4/3/22 Eucharistic Adoration Chapel; Veiled Statues

Eucharistic Adoration Chapel; Veiled Statues

4/3/22

Dear Parish Family,

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ Who became obedient for us, even unto death, death on a cross.

Eucharistic Adoration Chapel
Last weekend Bishop Waltersheid came and celebrated the Saturday evening Mass at Our Lady of Fatima and then carried the Most Blessed Sacrament into our new Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. Thank you, Your Excellency for coming to bless our new chapel!

We also owe a special thanks to Father Joachim whose prayer, vision, leadership and hard work culminated in this beautiful chapel. Thank you, Father Joachim! Thank you also to our committee of carpenters, painters, electricians and prayer warriors who worked with Father to complete this important project.

This chapel exists in our parish for the express purpose of adoring our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Because we as a parish family are making a concerted effort to acknowledge and adore our Lord in this way, we can prayerfully expect to see new graces on all of our undertakings. Please consider signing up to adore our Lord Jesus. I would also strongly encourage parents to bring your children before our Lord for some time when it's possible. Married couples, engaged couples, widows and widowers, please come! Come before our Lord and King expecting Him to bless you and your family life for the small sacrifice of love you offer Him by coming into His presence in this way.

Veiling of Statues in Lent
This weekend when you come into church you will immediately notice that our sacred images are all veiled as we are now entering Passiontide. Why do we do this?

Dom Prosper Gueranger, a Benedictine monk and Abbot of the famous Abbey of Solesmes, a devoted student of the liturgy of the Church expresses the purpose of this so beautifully: "The veiling of the crucifix during Passiontide, expresses the humiliation to which our Savior subjected Himself, of hiding Himself when the Jews threatened to stone Him, as is related in the Gospel of Passion Sunday [John 8:46-59, They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple (John 8:59)]. In his passion, our Savior's divinity was almost totally eclipsed, so great was His suffering. Likewise, even His humanity was obscured - so much so that He could say through His prophet: I am a worm and no man (Psalm 21:7). His face and whole body were so disfigured by the blows and scourges that our Jesus was scarcely recognizable! Thus, the wounds He endured hid both His divinity and His humanity. For this reason we veil the crosses in these final days of Lent - hiding our Savior under the sad purple cloth."

Brothers and Sisters, as we enter Passiontide, let us remember the sacrifices and spiritual practices we decided to take up on Ash Wednesday. Let us not become weary; but with renewed love and devotion, become more resolute to offer to our Lord Who suffered for us these meaningful tokens of our faith and gratitude.

We adore You, 0 Christ, and we praise You. For by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world!

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Jean-Luc