Vision Quest dialogue is happening at Holy Cross Parish in four ways so far:

• Parish Dialogue Session meetings (2 so far);
• e-mail discussion group (hcvisionquest);
• Yellow leaflets to fill out;
• Talk after Mass over coffee;

• Why do you come to church?
• How to attract youth to church.

• The liturgy should feature our children more.  For example, let the children come up around the altar for the Our Father and stay there until the Sign of Peace.  Then send the children back into the congregation to spread peace.
• The music needs to be lively to attract the youth and the rest of us.
• Participation in the liturgy keeps them/us in.  It’s ownership.
• The homily should educate us; use our language; take a stand for something; address current moral issues.
• For the future of the church, we see lots of empty buildings and amalgamated parishes.
• People are not being well “formed”.  If our elders aren’t formed, what hope is there for the younger congregation?
• A revolution of younger families who seek the remnant church – the truth will become more pervasive through out the church.
• In the future, groups of churches, bound by location, will form “business units” to minimize staff, maximize effectiveness and free up priests to minister to the people.
• Youth are not interested in knowledge about God, but attracted to our example of what we’re doing for the poor.
• To make homilies more relevant, a group should discuss the Sunday Scripture readings with the homilist to add a variety of ideas from their lives.
• The parish should try to gain a reputation whereby people would say, “See how they love one another.”  In order to do this, we must move beyond our comfort zone.
• The Charismatic Prayer Group is a treasure Holy Cross has.  Its characteristics are praise, worship, and prayer.
• Adults are not going to Protestant churches in East Regina; children are.  So, building a new Catholic church building won’t get the adults back, or the children.
• Music is one of the big attractions in church.

Lent is the yearly celebration by the Church of its corporate conversion in Jesus Christ.  During this season the liturgy prepares catechumens to celebrate the paschal mystery by the various stages of Christian initiation.  Lent also prepares the faithful for Easter as they recall their baptism and do penance in preparation for the greatest feast of the year.  Through forty days of closer attention to God's word and of more fervent prayer, believers are prepared to celebrate the great mystery of our salvation.

Conversion of Heart
The Season of Lent calls for conversion, which happens on two levels for the Christian.  The first conversion happens with the Sacrament of Baptism, a unique moment of rejecting evil and receiving the life of Christ.  Conversion also takes place again and again as we take up our cross each day and follow Jesus.

Conversion means turning away from sin and turning toward God. "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."  (Ash Wednesday distribution of ashes).  During Lent we reflect on our baptism and ask ourselves how well we have been living out the life of Christ.  In some ways we have all failed to embrace fully Christ's invitation to the kingdom.  At times, each of us has chosen self rather than God as the centre of our lives.  The reorientation of our heart, through the help of God's grace, is the real work of Lent. 

Our focus throughout Lent is directed toward God who is gracious and merciful.  Like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-24), God waits for us with longing to return home and take our place at the banquet prepared for us.  We need to move beyond our fear of God as judge and punisher, and allow God to touch us with forgiveness and healing.  It is through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus that God has reconciled us to himself. 

Conversion in daily life is accomplished by:

• Gestures of reconciliation
• Concern for the poor
• The exercise and defense of justice and right
• Examination of conscience
• The admission of faults 
• Change of life
• Spiritual direction
• Acceptance of suffering
• Endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness
• Taking up one's cross in daily life

The traditional Lenten disciplines -- fasting, almsgiving and prayer -- help us turn toward Christ as the true source of happiness.  Just as Jesus was tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11), we must face our temptation to put pleasure, property or power ahead of our relationship with God.  Their purpose in Lent is to lead those already initiated back to the fervor that should flow continually from the grace of baptism.  As the path of the elect leads to the sacraments of initiation, the path of the faithful should lead to the sacrament of reconciliation, which releases us from sin, restores us to baptismal innocence and reconciles us to God and the community.

Fasting expresses our desire to find happiness in God rather than in the satisfaction of our physical needs.  The control we gain over our appetites helps us recognize more deeply that all true and lasting pleasure comes from God.  Knowing this we are freed to gratefully accept food and other goods and savor them, or to avoid or limit things that we know are unhealthy for us.  Through fasting, our relationship to ourselves is reoriented toward God.

