitions.

St. Mary's: A sign up sheet is available in the parish hall.

St. Joseph's: A sign up sheet is available in the church entry.

The picture of Our Lady is to be returned at the end of the week.

It's time to start getting ready for the

St. Joseph's Bazaar!

Yes, it's that time of year again...so let's start getting ready. We need lots of

Auction Items
Home-made Cakes & Pies
Donations for Booths
New Ideas
Crafts
VOLUNTEERS!!!

Lets everybody pull together in 2007 to make this the best bazaar ever. Any questions, contact Bo Imhoff at 936-672-4555 or Rhonda Sechelski at 936-419-6536. Keep an eye on the bulletin for updates and meeting times.

Mar 1:Est C:12,14-16,23-25 * Ps 138:1-2,2-3,7-8 * Mt 7:7-12

Mar 2: Ez 18:21-28 * Ps 130:1-2,3-4,5-7,7-8 * Mt 5:20-26

Mar 3 [St. Katharine Drexel] : Dt 26:16-19 * Ps 119:1-2,4-5,7-8 * Mt 5:43-48

Mar 4 Second Sunday of Lent: Gn 15:5-12,17-18 * Ps 27:1,7-8,8-9,13-14 * Phil 3:17—4:1 * Lk 9:28b-36

Mar 5: Dn 9:4b-10 * Ps 79:8,9,11,13 * Lk 6:36-38

Mar 6: Is 1:10,16-20 * Ps 50:8-9,16-17,21,23 * Mt 23:1-12

Mar 7 [ Sts. Perpetua and Felicity] : Jer 18:18-20 * Ps 31:5-6,14,15-16 * Mt 20:17-28

Mar 8 [ St. John of God] : Jer 17:5-10 * Ps 1:1-2,3,4,6 * Lk 16:19-31

Mar 9 [St. Frances of Rome ] : Gn 37:3-4,12-13a,17b-28a * Ps 105:16-17,18-19,20-21 * Mt 21:33-43,45-46

Mar 10: Mi 7:14-15,18-20 * Ps 103:1-2,3-4,9-10,11-12 * Lk 15:1-3,11-32

Mar 11 Third Sunday of Lent: Ex 3:1-8a,13-15 * Ps 103:1-2,3-4,6-7,8,11 * 1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12 * Lk 13:1-9 6

Mar 12: 2 Kgs 5:1-15b * Ps 42:2,3; 43:3,4 * Lk 4:24-30 7

Mar 13: Dn 3:25,34-43 * Ps 25:4-5,6-7,8-9 * Mt 18:21-35

Mar 14: Dt 4:1,5-9 * Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20 * Mt 5:17-19

Mar 15: Jer 7:23-28 * Ps 95:1-2,6-7,8-9 * Lk 11:14-23

Mar 16: Hos 14:2-10 * Ps 81:6-8,8-9,10-11,14,17 * Mk 12:28-34

Mar 17 [St. Patrick] : Hos 6:1-6 * Ps 51:3-4,18-19,20-21 * Lk 18:9-14

Mar 18 Fourth Sunday of Lent: Jos 5:9a,10-12 * Ps 34:2-3,4-5,6-7 * 2 Cor 5:17-21 * Lk 15:1-3,11-32 8

Mar 19 St. Joseph, Husband of Mary: 2 SM 7:4-5a,12-14a,16 * Ps 89:2-3,4-5,27,29 * Rom 4:13,16-18,22 *

Mt 1:16,18-21,24a

Mar 20: Ez 47:1-9,12 * Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9 * Jn 5:1-16 9

Mar 21: Is 49:8-15 * Ps 145:8-9,13-14,17-18 * Jn 5:17-30

Mar 22: Ex 32:7-14 * Ps 106:19-20,21-22,23 * Jn 5:31-47

Mar 23 [St. Toribio de Mogrovejo] : Wis 2:1a,12-22 * Ps 34:17-18,19-20,21,23 * Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30

Mar 24: Jer 11:18-20 * Ps 7:2-3,9-10,11-12 * Jn 7:40-53

Mar 25 Fifth Sunday of Lent: Is 43:16-21 * Ps 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6 * Phil 3:8-14 * Jn 8:1-11

Mar 26 The Annunciation of the Lord: Is 7:10-14; 8:10 * Ps 40:7-11 * Heb 10:4-10 * Lk 1:26-38

Mar 27: Nm 21:4-9 * Ps 102:2-3,16-18,19-21 * Jn 8:21-30 11

Mar 28: Dn 3:14-20,91-92,95 * Dn 3:52,53,54,55,56 * Jn 8:31-42

Mar 29: Gn 17:3-9 * Ps 105:4-5,6-7,8-9 * Jn 8:51-59

Mar 30: Jer 20:10-13 * Ps 18:2-3,3-4,5-6,7 * Jn 10:31-42

Mar 31: Ez 37:21-28 * Jer 31:10,11-12,13 * Jn 11:45-56