READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday:2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Ps 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4;
Lk 4:24-30
Tuesday:Dn 3:25, 34-43; Ps 25:4-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9;
Mt. 18:21-35
Wednesday:Dt 4:1, 5-9; Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20;
Mt 5:17-19
Thursday:Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; Lk 11:14-23
Friday:Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-11ab, 14, 17;
Mk 12:28-34
Saturday:Hos 6:1-6; Ps 51:3-4, 18-21ab; Lk 18:9-14
Sunday:Jos 5:9a, 10-12; Ps 34:2-7; 2 Cor 5:17-21;
Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
Alternate readings (Year A):
1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Ps 23:1-6;
Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41[1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38]
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday:In Memory of Beatrice Williams
Requested by Williams Family
Sunday:In Memory of Fr. Bill Feeser
Requested by Gary & Beverly Vicory
PRAY FOR THE CHRONICALLY ILL
Barbara Cramer, Dennis & Cathy Dark, Brian Garcia, Joe Gray, Debbie J., Roy Jackson, Roy Jackson, Sr., Olinda James, Ellen Lindauer, Ruben Lopez, Martin Salce Macias, Amy Martin, Morris Martinez, Vera Musto, Barbara Rose, Mary Elizabeth Sinkey, Jennie Tomasi, Albert Torres, Diane Valentin, Shirley & Gene Wizer, Eileen Zuccaro
PRAY FOR SPECIAL HEALTH INTENTIONS
Carmen Aceves, Amparo Alvarado, Leticia Avalos, Imelda Barron, Lisa Benson, Betty Bober, Connie Bonilla, Evelyn Borba, Mariana Carmona, Cecilia Chambers, Yolanda Cisneros, Johnny Darden, Benedicta Davis, Chuck Davis, Jose Delgado, Lexi DeLost, Louie DiBernardi, Evelyn Elmer, Hilary Freed, Marshall Graves, Norma Guerrero, Jeanine Hamilton, Lura Hammontree, Michael Hassett, Ann Hefner, Sonya Hernaes, Mary Kathryn Hernandez, Maria Herrera, Amy Hickox-Nadash, Carolyn Hobbs, Loretta Hocking, Minnie Jimenez, Charlott Krause,Martin Landry, Miranda Luna, Marina Maddox, Dorothy Manich, Doris McDermott, Ray Merlino, Felicitas Miller, Calleigh Morrow, Marla Musser, Anthony Myers, Shquitelle Norris, Armando Padillo, John Pile,Valerie Pile, Florence Reeder, Irene Rodriguez, LoriAnn Rodriguez, Alberto Ruiz, Teresa Sardelich, Helen Scharosch, Debbie Shijo, Octavia Simien, Joanne Smolich, Allison Southards, Ed Suarez, Julie Sutton, Bryan Stow, Ron Sykes, Judy Tafoya, Mary Tafoya, Andrew Western, Carolee Western, Clare Western, Samia Zumout
PRAY FOR SPECIAL INTENTIONS
Lehman Benson II, Lisa Chairez, Sonia Damiano, Jacqueline & Joel Daste, Juan Gonzalez, Marie Henderson, Emily Killion, James Austin Klass, Stan Krause, Iris Lane, Javier & Belen Lopez, Cesar Maurtua, Martha Marina Montenegro, Constance Moseley, Carter Oosterhouse, Victor Perez, Francine Mary Petzold, Beth Pichinino, Leila Rain, Sacramento Silva, T. J. Smith, Giselle Torres, Adrian Western, Alena Yamagiwa, Prayer Support for all the Men & Women in Comunita Cenacola
HOLY COMMUNION
For those wishing communion brought to their homes, please call the church office at 452-6866.
