As we approach the Lenten season beginning this Wednesday, I want to encourage you to start thinking about ways you can fast, pray, and give alms this year. Here are a few recommendations:

Come to a daily Mass.
Daily Mass is an awesome way to connect more deeply with our Lord in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist. . We have Mass here at St. Pat's on Tuesday and Thursday at 8:45 am. There are also parishes in our area with multiple times throughout the day to catch a Mass no matter what your schedule looks like.

Come to Adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is a wonderful time of prayerful intimacy with Jesus. You can come to Adoration every Wednesday at St. Mary's from 12:30 pm (right after the noon Mass) until 7:00 pm, or the first Thursday at St. Pat's from
7:00 - 8:00 pm.

Participate in a Spiritual Activity.
Come to the St. Mary Parish Mission on March 7-8. St. Mary's is also offering a Lenten series on discipleship called "Into His Likeness" which will meet on Wednesday evenings in Lent.
Visit https://stmarychardon.org/into-his-likeness for more information.

Fast from Negativity.
Take a break from listening to the awful voices around you and within you that seek to complain, demean, and never find gratitude or joy in the things around you. Turn off the news and make some time listening to the voices that matter in your life, the voice of Jesus and those who love you. Ask yourself, "What would the kindness and gentleness of God bring to this moment I'm in?"

Make a Daily Sacrifice out of Love.
Yea, we can all complain even about the good things we're offering up for ourselves and for others! Instead of playing the script in your mind that no one sees or appreciates the sacrifices you are making, say "Lord, you see this small little sacrifice I'm making, and even if no one else sees it, I am doing this out of love for you, love for others, and love for myself."

Scheduling Mass Intentions
We are updating our process for scheduling Mass intentions in order to better fulfill parishioners' requests. Please read the updates in this weekend's bulletin. These guidelines will also be posted on our parish website in the Mass tab.

St. Mary Parish Mission Invite (Mar 7-8)
To kickstart our Lenten season, St. Mary Parish in Chardon will have a two-day Lenten Mission with renowned Catholic speaker, radio host and author, Jon Leonetti. The Mission theme is "Surge of the Heart". I invite you and your friends and family to be nourished by Jon's faith, joy, and humor on Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8 in the church. Both nights of the Mission start at 6:30 pm.

Catholic Charities Annual Appeal
This weekend we are blessed with the opportunity to support over 400,000 in need in our communities who receive help each year from Catholic Charities. This year's annual appeal has the theme of "Be the Light" as we remember that we are called to bring the light of Christ to the world through our faith and generosity. Thank you for your participation in this year's annual appeal. We will conduct our in-pew pledge process at our Masses this weekend.