Bulletin Announcement for March 11-12, Third Sunday of Lent (A)

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Catholic Relief Services Collection
Next week our parish will take up The Catholic Relief Services Collection. Funds from this collection provide food to the hungry, support displaced refugees, and bring Christ’s love and mercy to vulnerable people here and abroad. Next week, please give generously to the collection and reveal Christ’s love to those most in need. Learn more about the collection at www.usccb.org/catholic-relief and give online at https://support.crs.org/donate/.

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What are the current rules for Lent?
All Catholics, ages 14 and older, are bound by the law of abstinence. Abstinence means refraining from the consumption of meat (land animals) on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent. Why Friday? To unite ourselves with Jesus’ sacrifice, made for us on Good Friday.

All Catholics, ages 18-59, are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting is defined as eating one full, meatless meal on prescribed days. Bits of food can be taken at other traditional meal times though their combined total should not equal a full meal.

Penitential practices, like fasting and abstinence, are intended to refocus our thoughts and intentions toward God. Lent’s 40 days include Ash Wednesday to Holy Thursday (the Lenten fast continues until Holy Saturday), not including Sundays. Sundays are optional but encouraged. For health reasons, the infirm, ill, and pregnant or nursing mothers are exempt.

Three other Lenten disciplines are prayer (daily conversation with the Lord), fasting (from behaviors which detract from our relationship with God), and almsgiving (sharing our resources, ensuring the basic needs of human dignity).

Lenten Image


Meatless Meals
Fancy Grilled Trout
Serves 4

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp melted margarine
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 brook trout, about 1 lb. each

In a shallow dish, combine lemon juice, margarine, oil, parsley, sesame seeds, Tabasco sauce, ginger and salt. Mix well. Pierce skin of fish in several places with the tines of a fork. Roll fish in juice mixture to coat inside and out. Cover. Refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove fish from marinade. Reserve marinade. Place fish in hand-held hinged grill. Brush fish with marinade. Cook about 4 inches from hot coals for 5 minutes. Turn. Brush with marinade again, and cook 5 minutes longer. Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.


Holy Hour (and a Half)
Deepen your relationship with Jesus and be a part of the Eucharistic Revival. Bishop Walsh is hosting Holy Hour (and a Half) consisting of exposition, adoration, benediction, and eucharistic catechesis.

  • March 19, 3 p.m. at St. Ann, Cadillac - Southwest Vicariate
  • March 26, 3 p.m. at Immaculate Conception, Traverse City - West Vicariate

To Encounter Christ Retreat for High School and College Students
To Encounter Christ (TEC) is a spiritual movement for high school seniors and college students. It begins with a three-day retreat weekend, starting April 14 until April 16, 2023 at Camp Daggett in Petoskey. This high energy and spirit-filled retreat includes dynamic reflections, music, sacraments, adoration, small group dialogue and prayer. Afterwards, the TEC community evolves into a network of support that both reinforces parish involvement and personal spiritual growth.
For more information about TEC, visit the international website: tecconference.org For more information about the local TEC community and retreat registration, visit the newlifetec website.

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Religious Liberty Essay Contest
Religious freedom is a fundamental right. But the truth of religious freedom has needed, and continues to need, witnesses. Share the story of a witness to freedom. Choose one person (or group, such as an organization or community) who is important in the story of freedom. Was there a key moment in the person’s life that bears witness to freedom? Or was it the life as a whole? Did the person articulate important concepts for religious freedom, and if so, what arguments did she or he make? Why is this person a witness to religious freedom? What lessons can we learn from this person’s witness?
First Prize: $2,000 scholarship Second Prize: $1,000 scholarship Third Prize: $500 scholarship.
All three winning essays will be published at usccb.org.
Essays are due March 24, 2023.
Winners will be announced in May.
Submission information is available at www.usccb.org/religious-liberty-essay.