Third Sunday of Lent
March 3, 2013
The Lord secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
— Psalm 103:6
PRAY FOR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN
Nicholas Acosta, Felix Acuna, John L. Darden, David Espinoza, Samantha Ewing, Douglas Fava, Sandra Cristina Flores, Michael and Robert Godina, Gabriel Granados, Marvin Green III, Joe Hernandez, Brandon Lopez, Michael López, Jonathan Luna, Marco Manuel Mares, Christopher Morrow, Lloyd Myers, Carlos & Juan Enrique Owings, Vincent Quesada IV, Christopher Roach, Christopher Rodriguez, Jabyne Trujillo, Susan Mora Vergara
Reflection on the Readings
3rd Sunday of Lent [C] 2013
Fr. Charles Irvin
When we talk about sins we usually come up with a list of wrongful actions people have done, murder, adultery, assault, abuse of others, fighting, lying, cheating, cursing, avoiding Mass, hurting others, and so forth. At the time of Jesus many people thought that suffering is directly connected with sinning; those who suffer, it was claimed, are being punished for their sins. Recently a famous televangelist claimed that the people of Haiti had made a pact with the devil and God punished them for it. That thinking is too simplistic and it’s downright insulting to countless numbers of holy people who have suffered. Was the Virgin Mary’s suffering the result of her sinning? How about the martyrs?
The recent catastrophic earthquakes Haiti and Chile are very much on our minds. In today’s gospel Jesus used a similar tragedy to challenge His listeners’ thinking about sin, asking them if they thought people who suffered calamity were greater sinners than anyone else. Of course not! He asserted.
It’s Lent. It’s time to consider our own sins. People who are inordinately focused on the sins of others pay scant attention to their own.
Jesus then went on to broaden his listeners’ concept of sin by giving them the parable of the fig tree. He was pointing out the sin of uselessness. To do nothing is just as much of a sin as doing something that is wrong, and we should pay attention to that.
Useless living is very costly. A basic law of living is “Use it or lose it.” You don’t have to hurt a friend in order to destroy your friendship; all you need to do is ignore your friends. Don’t write or e-mail. Don’t call or visit. A neglected friendship will die just as much as neglect in a marriage will end it. Neglect leads to uselessness and in neglect you can lose your job, your family, and your friends. Lack of common courtesies, lack of tender words of love, lack of knowing glances, or the touch of a hand, or any signs of tender love can kill a marriage just as much as abuse, anger, or passive aggression. Uselessness and neglect are terribly costly.
That fig tree was planted in a good garden, in good soil. It was cared for, fertilized, and watered. In spite of all that had been given to it the fig tree produced nothing. The point of the parable is
obvious. God has given you and me wonderful gifts. He has cared for us, tended us, and even given us the Bread of Life here on this altar. How can any one of us claim we were never given a chance? How can we claim that there was nothing we could produce, give, or share with others? Claims like that are simply not true.
Do you remember the Parable of the Talents? The master gave ten talents of money to one servant, five talents to another, and one talent of money to a third servant. The first two servants put their master’s money to work but the third one, the useless one, the unproductive one, did nothing with it. The master rightly condemned that servant for doing nothing.
Then there was the parable of the merchant who found a really valuable treasure buried in a field. He went out, sold all that he had and bought the field containing the treasure.
Finally there was the parable of the unjust steward who “cooked the books” of his master, reducing the amounts the debtors owed to his master so that after he was fired they would take care of him.
These parables, and others similar to them, all point to the idea of investing risk capital, making venture capital spiritual investments using the resources God has given us.
All of us have valuable gifts and talents that God wants us to employ in order to build up His kingdom here on earth. Do you have time to visit someone who is sick? To visit an elderly person who live in daily loneliness? None of us is so poor that we have nothing to share even if it’s a word of encouragement, a friendly smile, or a helping hand. Uselessness and neglect cost. They not only cost us in terms of our own spiritual development, they cost others in terms of what we have not done to build them up.
The parable of the fig tree isn’t about God’s vindictive anger.Clearly Jesus is not being vindictive or harsh. He never was and never will be. No, He’s simply stating a fact of life. “Use it or lose it.” In other Gospel accounts we hear Jesus declaring: “To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." (Mark 4:25) He isn’t being unfair – He’s simply being realistic. If you risk loving you will receive more love in return. If you keep all your love to yourself you’ll end up loving only yourself and lose your soul.
