Nittany Catholic

Holy Week & Easter Triduum Schedule

Holy Thursday / April 17

7pm
Mass of the Lord's Supper
[Worship Hall, Pasquerilla]

Good Friday / April 18

2:30pm
Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
[Worship Hall, Pasquerilla]

Holy Saturday / April 19

8:15pm
Easter Vigil Mass
[Worship Hall, Pasquerilla; begins outside by the Forum]

Easter Sunday / April 20

9:30am
*11:30am
Mass
[Worship Hall, Pasquerilla]

There is no 9pm Mass held on Easter

*Please note that the 11:30am is our most heavily-attended Mass of the year, so please consider attending the 9:30am if possible. In any case, please plan on arriving 10–15 minutes early to help us get everyone seated (allow at least 5 minutes to walk from the Nittany Parking Deck).

Complete schedule and parking information available here:
http://www.psucatholic.org/lent/

March 2

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Demetrius Dumm, OSB:

The parables that Jesus offers in today’s gospel have one thing in common — the qualities required for authentic discipleship. What is really at issue here is one’s willingness to live in reality. The person who chooses to live in illusion cannot be helpful in leading others to reality, where alone salvation can be found.

In the real world, our freedom is for loving and caring, but this is often painful. Hence the almost irresistible temptation to create an illusory world where pride and control can dominate and where pain can be avoided, at least temporarily. Jesus urges us to choose instead the reality of a converted heart producing the rich fruit of kindness and gentleness and freedom.

All this can be seen more clearly when we consider a few of the classic illusions.

The illusion of self-sufficiency blinds us to the reality of our interdependence. We need others, and they need us. The illusion of low self-esteem focuses so exclusively on one’s shortcomings that one is paralyzed and gradually slips into the tragic situation of victim-hood. The illusion of indispensability leads us to believe that we are irreplaceable. A particularly dangerous illusion is that of thinking we are not prejudiced — everyone is prejudiced in some way and the worst prejudice of all is not to recognize personal bias. These deeply ingrained attitudes can easily distort our vision of life and will cause us to be narrow-minded and judgmental. The illusion of immortality prevents us from being realistic about health care and which leads to denial or rationalizations in regard to bad health habits. This illusion is especially dangerous among the young, who often take risks that are foolish and life-threatening.

—Join us for Mass—

Welcome to all our visitors here this weekend — join us on Saturday at 4pm, or on Sunday at 9:30am, 11:30am, or 9pm!

—Readings—

Sirach 27:4-7
Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
Luke 6:39-45

January 26
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Killian Loch, OSB:

It is common that shortly after a man is ordained to the priesthood he returns to his home parish to celebrate his First Mass, or Mass of Thanksgiving; this event is very similar to what we hear in the Gospel for this weekend.

Jesus chose the sixty-first chapter of the Prophet Isaiah for his reading, and when he completes it he announces that this passage is fulfilled in their hearing. Jesus told them that he is anointed to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to prisoners, give sight to the blind, and set free those who are oppressed. Jesus leaves his home town and does just that.

Just as Jesus would send out his disciples to do great things in his name, he calls us to be instruments of his mission. Saint Paul tells us how we can do this — how we are the “Body of Christ” — and makes a beautiful and detailed analogy of the human body. The numerous members of the Church are blessed with particular gifts and he gives a list of the individuals present in the church at his time; apostles, prophets, teachers, of their call to do mighty deeds. All of these gifts, so different in many ways, serve one purpose to build up the Body of Christ.

The lesson in these readings is one that calls us to follow the example of Jesus and not to be afraid to minister at home and in our own parishes and communities. Sometimes this ministry to family and friends can be challenging and difficult, but part of our call is to live our faith at home. At the same time the reading from Saint Paul can give us the comfort at knowing that we are not alone, for we are united with all members of the Church as the Body of Christ. Christ is our head and is personally involved with each of us. Whether at home or away may we use the gifts we are blessed with to live and proclaim the Good News.

—Join us for Mass—

Welcome to all visiting this weekend — join us on Saturday at 4pm, or on Sunday at 9:30am, 11:30am, or 9pm!

—Readings—

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
1 Corinthians 12:12-30
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

January 24

Saint Francis de Sales
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Franciscan Media:

Francis was destined by his father to be a lawyer so that the young man could eventually take his elder’s place as a senator from the province of Savoy in France. For this reason Francis was sent to Padua to study law. After receiving his doctorate, he returned home and, in due time, told his parents he wished to enter the priesthood. His father strongly opposed Francis in this, and only after much patient persuasiveness on the part of the gentle Francis did his father finally consent. Francis was ordained and elected provost of the Diocese of Geneva, then a center for the Calvinists. Francis set out to convert them, especially in the district of Chablais. By preaching and distributing the little pamphlets he wrote to explain true Catholic doctrine, he had remarkable success.

At 35, he became bishop of Geneva. While administering his diocese he continued to preach, hear confessions, and catechize the children. His gentle character was a great asset in winning souls. He practiced his own axiom, “A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrelful of vinegar.”

Besides his two well-known books, the Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, he wrote many pamphlets and carried on a vast correspondence. For his writings, he has been named patron of the Catholic Press. His writings, filled with his characteristic gentle spirit, are addressed to lay people. He wants to make them understand that they too are called to be saints. As he wrote in The Introduction to the Devout Life: “It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman…. It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world.”

Read more:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-12/pope-st-francis-de-sales-great-reader-of-the-signs-of-times.html

Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, pray for us!