There are only two days in the year on which the Church requires us to fast, — Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. These are also days of abstinence from meat.  Abstinence from meat is prescribed for all Fridays, but special acts of charity may be substituted.  The faithful are encouraged to continue the Paschal Fast of Good Friday through Holy Saturday until the celebration of the Easter Vigil. The law of abstinence applies to those who are 14 and older; the law of fasting applies to healthy adults between the ages of 18-59 years.  To fast means to limit food to one full meal with minimal food at the other two meal times and nothing in between.  We are encouraged to fast one or two days a week throughout Lent.  Children can take part in the spirit of the Lenten fast by looking at their lunches and snacks.  Do they take more than they can eat?  Do they discard what the do not like?  Do they really need a Coke, candy bar or chips? 

We can fast from other things than food.  For example:

• Do without a little sleep; use the time to read or pray.
• Do without anger, impatience, or whatever really hinders you from returning to the Lord.
• Do without the radio or stereo for a time each day.
• Limit TV viewing to one hour a day or discontinue all together.

Most of us think of almsgiving as giving money to the poor or agencies that serve them.  Christian almsgiving is broader that this.  It can raise our consciousness in terms of the underprivileged and marginalized persons in our world.   It can make a difference to our life-style, resulting in simpler living so that we can share with others of our goods, our time and our gifts.  For example: 

• Share the world's energy -- turn down the heat and turn off unused lights.
• Share the earth -- take cans, newspapers etc. to recycling depots; give unneeded clothing and household furnishing to agencies that serve the poor.
• Share your time -- visit shut-ins, help at the food bank or Marian Centre, serve on a parish committee.
• Share your food -- bring food or money saved by fasting to the church for the food bank or the Share Lent campaign.
• Use the Lifestyles Calendar provided by Development and Peace to help your family become aware of how we can share with others.  Collect your offerings day by day in an almsbox and give them to the Church on Share Lent Sunday, March 17.

Prayer is not just saying words.  It is an approach to life, an expression of our relationship with God, with others, and with the world.  Contemplating a sunset, reflecting of a verse of scripture, making the Way of the Cross, actively participating in liturgy, — all are prayer.  We benefit from incorporating a variety of prayer forms in our lives. 

Meal time is an opportune time to pray as a household.  Mealtime calls us to nourish our bodies, and, hopefully, our spirits as well.   Our table can hold simple reminders of the season--cross, almsbox, bare branches, purple candle.

Again this year, the parish is providing reflection booklets for your use at a nominal cost.  Share the Word, which has a special Lenten issue, is an alternate option available in the Reading Rack.

Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation

For a numbers of years in our diocese the Archbishop has given permission for the use of General Absolution (Form III) when celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent and Lent.  The 2nd Vatican Council placed emphasis on the communal nature of all liturgical rites, including conversion and reconciliation, inspired by the Church's proclamation of God's Word.  However, the revised Code of Cannon Law maintains that Individual Absolution (Form I) is the norm for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and is required when one is conscious of serious sin.  Form III is intended for use in emergency situations where many people wish to receive the sacrament but there are not enough confessors available to celebrate the sacrament in a meaningful way and within a reasonable period of time.

Over the past two years Archbishop Mallon has requested a review of the use of Form III in the diocese.  The conclusion of the review is that, normally, circumstances do not warrant the use of Form III.  Therefore, we will no longer receive permission to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation in this manner.

Many parishioners have told of how their lives have been spiritually enriched by the communal celebration of Reconciliation. Therefore, we plan to continue to have times for the Parish to gather, hear the Scriptures and examine our relationship with God and others. This Lent we will hold a Reconciliation Celebration on Sunday, March 17 at 2:00 p.m.  Several priests will be available for individuals to celebrate the Sacrament. Additional times when Fr. Norm will be available to celebrate the Sacrament and provide spiritual counseling in a way that is not rushed or hurried will be scheduled.  Watch the bulletin for details.

Please remember the Eucharist remains the primary sacrament of reconciliation for sins of a less serious nature.  When one is conscious of serious sin, the church requires formal sacramental reconciliation.  Confession of all sin is encouraged as a means for the faithful to grow in holiness.

