Advent & Christmas Liturgy Schedule 2012

Click the link below for the Advent and Christmas schedule for the liturgies at St. Anne’s, St. Patrick of the Forest, and Our Lady of the River Churches.

Advent & Christmas Liturgy Schedule 2012

Come to Confession Soon!

This coming April 12, 2011, St. Patrick of the Forest will have its communal reconciliation service.  Both Fr. Bill and Dominic will be present for confessions.  The service begins at 7 PM.

At St. Anne’s, another communal reconciliation service will be held on Thursday, April 14th at 7 PM.  There will be nine priests present to hear individual confessions.

For those who find an evening service difficult to attend, we have two day time slots at St. Anne’s where people can simply come: Thursday, April 7 from 9:30 – 11:30 AM and Friday, April 15th from Noon to 2 PM.

Our spiritual health is very much dependent on how repentant we are of our sins.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

What a wonderful time we all had.  It was my first St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, and I was so pleased to see the turnout of the community.  The food was great.  It seemed that all the volunteers seemed to enjoy their time.  The raffle was a fun and the auction was a success. I think we will need to invest in a portable sound system.  Poor Don!  He did a great job yelling over the din or our conversation.  Below are some of the photos I took.  Please be patient for the images to load.  What was something you enjoyed?

Our Pastoral Council

Do you feel called to be part of the pastoral council?  Soon, three positions will be open to the parish.  Keep your ears and eyes open for announcements.

"A Snapshot of our Pastoral Council"

Lent & Easter Liturgy Schedule

Just realeased is our Lent and Easter Liturgy schedule which includes Communal Reconciliation Services. The Schedule covers St. Anne’s as well as the missions of St. Patrick and Our Lady of the River. Click here to download the PDF file of this year’s schedule.

101 Spiritual Acts in a Culture of Scarcity

Dear Parishioners,

Blessings to you in this Lenten season. Every year we reach this time when we pay extra attention to our everyday behavior in hopes to change something for the good. On Friday’s we freely choose to refrain from eating meat. Some may also make a special effort to attend daily Mass. You may choose to go to our simple the Stations of the Cross each Friday evening. Others may be part of a faith sharing group

In a way, some find the Lenten season to be dreary. However, I would like to suggest that Lent can be a time for joy. How? This can be done in many ways. One such way is to simplify. Another? Consider slowing down. Here’s more… Choose not to clutter your day with so much activity. Increase your time in prayer. Commit to a time for prayer or reading of the Scriptures. Take time to sit and observe the beauty right outside your house. Make a list of things for which you are thankful, making sure you write one thing on the list each day. Make an extra effort to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. How about being mindful of the size of portions of food you eat and consider reducing some portion in solidarity with the poor? These ideas can confront those things that get in our way of true deep joy. You see, we live in a world of abundance, but are often blind to it. If we could only see how God blesses us, we would become even more thankful. Thankfulness is a result of joy.

These are just some ideas for you. If you’d like to ponder on more ideas, I’ve written a list of 101 spiritual acts that has grown well beyond 101. Unfortunately, there is not enough room to list them here, so I’ve placed them on a separate page for you to peruse. Click here to read them. Not all the ideas therein will connect with every person. In fact, some may seem rather odd. But, let us remember that not everyone is the same.

May this Lent bring you a deep joy like nothing you have ever experienced. May this joy which comes from our Lord enliven your faith and strengthen your hope. May this joy beget a greater sense of thankfulness for all the things God has given us. May we all remember how abundant God’s love is for each one of us!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Lent & Paschal Triduum Regulations

Feb.17, 2010 Each year, Catholics ask the questions about Lenten fasting and abstinence rules. Is it okay to drink coffee when fasting? How about juice? How many meals are allowed while fasting? Should I go to confession? What is an Ember Day? When does Lent officially end? What time can the Easter Vigil begin? All these questions have answers. Click here to read all the regulations that our Archdiocese has offered us.

Help Victims of Haiti Earthquake

Dear Parishioners,

The world is still coming to realize the inexpressible loss of life and devastation that has resulted by the 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The quake may have completely collapsed the entire infrastructure of the country. Many countrieshave mobilized aid and are trying to analyze the extent of the damage. Time will tell how bad it is.

Offering Help

How can you help? First pray. Pray for the dead and the survivors. God is at work through each of us and our prayers. We need to pray for calm and an increase of faith.

Another good way is by offering temporal help. Some people may be tempted to send things that they think may help the Haitian people such as shoes or food. But, what is needed right now is monetary assistance. Personally, I recommend Catholic Relief Services as an excellent organization that will use your donation well. You can donate by going to their donation site.  Here’s an exerpt from the CRS blog:

CRS is moving in supplies as fast as possible. 1500 metric tons of vegetable oil and grains from USAID Food for Peace will arrive today at the northern Haiti Port of Cap Haitiene. Five trucks full of food, hygiene kits, and tarps are also on their way today from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince.

Access is very difficult. Debris blocks many roads. But we have begun distributing food, hygiene kits, water, and medical supplies to households in informal camps around Port-au-Prince. We’re now working with our local and international Caritas partners to identify primary sites for next distributions.

We’re hearing reports of extensive damage in other towns west of Port-au-Prince. CRS and Caritas will assess some of these areas in the coming days.

CRS is mobilizing aid and planning a $25 million response. To date, donors have contributed more than $11.9 million in cash and commitments; $7.3 million of this amount has been received via web donation

Another way you can donate to CRS by texting on your cell phone RELIEF to 30644 and follow the instructions. According to the CRS Blog site, “After texting, you’ll get a text

Damaged Church

message reply asking you to call a number where you’ll will hear a brief message from Ken Hackett. Then you will be automatically connected to our call center where you can make a credit card donation.”

In the weekend of January 23/24, all the parishes of the Archdiocese of Portland will be conducting a second collection at Mass. These funds will all go to CRS.

Avoid Scams

In a time like this, it is hard to believe, but some people will use this crisis as an opportunity to scam unwitting people who wish to do good. To learn more, click here to read cnet’s article on this issue.

Sincerely,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

A New Presence for the New Year

Frs. Harry Holwell, Paschal Ezurike, & William Holtzinger

Blessings everyone!  I hope this new web presence for our Mission Church will allow parishioners to stay connected and up-to-date with the goings on of St. Patrick of the Forest.  It is intended to share information and increase our sense of communion.  It is not a place for controversial conversations, but a place to share our faith.  As our web presence becomes more mature, I hope you will find it helpful and encouraging.

On behalf of myself and Frs. Paschal and Harry, blessings to you and your families. May this new year bring you prosperity and peace!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor