My dear parish family, - St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church

THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
SUNDAY – MARCH 22, 2015
Dear Friends in Christ,
On Wednesday evening we had the Lenten Penance Service here
at our Church. We came, not only to pray for God's mercy and
forgiveness for ourselves, but also for our Universal Church, our
country, our local Church here and for those whom we wanted
and promised to pray. The service was very well attended.
Thanks be to God for His love and mercy which endures forever.
Amen. May we never forget Him, and may He listen and answer
our prayers. Amen.
As we approach the big celebration of our faith - the Resurrection
of our Lord Jesus Christ - let us be more attentive to what we are
doing: physically (performing works of charity, being ready to
forgive those who have wronged us, having good behavior
wherever we go, committing our time to follow Jesus, particularly
on His last days - the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and
Holy Saturday)...and spiritually (reconciling with God and others,
attending Mass, praying the Stations of the Cross, avoiding any
occasions that may lead to sin with your best ability, being
humble and obedient to God and His true Church,…)in
preparation for this great celebration.
With all these physical and spiritual works, we will truly “enter”
into the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord.
Prayerfully we will feel and understand how joyful the Mother
Church is when she celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord.
STEWARDSHIP
March 14-15, 2015
BUDGETED WEEKLY NEEDS
Offertory total
Envelopes & Cash
Online Giving
$4,825.00
$5,765.50
$5,325.50
$ 440.00
ATTENDANCE
Saturday 5:00 pm 139
Sunday 9:00 am 189
11:30 am 462
Thank you to all who faithfully contribute
and are so generous to our parish.
By practicing these physical and spiritual exercises, we
are like the grain of wheat that died and then produced
much fruit. We will die to sin for the love of Christ, for
our salvation, for the sake of others.
However, pride, disobedience, quick judgment or criticism, anger,
resentment and many vices are ready to jump into our life to
prevent us from coming closer to God. We somehow are very
easily letting/allowing these to overshadow our actions. Then, we
fall into the trap of the devils, who will do whatever in their power
to take us away from the path to eternal life with God - they
want us to be with them for eternity as well.
We have to let the “grain of wheat” die! We have to enter the
battlefield to fight Satan! We have to sacrifice! We have to go
to the root of sin and pluck it out: the Seven Deadly Sins, and the
first one on the list is PRIDE.
Again I invite you come to Church for the Triduum:
+Holy Thursday: celebrating the Last Supper when Jesus
instituted the Holy Eucharist and Holy Order Sacraments.
+Good Friday: commemorating the Passion of our Lord. He
died for us while we are still sinners.
+Holy Saturday: waiting for the Resurrection of our Lord with
the Easter Vigil, which is the most profound and joyful celebration
of our faith. On this “Holy Night,” the Church everywhere in the
world will baptize and welcome new members of the Church: they
will “cross the Red Sea and enter the Promised Land.”
Please check the service schedule of the Triduum.
Peace,
Fr. Tien
HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE
Palm Sunday - March 29th
Mass times 9:00 am and 11:30 am
Chrism Mass – March 31st
Mass at 10:00 am in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Charlotte
No Mass at St. Francis
Holy Thursday – April 2nd
Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 pm
Adoration at the Altar of Repose until midnight
CLASSES – MEETINGS
Sunday – Faith Formation – 10:30 to 11:30 am
Monday – R.C.I.A. Classes – 7:00 to 8:30 pm
1st & 3rd Tuesday – Craft & Sewing Group – 10:00 am
Wednesday – Confirmation Classes – 6:30 pm
Wednesday – First Communion Classes – 6:30 pm
Thursday – Choir Practice – 4:00 to 5:30 pm
(Choir Practice will be on Wednesday @ 4:00 during Holy Week)
Thursday – Adult Faith Formation – 6:30 pm
Friday – Men’s Group – 7:00 am
Good Friday – April 3rd
The Passion of the Lord at 3:00 pm
Hispanic Estaciones De La Cruz at 6:00 pm
Easter Vigil – April 4th
Easter Vigil Mass at 8:00 pm
Easter Sunday – April 5th
The Resurrection of the Lord
Mass at 9:00 am and 11:30 am
There will be a mandatory Altar Servers training
meeting on Wednesday, March 25th, after the
evening Mass for all males who have received First
Holy Communion and who wish to assist during
Mass. In order to serve you must attend this
meeting. This includes any who have previously
served, and adults. Call Thomas at (561) 843-2083 to let him
know you will attend as pizza will be served after the meeting.
Join us for a “Loaded Baked Potato” on Friday, March
27th at 5:00 pm sponsored by our Knights of Columbus.
Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the door.