Catholics are urged to use the Lenten Season to take a "spiritual inventory" and renew their relationship with God and others.  As we prepare to celebrate the Easter Mysteries, it would be beneficial to each of us to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation with humility and renew our personal commitment to Christ our Saviour and the Gospel.

How Can Our Children Best Understand Forty Days of Lent? 
Can they learn the real meaning of renewal and reconciliation, penance and prayer, fasting and almsgiving?  The answer is yes, by experiencing them within the family.  Children learn the abstract realities of renewal and reconciliation by the way their parents live those realities.  Lent is a prefect time to show our children how to live these aspects of Christianity.  Lent is a time when Jesus wants to renew all the members of the people of God, and prepare others to be baptized into the Church.

Before we can demonstrate to our children what Lent is about, we have to know what it means to us.  It does no good to encourage our children to fast, pray or share if they do not see us living what we say.  A family is only as spiritually healthy as the parents of the family.  Our children's faith is "caught" not "taught“.

Forty days is a long time for children --and for us.  It is important that we do not make commitments for ourselves and our families which are bigger than we can handle.  Perhaps one activity per week, concentrating on one aspect of Lent is realistic.
 

JOHN PAUL II CENTRE WORKSHOP

Responses to Poverty – Helping People in Financial Crisis: Feb. 11, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Tables for Two – Celebrate your love: Enjoy a    5 course dinner seasoned with guided discussion and sharing with your spouse.  $50/couple.

Watercolour Floral-Step by Step – Elaine Seis, Fri., 7 p.m. – Sun. 4:30 p.m. Level 1: Feb 15-17, Level 2: Apr. 5-7.

“Forgotten Women of the Bible” ceramic exhibition of hand coiled clay vessels by Cara Gay Driscoll will be exhibited from Feb. 13 – Mar. 31.  Public viewing: Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. – noon, 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.

SOFIA HOUSE FUNDRAISER – Sofia House is hosting an Applause Dinner Theatre Evening on Feb. 16. Tickets $40/person.  Call 565-2537.

LIVE IN VOCATION DISCERNMENT WEEKEND – offered by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary,  Feb. 15 (7 p.m.) - Feb. 17 (ending with noon meal).  For more information or to register call Sr. Chantelle Bonk: 244-0726 or e-mail: 
chantellebonk@hotmail.com. 

JOB OPPORTUNITY – Holy Family Parish is looking for a Youth Ministry Coordinator.  This 3/4 time position involves flexible hours with both evening and weekend commitments.  Responsibilities include coordinating and developing activities and programs for youth of all ages from the very young to young adult.  The position involves working with Youth leaders, networking with 3 Catholic elementary schools and 2 High Schools, liaising with the Diocesan and other parish Youth Ministers.  Application deadline: Mar. 1, call 949-7678 or e-mail: office@holyfamily.ca.

BEEF BANQUET – sponsored by Little Flower CWL Sat., Mar. 2, 6:30 p.m. Little Flower Auditorium, $10/person.  For tickets call Claudia: 757-4649. 

ALL GOD’S PEOPLE SING – March 8th and 9th, Luther College, U. of R. Campus.  Featured Presenter: Marty Haugen.  This Worship and Music Event has been organized by a planning team made up of representatives of the Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anglican and United Churches of Regina and area.  Anyone who is interested in Worship and Music is invited to participate.  Cost $45.00.  For a registration form call the parish office: 757-1325. 

FLEA MARKET – March, 9, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., 425 Broad St. N., sponsored by Good Samaritan CWL.  To reserve a table call Maxine: 949-4728. 

FOSTER CARE – Caring for children is a very important role in our society.  Presently there are several foster children in Regina ranging in ages from newborn to 15 that require placements.  We are looking for Individuals, couples or families to provide loving, stable homes for these children while they are in care.  If you are interested in fostering or would like more information about the requirements and approval process call Morgan, Department of Social Services: 787-3747.  Orientation evenings set up to inform people about fostering are held monthly at the Department.  The next meeting is scheduled for Mar. 5.  If you are interested in attending call Susan: 798-1435. 

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION –  St. Dominic, St. Andrew and St. Marguerite Schools are now taking registrations for 2002/03 school year. Call the schools for more information.