Once again, my deepest thanks to our parishioners for the support both of our 2023 Advent Giving Tree program, which raised more than $71,000 in support of the Knights of Malta House of Care and our parish’s Neighbors in Need fund. The total collected during Advent was divided nearly evenly.

This second Sunday in Lent we hear the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus atop Mount Tabor. The Catholic Church understands the Transfiguration as a significant event (an epiphany) to reveal the Divinity of Jesus and as a manifestation of His glory. This epiphany happened before three of His disciples, Peter, James and John as well as in the presence of Moses and Elijah, who spoke with Jesus

With the arrival of Lent, St Catherine’s of Siena will once again partake in the annual Lenten Mercy Project. During this season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the St Catherine Church Lenten Mercy Project gives us the opportunity to participate by supporting a variety of organizations that embody the Corporal Works of Mercy.

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair has appointed Eileen Landi as our parish’s 2024 St. Joseph Medal of Appreciation awardee. Eileen joined our parish in 2018 and got involved straight away. She currently servers as a Lead Usher at the Masses, a Eucharistic Minister, Heads up our Bereavement Ministry, and joins in on many other parish events and activities—from our parish carnival to our Senior Breakfast Ministry and so much more. She is always ready, willing and able to help.

For many, Lent is a difficult time. It is all about giving up, sacrificing, and focusing on the suffering servant of Jesus Christ, a new kind of messiah. Moreover, we have some 2,000-plus years of history to help understand the “suffering season of Lent.” Imagine what it was like for the people of Jesus’ time? It was all new. Giving up, by way of choice; a new messiah who was service-oriented rather than to be the object of other’s service; a king of duty versus a king of the high-and-mighty.