Our Lady of Good Hope Roman Catholic Church “My little one, be united to the Father in your thoughts, your words and your deeds. Since the Father is the infinite Source of Love, everything must start from Him and everything must return to Him. When one accepts that it be so for him and for everything around him, he enters into the plan of the Love of the Father; he becomes entirely purified.” Jesus	4th Sunday of   Lent March 14th, 2010

 

Pastor: Fr. Peter Altamirano, OMI E-mail: fr.petera@hotmail.com Box 159 – 671 Water Ave. Hope, BC V0X 1L0 Phone # 604-869-5382 Fax # 604-869-5399   Confessions: Saturdays from 3:30pm to 4:15pm, before weekday Masses and always available upon request   Parish E-mail: ologhope@telus.net Visit us online: www.ologhope.rcav.org   Office Hours:   Mondays: 9am – 12pm  Wednesdays & Fridays: 9:40am – 4pm

Catechism Theme: The Sacrament of Second Chances The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Penance is a sacrament of second chances. Also known as the sacrament of conversion, confession, or penance, the Sacrament of Reconciliation forgives sins committed after Baptism. We can sin after Baptism, for sin hurts God (it denies God's honor and love), ourselves (it denies our dignity as children of God), and other people (the Church). In spite of sin, God continually calls us back. How? God leads us back to himself and to the Church through his grace. This movement is called repentance or conversion; it consists of sorrow for past sins committed and a firm promise not to sin in the future. There are two types of repentance: If repentance is based upon a love for God, it is called "perfect contrition"; such contrition forgives mortal sins if the intention to receive the sacrament of reconciliation (as soon as reasonably possible) is present.  If repentance is based upon other reasons (fear or guilt), it is called "imperfect contrition."  The sacrament of reconciliation consists of a penitent's actions and the priest's absolution. The penitent's actions are: repentance (an examination of conscience and true sorrow for sins committed). confession of sins to the priest. the intention to repair damage done and actions to repair such damage.  The sacrament allows the penitent the chance for self-honesty, spiritual counseling, and the opportunity to right past wrongs. In the absolution, the priest recognizes the process of conversion in the penitent, and declares it complete. Indeed, sin has been forgiven.

 

Mass Schedule				Intentions	Liturgical Calendar
Tuesday	Mar	16	9:00am	Paul Nemersky (RIP)	Ferial
*Wednesday* time change	Mar	17	7:00pm	John Duggan (RIP)	Ferial
Thursday	Mar	18	9:00am	Paul Nemersky (RIP)	Ferial
Friday	Mar	19	9:00am	William Lance Servais	Solemnity of Saint Joseph

 

 

9:40a.m. – 10:40a.m. (Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament)

Saturday	Mar	20	9:00am	Colette Ryan (RIP)	Ferial
Weekend Masses
Saturday	Mar	20	4:30pm	Our Lady of Good Hope	5th Sunday in Lent
Sunday	Mar	21	9:00am	Our Lady of Good Hope	5th Sunday in Lent

Please pray for: Conchetta & Tony Talarico, Yunha Kim, Vi & Benny Papp, Inez Lancien, Marge Grabarevic and Yvonne Henault.

Parish Announcements        1.      The ST. PATRICK’S TEA AND BAKE SALE will take place this Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 in the church hall from 1:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. Price of the tea is $6.00. Come and enjoy a pleasant afternoon with tea, coffee, goodies, door prizes and spot prizes. EVERYONE WELCOME. Raffle prizes will be on display in the hall Sunday after Mass. Please return raffle tickets, sold or unsold by this Sunday, March 14th, 2010. Price of tickets is: $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 (A bargain eh) 2.     NO Exercise Classes this Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 because of our tea and bake sale. 3.     NO Prayer Group this Wednesday, March 17th, 2010. 4.     Penitential Service will be on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 7:00p.m. 5.     Church cleaning is on Saturday, March 27th, 2010 after the 9a.m. Mass. All help is welcome and appreciated to prepare the Church for Easter. 6.    Those who wish may bring a “spring flower” (to remember a loved one) and have it put in front of the altar at Easter. Please do not bring it too early – until just before Easter.