CHURCH GROUNDS WORK DAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28, VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Join us at 9:00 a.m. to help clean the outside
grounds of our church before Easter. You can bring
any yard tools, rakes, loppers, clippers, etc...
The Parish Office will be closed from 12:30 pm
on Thursday, April 2nd through Monday, April
6th. Please make sure any announcements for
the April 4th-5th bulletin are turned into office by
Monday, March 30th. Thank you!
The food pantry is collecting hams, roasting
chickens and other meats for clients’ Easter
dinners which will be distributed on March 25th.
New volunteers are always welcomed!
Join us this Friday at 7:00 pm as we meditate on Christ’s
final walk through the streets of Jerusalem carrying the
Cross. This will be your last opportunity to make this
spiritual pilgrimage of prayer before Holy Week.
A very big THANK YOU to all the parents who
helped with the Youth Group fish fry and to all
those who supported our efforts!
Envelopes are available at the entrances of the church
for those wishing to donate towards our Easter flowers.
Pray for everyone who seeks healing: Shirley Allegretti, Betty & Paul
Annulis, George Barlow, Monica Beattie, Edda Bennett, Dean Birchard,
Lonnie Bishop, Clyde Blue, Jim Broadwell, Ralph Brown, Jeannie Burrows,
Bill Chambless, Orfeo Cicchetti, Juanita Cox, Richard Crow, Ashley
Cuthbertson, Lillianne Duong Davis, Richard DeBetta, Matthew Demond,
Nadine Denis, Dorothy Dodge, Pat Dziurgot, Jim Dzurus, Irma Ebbes,
J. D. Gibson, A. J. Golon, Lou Golon, Marti Golon, Eugene Gonzalez,
Casper Erb, Debbie Fouts, Dorothy Gordon, Elmer Gover, Thomas
Grogan, Michael Gruber, Joye Hadarits, Joyce Ann Hillard, Bill Himschoot,
Charles Hoefeyzers, Peggy Holcomb, Kevin Holland, Terry Holland, Carl
Huebler, Liz Hutchinson, Richard Kantner, Rachel Kay, Betsy Kendrick,
Jack Lammers,
Mary Ann Malloy, Christopher Marinari, Debbie
Matthews, Fred Matthews, Riley Maynard, Gail McGrath, Lad Mezera, Bill
Moffitt, Dee Moffitt, Nancy Montgomery, Thelma Niolet, Kathy
Obenshain, Alicia Pack, Jane Putka, Laura Rizzo, Terra Schear, Taylor
Stacy, Richard Stodghill, Junior Stoudemire, Ed Taber, Ed Tisdale, Shirley
Troutman, Sam Waldroop, Shy Warren, Bertha Watson, Teresa Williams,
Marlene Woods, Alice Yuzzi, Kennedi Vondryk, Marilyn Zagorski.
Our elderly & shut-in parishioners: Katherine Baumann, Frances
DiMarchiso, Barbara Elliot, Marilyn Elman, Nicole Meher, Walter Seeley.
For parishioners and all serving in our armed forces: Aaron Brooks,
Patrick Debo, Jeremiah Elam, Joseph Hagge, Gregory Himschoot,
Christian Houston, Ben Hunter, Carol Hysell, Thomas Hysell, Raymond
Hysell, Amy Hysell, Stephen Karcher, Kyle McCormick & Chris Richards.
Pray especially for all those who are stationed in areas of conflict.
Mass Schedule and Intentions
Saturday, March 21
4:00 P.M.  Pearl Himschoot by Bill & Marie Cook
Sunday, March 22
11:30 A.M.
Those who are preparing to be received
into the Church at this Easter Vigil Mass
Parish People’s Mass - En Español
9:00 A.M.
Erin & Steve Vanderwoude
9:00 A.M.
Monday, March 23
Tuesday, March 24
8:00 A.M.  James Smyth by Barbara Gilbert
Wednesday, March 25
5:30 P.M.  Becky Hamilton
by Ronnie & Harriet Braasch
Thursday, March 26
9:00 A.M.  Magdalena Jimenez by Rosanna
Friday, March 27
9:00 A.M.  Mario Alfredo Flores
by Maria Leni Flores
Saturday, March 28
5:00 P.M.  Cotton Beals by Sharon Beals
Sunday, March 29
9:00 A.M.  J. Denis Oppermann
11:30 A.M.
by Deanna Kloeppel
Parish People’s Mass - En Español
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday from 4:00 to 4:45 P.M.
Wednesday at 6:15 P.M.
Rosary and The Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Rosary is recited everyday one half hour
before each Mass except for first Saturday.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is recited
every Friday at 3 P.M.
"Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is
suffered for God's sake, can pass
without merit in the sight of God."
-- Thomas a Kempis