3rd Sunday of Lent

Why Do Bad Things Happen

This is a very complicated question to ask and there’s not one acceptable answer. But a definition is in order. What is bad and what is good? I say a “bad thing” is when something I didn’t expect or didn’t deserve happened to me. Being fired from a job or overlooked for a promotion. Learning from my doctor that I have cancer and have three months to live. Losing a loved one due to a sudden illness or death. Getting into a terrible car accident. Having my house flooded or burned, etc. On the other hand, I say a “good thing” is when something I hope to happen, happens. Learning from my doctor that I’m in perfect health and fit for the marathon. Finding the love of my life or getting married. Getting a promotion or unexpected bonus. Getting on a paid-free trip to Hawaii, etc. In other words, it’s personal. It’s all coming from my own perspective, my own lens of what I consider good or bad. And this perspective extends to what I judge as happening in other people’s lives or events happening in my community or the world at large.

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover with his disciples when he was confronted by some people who wanted him to comment on the fate of “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.” The people, of course, were talking about certain Galileans worshipping in the temple who suffered horribly and died when the Roman governor Pontius Pilate launched an attack on those who protested his action to get money from the temple treasury to fund his impressive construction of the Roman aqueducts. The people who asked Jesus thought of this tragedy as an act of cruelty and injustice on the part of the sinful Pontius Pilate. That’s expected. But more than that, strange as it may seem, they also believed that what happened to these Galileans was a justified act of punishment for their sinfulness, the same way that they believed that leprosy, blindness, and other major illnesses were attributed to being “unclean” or sinful. Is this true? Is this how the justice of God works?

The comments Jesus made on what happened to the Galileans and the other eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell give us a glimpse on how we must look at the tragedies and misfortunes of our lives. There are four takeaways. First, we must not think of any “bad thing” that happens as His punishment for our sins. God is our loving Father who is our Creator. He is not the Destroyer. Jesus’ parable about the fruitless fig tree confirms that God is very patient with us. He gives us the opportunities to mend our ways. And He waits until we’re ready to bear fruits. Second, we must not play the blame game. This doesn’t do us any good. Instead, we need to treat every experience as a grace-filled moment. What is God revealing to me? How can I grow from this experience? How can I see light amidst the darkness? Where is God leading me? Fourth, we must believe that there’s a purpose for everything that happens. God knows the past, present, and future. He has a plan and knows every moving part of the plan. So, it’s best to place our every need and care in His hands. God’s Sovereign Will tells us that everything happens either because He wills it to happen or allows it to happen. Our challenge is to be like Mary in saying, “Yes, may it be done to me according to Your word.”

Lent comes from an Old English word Lencten which means springtime. It’s time for us not to stay stagnant, but to grow in our understanding of God’s mercy and love. It’s time to recognize and increase our capacity to turn our life around and see the hand of God in our joys, sorrows, and fears. Bishop Robert Barron says Christianity is, above all, a way of seeing and that everything else in Christian life flows from and circles around the transformation of vision. Saint Paul tells in Romans 12:2 that we should be transformed by the renewal of our minds. But this is difficult because sometimes we refuse or are unable to see what may be clear to others, but not to us. This is called having our blind spots, or spiritual blindness. The reality of repentance is that we can only repent for the sin we are willing or able to see and accept; and that change is possible only when we genuinely recognize the need for it.

As we continue through the forty days of Lent, may we ask the help of the Spirit to give us the spirit of discernment and wisdom to know the good and do it, and know evil and avoid it. May the Holy Spirit lead us to the loving embrace of God who constantly encourages us to cultivate the virtues of faith, hope, and charity in our lives. Once these are cultivated, we can then begin, slowly but surely, to bear fruits for the Lord and others in need.

Take care and keep up the good work!

Deacon Rod

Recognize God in Your Oridinary Moments - By Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

Mini Reflection:What I love most about our Savior is that he didn’t — doesn’t — give up on us. “Give me more time,” he says to the Master. “I can still fix this one.”

The Patient Gardener
I have garden beds on the side of my house that I don’t deserve.

When we bought the property, this was one of the features that was highlighted in the listing. “Professional landscaping! Tri-level garden beds that bask in the southern exposure!”

But I’m so terrible at weeding these garden beds — they become overgrown quickly, and I shudder to imagine what the previous owners would think of me if they drove by. I’m afraid they would write me off as lazy or disinterested, when really I’m just exhausted and busy. Every time I try to garden, one of my little assistant gardeners runs near the road and I must abandon the project to save them.