2023 Father Charles Irvin Memorial Writing Scholarship
FAITH Catholic is pleased to sponsor a writing scholarship contest for Catholic high school seniors within the dioceses of FAITH’s publishing partners.
The 2023 essay subject is:  Tell us about the person in whom you most see the face of Christ.
Here are the specifics:

  • Applicants: Catholic high school seniors who are students at a diocesan Catholic high school and/or who are active participants in their parish’s youth group/religious education program.
  • Essay length: 800-1200 words
  • Entries due: March 17, 2023 
  • Scholarship: One $1,500 first prize
  • Judges: FAITH and other publications editorial staff 

Submissions must be sent by Director of Religious Formation, Catholic Youth Minister, Catholic high-school teacher, or pastor. Direct student submissions will not be considered. 


Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat Weekend
Rachel’s Vineyard is hosting a retreat April 21 at 2 PM to April 23 at 2 PM at the Augustine Center in Conway. The weekend is a chance to get away from daily pressures to focus on buried emotions of the past and walls that have limited our lives due to the effects of abortion. Rachel's Vineyard provides a confidential, non-judgmental, safe, and caring environment for men and women seeking healing, restoration and renewal. The weekend will help your soul find a voice and transform the pain of the past into hope and love.

Cost for the weekend is $170 per participant, which includes two-night accommodations, meals and retreat material.

(Financial Help is Available)

To register or if you have questions, contact Jane O’Brien or Kristyn Lent
Jane O’Brien: 231-675-1715 or jobrien4611@gmail.com
Kristyn Lent: 231-838-8383 or klent@charter.net

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Stewardship by the Book
When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water, He opened the door for a life- changing relationship with Him. Scripture says her testimony drew many others to Him as well. We, too, must be ready to respond whenever and wherever the Lord speaks to us and be prepared for it to change out lives!


Vocation View
Only our God can give water fullness of life. Our body cannot survive without water; our souls cannot survive without living water. Now is the time to renew our lives in the waters and spirit of Baptism.


Stewardship Reflections
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.”   John 4:13

Jesus reminds us that material things, even something as basic as water, can never satisfy us for long.  When we build our lives around material possessions we always want more.  True Joy and Peace only comes when we follow Jesus; when we become more “God-centered” and less “self-centered”.


Family Perspective by Bud Ozar
Our children are like the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel. They need more than material things. They need the ‘living water” only the adults can give. It will teach them how to make decisions, take responsibility, respect themselves and others and live their commitments. With this “living water” they will “never thirst.”


Abuse of Minors or Vulnerable Adults by Priests, Deacons or Others
To report allegations of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults within the Diocese of Gaylord by priests, deacons or other employees or volunteers, regardless of when it occurred, individuals should: Contact local law enforcement and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (855-444-3911). The Michigan Attorney General’s Office has also set up a special phone line for people to share information that may be of help in their ongoing investigation of sexual misconduct by Catholic clergy. That number is 844-324-3374. You may also contact the Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator, Larry LaCross, at 989-705-9010.

In the State of Michigan many professionals, including clergy, teachers, doctors, counselors and named others are mandated reporters. This means such individuals are REQUIRED to make an oral or online report IMMEDIATELY to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services if they suspect a child is being neglected or abused in any way. Individuals may call the state report line at the number above, which is answered 24 hours a day, or submit a report online at https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-73971_7119---00.html.


Michigan Young Adult Hiking & Rafting Pilgrimage 2023
Join young adults from across Michigan for a weekend pilgrimage adventure. Enter into the peace only Jesus can give while meeting new friends and experiencing the beauty of northern Michigan this summer.

  • Friday, July 21 – Sunday, July 23, 2023
  • For ages 18-39
  • Camping at Cheboygan State Park on beautiful Lake Huron
  • Rafting on the Sturgeon River
  • 10-mile pilgrimage hike culminating with a Eucharistic procession to the Shrine of the Cross in the Woods
  • Mass, prayer, and the opportunity to meet friends and grow in your faith
  • Registration deadline: July 1. Spaces fill up fast. Reserve your spot today!

Information and Registration at pilgrimage2023.eventbee.com
Sponsored by the (Arch)Dioceses of Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw, and Gaylord. Open to all young adults throughout Michigan and beyond.