Tje statue will make a special visit Thursday, April 3 at the evening Adoration, Confessions, and Mass beginning at 5:00 PM at St. John. The visit is a stop on the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of the Cape's “To Rome with Love” tour during the Jubilee Year of Hope. First Class Relics of newly canonized St. Marie Leonie Paradis and Bl. Frederic Janssoone will accompany the Pilgrim Statue, who is fashioned after the Miraculous Medal Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The visiting Our Lady of the Cape statue resides at the great Québécois Marian shrine, Cap-de-la Madeleine near Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. The shrine is named for the colonial French-Canadian settlement founded in the seventeenth century and dedicated to the Blessed Mother. The settlers honored Our Lady for her favors to them, safety on their Atlantic voyages to New France, the growth and prosperity of their new home, and named their first small, wooden church for her. A statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart was the source of miracles, and drew great crowds of pilgrims over the centuries. The shrine continues to welcome hosts of faithful. It’s traveling statue, the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of the Cape, tours the world. Cap-de-la Madeleine now is incorporated into the city of Trois-Rivières.

Today, we celebrate Rejoice Sunday, as we near the momentous feast of Easter Sunday. What a relief to hear those words, “Rejoice!”, as we journey through Lent, perhaps discouraged at our failure to keep our Lenten promises, of giving up a luxury, praying more, attending daily Mass, going to Confession more often, or we merely feel the strain of our struggle. Today, we can let down our burdens for a day, and express pure joy. Our priest wears a rose-colored vestment, or may choose to continue with penitential violet. We may decorate the church with flowers. Our first reading has the Lord give relief to His people: “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.: The Psalm invites us to “Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord,” as we praise Him. St. Paul implores us to be reconciled to God. Finally, we hear the familiar story of the prodigal son, and rejoice in God’s overflowing kindness to the repentant sinner.

This week, we hear the famous story from Exodus of Moses and the burning bush. God establishes his identity and authority but also tells the patriarch, “I have come down to rescue them”, His people. The Psalm confirms, “The Lord is kind and merciful.” In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul alludes to the early Israelites and Moses, saying of their trials in the desert, “These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus talks about sinners, and their need to repent, lest they perish.

The third Annual Good Shepherd School dinner asks for a donation for the meal purchase. Please call Jodi at the school to reserve places for one of the seatings: 5:15, 5:30, 5:45, 6:00, 6:15, 6:30 PM. Takeout is available from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Here is the School Office number: 801-751-8223. The menu is pasta with sauce, roll, salad, and dessert.

Our first reading, from the Old Testament, sees God drawing Abram into faith, with a miracle and promises of innumerable descendants. The Psalm affirms our desire for God: “Your presence, O Lord, I seek.” In the second reading, Paul tells the Philippians to avoid men who behave badly. “Their end is destruction,” he warns. “…stand firm in the Lord.” Our Gospel from Luke relates the Transfiguration, when the three apostles struggle to hold their ground at the vision of the glorified Jesus.

Parish families are invited to an evening of dinner, Stations of the Cross, Prayer and Confesssion next Sunday, March 16, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at St. John.

The Word of the Lord today begins with the Book of Deuteronomy, as Moses recounts the suffering history of his people, ending with the joy of their entering the Promised Land. We hear the same reassurance in our Psalm, “No evil shall befall you”. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, repeats this refrain: “for if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Our Gospel from Luke tells the familiar story of Christ’s forty days in the desert and his victory over Satan’s temptations.

Today we begin our penitential journey to the Church’s greatest Solemnity, Easter Sunday. The word Lent derives from a German word for spring. This day, we fast and abstain from meat following Church guidelines. Our priest wears purple vestments, we no longer pray the Gloria or sing the Alleluia, and church decorations are spare. All music must be instrument accompanied singing. Honoring saint feast days, except for Solemnities (St. Joseph, the Annunciation) is optional. Some writers describe this paring down and reducing as reflections of the penitent’s losing, casting off the encumbrances that bar our salvation. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!" said St. Paul. Ashes are a sign of humility, penance, and mortality,

Paige will give her final 20-minute talks about her pilgrimage to and attendance at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last July. Paige will speak at this Sunday's coffee hour at Queen of Peace after the 8:00 AM Mass.

Please turn your clocks AHEAD one hour Saturday night, March 8 or Sunday, March 9. Resetting your clocks correctly will help you arrive at Mass on time Sunday morning.

There will be a special collection on Ash Wednesday to support Vermont Catholic Charities. This agency provides financial and emotional support to individuals and families throughout Vermont through the programs offered which include: counseling, emergency aid, prison ministry and residential care homes. Please drop your donation, cash or check, into the collection basket at Ash Wednesday Masses, or contribute through the Catholic Charities website: https://www.vermontcatholic.org/ministries-programs/ catholic-charities/ash-Wednesday appeal/. You also may mail a check to Vermont Catholic Charities, 55 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403. Please know that every gift - whatever the size-makes a difference. Thank you!

Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in French, is the day before Ash Wednesday. It takes its name from the old tradition of eating butter, eggs, animal fats, and meat for the last time before the Lenten fast that forbid these foods. Today, we abstain from these items only if we choose to give them up for Lent. Fat Tuesday often was, and still is, a last chance for merrymaking before the solemn, 40-day penitential season leading to Easter. Catholic in many countries celebrate the day by making pancakes and doughnuts, which include lots of fat, butter, and eggs. Mardi Gras today sees parades and often wild celebrations such as in New Orleans. The term Shrove Tuesday comes from an old word for confessing one’s sins, or being shriven. Penitents would seek Confession on this day to enter the Lenten season with a clean soul. The day’s colors are green, purple, and gold: gold for God’s power, purple for his royal justice, and green for our faith and hope for eternal life.

The Knights of Columbus have issued another matching challenge to the parish to support the repair of the brickwork at St. John's Church. The cost of that work is $13,000. The Knights will match - dollar per dollar - the first $5,000 in donations for that purpose by September 10th of this year. Checks should be drawn to Corpus Christi Parish and marked "Brickwork Fund.” Please drop your donation in the collection basket.