So, my husband, bless his heart, is the savior of these garden beds. He goes out there in the cool of the evening to pluck up the weeds that threaten to overtake this beautiful little garden. Patiently and tenderly, he restores it to a presentable state. Without him, they would be lost.

Perhaps I love these garden beds so much because I identify with them. If I were a garden, I would also be a mess, and people who have no time for messes would write me off as hopeless. We all need a savior to stick up for us, to come and quietly prune the unsightly growths that have taken root in our souls and turn the soil that has sat undisturbed for too long.

What I love most about our Savior is that he didn’t — doesn’t — give up on us. “Give me more time,” he says to the Master. “I can still fix this one.”
©LPi

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of March

For Families in Crisis
Let us pray that broken families might discover the cure for their wounds through forgiveness, rediscovering each other's gifts, even in their differences.

Honor Our Military

Please take time to give thanks for those who have served and are serving in our military and to pray for the safety of those who may currently be in harm’s way. In a special way, we thank and pray for these parishioners and relatives of parishioners.
Dear God,
We pray in gratitude for all of those who have defended peace, virtue, and justice with honor. We pray especially for those who have suffered in mind and body from the ravages of war. May Your peace reign in our hearts and in our world. Amen.

He Who Sacrificed His Life
†JOHN A. STONIS, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis
†CHRISTOPHER ZIMNY

Those Still Serving
JAY MARTIN, Nephew of Becky and Tom Brennan
JESSICA CAMERON, Niece of the Cameron Family
JOHN PODCZASKI, Grandson of Genevieve Podczaski
STEVEN TUMBARELLO, Son of Sylvia & Vince Tumbarello
CRAIG BEHRENDT, Grand-nephew of Sister Mary Helen
DANIEL BELZER, Nephew of Dave & Bev Belzer
MICHAEL KELLY, Nephew of Kevin and Kathy Kelly
MATTHEW NEUBAUER, Nephew of Dan & Judy Neubauer
EUGENE WALL, Nephew of Suzanne Lessner
NAILL SWIDER, Grand-nephew of Alice Swider
BRYAN DUFF, Son of Julie Duff
RYAN BLOCHBERGER, Nephew of Mae Grady
TIMOTHY DWORKIN, Grandson of Barbara Bouska
ALEXIS GONZALES, Great-niece of Eden & Lyle Gonzales-Nemzin
JACK MAHON, JR., Son of Jack, Sr. & Eileen Mahon
MICHAEL FOLEY
JOHN FOLEY
PETER MULLER
DANIEL FRAYNA
JOSEPH GULLO
SANG HOON LEE
ANTHONY PALMERO
MORRIS COREY MCMAHON, Son of Chris & Julie McMahon
RYAN FONTILLAS
MICHAEL T. HEHN, Grandson of John & Dorthy Stonis

To add or remove someone, please send the person’s name and relationship (optional) to bulletin@stcatherinelaboure.com

Please Pray for Ukraine

For our sisters and brothers involved in or affected by the war and devastation in Ukraine-- the deceased, the injured, the frightened, the displaced, the fighters, the protesters, the leaders. May God give them solace, healing, comfort, and hearts and minds directed toward peace.
Donations can be made here:

Knights of Columbus: https://www.kofc.org/secure/en/donate/ukraine.html

Caritas: https://www.caritas.org/

Ukrainian Catholic Archdiocese of Philidelphia: https://ukrarcheparchy.us

"May the Queen of Peace preserve the world from the madness of war" - Pope Francis

Neighbors of other Faiths
The Golden Rule

Excerpted from charterforcompassion.org/the-golden-rule-in-seven-major-religions
We may speak of great differences in religious beliefs and forms of worship around the world. Called by an endless number of names, all, however, recognize and worship a Supreme Being. And all religions, somewhere in their sacred literature, expound the fundamental philosophy of the Golden Rule.

Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.
~ Buddha, Undanavarga 5:18

Christianity: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that all men should do to you, do ye even so to them.
~ Matthew 7:12

Confucianism: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.
~ Confucius, Analects 15:23

Hinduism: Good people proceed while considering what is best for others is best for themselves.
~ Hitopadesa

Islamism: No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
~ Mohammed, Traditions

Judaism: And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
~ Leviticus 19:18

Zoroastrianism: Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.
~ Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29