This Weekend at St. Augustine

"Friendship begins in the home and from there moves on to strangers." ~ St. Augustine

This Sunday’s gospel reading is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount by which Matthew presents much of Jesus’ teaching. In this passage, Jesus tells His followers that the path to holiness includes resisting the desire to retaliate against our enemies and He offers some specific instances. For example, a right-handed person striking someone on their right cheek implies a back-handed blow which, in first-century Palestine, was twice as insulting as a slap with the palm of the hand. By “turning the other cheek”, Jesus demonstrates that we should not cave in to feelings of resentment when we are insulted and humiliated. To do so shows that we have not embraced Christ’s lesson of humility of heart, a lesson He that would wholly demonstrate on Good Friday, suffering the ultimate humiliation and abandonment during His Passion and Crucifixion. We do not, however, walk the path of holiness alone. As Christ’s example shows us, He is in front of us and at our side through our prayer life and participation in the Sacraments and the life of His Church. As you prepare for Mass this weekend, spend some time in prayer, asking for Jesus’ assistance in loving those who are most challenging in your life.

Lent begins this week. Ashes will be distributed at Masses on Ash Wednesday as listed below. We enter into the season of Lent by spiritually turning back to God through the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Go deeper into the Lenten journey towards Easter by joining our parish community for any of the programs and liturgies being held throughout the season. For a complete and current listing, visit our Lent web page at StAugustineParish.org/Lent .

As a parish-wide almsgiving effort, we have chosen to support the One Heart Lent Program which helps fill the great need of feeding hungry people in Lawrence by directly supporting the Cor Unum Meal Center. This is a simple program in which all family members can participate and 100% (!!) of the donations provided go directly to feeding hundreds of people. Simply clip out the label at this link , attach it to a jar, and make a commitment to sacrifice a daily amount of money to the jar. At the end of Lent, donations are mailed to the address on the label. A program guide provides daily spiritual reflections for the season of Lent. Visit CorUnumMealCenter.org for complete info.