Dear Parishioners, Happy St. Patrick’s Day (sort of). It is the 17th of March this weekend. But with St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Sunday, we celebrate the 5th Sunday of Lent and St. Patrick’s feast doesn’t get as much attention. Yes, we find ourselves just a week away from Palm Sunday and two weeks away from our celebration of Easter Sunday. As we enter into these final weeks of Lent, we also enter the holiest time of the year. Please check our schedule for next week: The celebrations of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil as well as the special schedule for Easter Sunday. If you haven’t gone to confession yet during these days of Lent, there is still time to do so as we are offering confessions on Friday nights before the Stations of the Cross and our normal time on Saturday mornings. Most of our Lenten Penance Services in the area have wrapped up except for one more next Sunday at the Cathedral. I have a couple more thoughts and insights into why Catholics kneel in church. In the Gospels, kneeling was typically seen as a way to express supplication and adoration. In the New Testament, kneeling is often preceded by an act of faith “I do believe, Lord.” As we try to focus ourselves on why we, as Catholics, believe in the Eucharist, we believe that Christ is truly present before us in the Mass in the Bread and the Wine (the Body and Blood). We reserve the Eucharist not only so that we can give the Sacrament to those who are sick and dying, but to create a sacred space in our churches with our Lord present in the Tabernacle, a place for us to encounter Jesus in our prayer lives. As we will commemorate this next week on Holy Thursday, let us be grateful for what the Lord did for us by giving us the Eucharist to strengthen us and bring us closer to Him! Thanks for reading! Fr. Mark