When Jesus talks about fruitful and productive living He isn’t talking about increasing our net worth in monetary terms. Nor did Jesus dwell on sins resulting from our evil deeds. They were sins, of course, but there are sins, many sins, we tend to overlook and maybe even deliberately ignore. Jesus was talking about our spiritual investment in others, our investments of our hearts and souls in others.
When I die and face Jesus in my own personal judgmentI’m worried about all of the times I could have been unselfish but was selfish instead, all of those times when I could have shared a kind word but spoke sharply instead, all of those days when I could have spent some time in prayer but didn’t, all of those times when I could have connected with others but didn’t. You see, it’s not so much what we did that matters as what we didn’t do. That’s what the parable of the fig tree is all about.
This is a parable we should recall and think about a lot more than we do. Thank God there is Lent. We still have time. The owner of the vineyard was patient with the fig tree. Jesus is telling us that He will give us time also. But eventually we must act, otherwise we'll be useless.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL NEWS UPDATES
RECYCLE SUNDAY- A brief reminder that Recycle Sunday is March 10th. Don't forget to bring your recyclable bottles and cans with you when you come to Mass, and leave them outside the back door of the Pastoral Center.
ALMSGIVING, the sharing with others of all the many blessings that we have received from God, is an important part of our Lenten preparation for Easter. The St. Vincent de Paul Society will be collecting non-perishable goods at every mass during Lent. Please be generous, and if you can't help this Lent, please remember the needy in your prayers. Thank you and God Bless!
40 DAYS FOR LIFE
You're invited to join the thousands of individuals who are gathering to pray in cities across the country during the 40 Days For Life. The Immaculate Conception Respect Life Committee invites you to come out on Wednesdays, March 6th and 13th, pray for an end to abortion. We will meet from 5:30 - 7:00 pm at 1750 Wright Street (just off Alta Arden). If you have any questions, please feel free to call Ana Keyworth at916.213.4959
SPECIAL COLLECTION FOR CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
Next week, our parish will take up The Catholic Relief Services Collection. This Collection helps to fund six Catholic organizations that improve the quality of life and protect human dignity. Your gift will support agricultural development to strengthen economies and create food sustainability, provide outreach services to survivors of human trafficking, and supply pastoral care and advocacy for immigrants and refugees. By helping the marginalized and impoverished, you give hope to Jesus in disguise. Please be charitable in next week’s Catholic Relief Services Collection. Please make your check payable to “name of parish.”
UNPLUGGED 3Lenten Retreat for High School Youth – March 9thUnplug from your life and embrace the season of Lent. Registration is now open for theDiocese of Sacramento annual Lenten Retreat. This year’s retreat will be held at St.Clare Parish in Roseville, on Saturday, March 9th 2013. The cost to attend is $5.00, but register soon since space is limited. For more information, flyers and registration please contact Kevin Staszkow at 916-733-0123 or visit .
WORLD DAY OF THE SICK
The Diocese of Sacramento and the Order of Malta in the diocese will host a World Day of the Sick Mass on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 11am in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, located at 1017 11th St. in Sacramento. Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at the celebration. All those suffering from a serious acute or chronic illness, or those in need of sacramental anointing and their caregivers are invited to participate in this day of prayer and celebration. Those receiving the anointing are asked to arrive by 10:30am for seating.
IMMACULATE HEART RADIO
40-Day Spiritual Journey – Take The Challenge!
In addition to giving up something this Lenten Season you can consider listening to Immaculate Heart Radio on 1620AM for an hour a day to further deepen your spiritual faith! Immaculate Heart Radio is a source for news, event information, enlightenment, opinions, faith and advice. For more information please visit
HURDLING
God’s grace within me and God’s strength behind me can overcome any hurdle ahead of me. —Anonymous