Introduction to the Liturgy – Salvation – In the ritual for the giving of thanks after the harvest, the Israelite offerer prayed a brief summary of salvation history. This actualizing of past experience is contained in today’s first reading. It stresses the collective dimension of salvation. Paul reminds us that salvation in Christ is personal, deeply internal, a question of hearts and lips. The Lucan account of Jesus’ temptations exemplifies what the Christian response to evil should be.

From the Church Fathers – St. Augustine of Hippo – “We have heard in the Gospel how the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Certainly Christ was tempted by the devil. In Christ you were tempted, for Christ received his flesh from your nature, but by his own power gained glory for you; therefore, he suffered temptation in your nature, but by his own power gained victory for you. If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcame the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him. He could have kept the devil from himself; but if he were not tempted he could not teach you how to triumph over temptation.” (Commentary on the Psalms; Matins – 1st Sunday of Lent)

In your prayers kindly remember the sick and those who care for them, the lonely, the handicapped, those isolated, and those who have died, especially Douglas Simpson & Anita Lance

HAVE A BLESSED AND HOLY WEEK

Your total offering for last Sunday was $3,350.56

Thank you for your generosity and support

In your kindness, please remember St. Columbkille’s Cathedral Parish in your bequests and wills

When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him length of days. (Ps.91: 15-16)

Entrance Antiphon – 1^st Sunday of Lent

Thank You – You are to be commended for the great turnout at the Ash Wednesday Masses. We urge you to continue your efforts to make daily Mass a part of your Lenten program. As well we invite you to pray the Stations of the Cross Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m. Let us pray for one another asking the Lord to help us to make of this privileged time one of growth and renewal in faith.

Stations of the Cross – Stations of the Cross will take place at 7:00 p.m. every Friday throughout Lent.

Looking for Sacristans – We are currently looking for active members of the parish to join the Sacristan Team. Duties would include – setting up before each Mass, cleaning up after Mass, changing linens as required and preparing the Cathedral for special celebrations throughout the year. Please contact Lance Patriquin at 613-633-1108 if you can help.

Faith Lenten Retreat – The Diocesan Office of Faith Formation and Leadership Development is sponsoring an Adult Faith Lenten Retreat on Saturday, March 26, 2022 at St. James the Less Parish, Eganville Ontario from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. with registration at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $15.00 per person (lunch and refreshments provided). This retreat is open to all the faithful. The theme of the retreat is the “A Walk through the Mass.” Our guest speaker will be Fr. Michael Smith, Vicar General of the Diocese of Pembroke. Please join us for this very special day. To register or for more information, please contact Deacon Adrien Chaput at (613) 732-7933 ext. 206 or dcadriendchaput@pembrokediocese.com. Registration deadline is Thursday, March 24, 2022.

Practice of Lent – Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ’s will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ’s death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.

Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God’s gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).

In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics. [https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/lent]