There will be Stations of the Cross prayer service every Friday at 7:00pm during Lent.   ------------------------------------------- N.B. – The Mass time for Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 has been CHANGED from 9a.m. to 7p.m. ------------------------------------------- Annual Share Lent Collection: Saturday, March 20th & Sunday, March 21st, 2010   The annual Share Lent Collection for the poor and marginalized in the global South, which supports development projects that aim to make permanent improvements in the lives of those most in need, will be taken up at the Masses on March 20th and 21st, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEDICATE YOURSELF TO THE TRUTH OF YOUR LIFE AND YOU WILL FIND THE HIGHER REACH OF HEAVEN

Are you dedicated to the truth of your life?  Do you follow your mind and the genius of your spirit (which is your true self)? Or is your life one of mirages? Smoke and mirrors.

These are important questions because all during life we obscure (or let others obscure) the truth of who we really are. Layer upon layer is heaped upon us. Ask God for guidance.

We have false personas. We feel one way among one group, another way amid others. We lose touch with our true identity -- the "self" that is closest to God.

When we die, we will have no doubt. We will step into our "true selves." There will be no pretense. We will inhabit what we have "sent up." The Bible says to love others as we love ourselves but to do that (and it is a key to Heaven) we have to know the true "us."

Layer upon layer. Think about it: you have facades due to ambition. You have facades due to a feeling of inferiority instilled by an evil spirit that seeks to bring you down. (Always, cast out the "spirit of inferiority"!) You have facades that may come due to hurt, or resentment.  Through life we develop "crust" and scar tissue and pretense that separate us from our true destination. We develop cocoons around us. Cocoons can be necessary ("distance yourself from that which afflicts you"), but not when it turns into a callus!

We harden and reshape and send around us smoke and portray ourselves in a way that seems least likely to bring hurt. Or, we seek superiority. This is pride. We forget that we are all exactly equal. A great sin!

Through life, we pile layers and layers of perceptions upon us -- often adopting the way others view us as the way we act or view ourselves. Big mistake. Don't let others define you!

Perceptions are heaped upon us. We hide behind our jobs. We hide behind accomplishments. We erect personas behind which we feel secure.  Through education, through money, through possessions, through fashion, at the beauty shop, and mostly through demeanor, we develop facades that are meant to shield or advance us. Read: falsity. Every time we sin, there is another layer obscuring the profound essence of our selves.

It can be like the facade in the wizard of Oz -- hiding behind a construct, which causes blindness. Mainly, we deceive ourselves. We have trouble seeing through the masks. So many of them! We add facades until we are so top heavy (have such a big head) that we stumble forward (or even fall on our faces). Pride goeth! We become blind -- spiritually. We also lose sight of our life missions. All of us are put here for a reason and we lose touch with it when we stray in a way that lacks peace.

How often have you asked the Holy Spirit what your unique mission in life is? How often have you asked Jesus to help you fulfill it? How often do you direct yourself to what God intended for you (or is it the expectations of others that you seek to meet)?

On the Cross, Jesus said, "It is finished." At the end our lives, we want to feel the same: That sense of having done what we were sent to do in a mysterious plan that affects the universe.

As babies, we were open; we were innocent; we were full of love. There was purity. There was no arrogance. The key to life is getting back to that purity. When we have the Heart of Jesus we transcend the negativity of every circumstance with love. Hold this!

Jesus said only if we are like children do we gain direct entry (into Heaven). For that, we need what Lent teaches: discipline. This is a key: discipline in all that we do, say, and think. Thoughts count! Stop and say three Our Fathers every time a thought of temptation (or negativity) enters. Discipline your thoughts. Tame them. Purify them. Have purity of intention. Thoughts of lust? Our Father... Thought of revenge? Our Father... Go to Confession.

Get back to that "first you," the real you, which is the you at your most loving, your most humble -- at the level you must sustain unto Heaven.

When we die we die into our true selves. We find the mystery of who we really are. Bad is subtracted from good and we are left with the result. You will be astonished at your most profound being -- the true you. Make the "good" part the big part.

"I am home," you will say. "I am really home. This is where and who I was at the beginning."

[resources: The Other Side]