Saint Patrick issued the following announcement on Feb. 23.

We know that blessings come in many forms. During the past ten days I have had great opportunities to reflect upon the blessings we living in the United States, we as a parish, and I myself enjoy. But I have also seen the blessings the people of Guatemala experience, whether living in the village of our Sister Parish or at the Los Hogares Santa Maria de Guadalupe Children’s Home. As I write this I haven’t even been home 24 hours yet from what has become an annual visit to our Sister Parish.

During the trip I spent time celebrating Mass, anointing the sick, and for the first time heard confessions in Spanish. Together our group spent many hours operating the clinic, going on home visits, and continuing the relationship between our two parishes, and were able to distribute the shoes and medications we had brought with us. We ended our trip with a visit to the children’s home simply appreciating the presence of the kids who made us smile, laugh, and filled us with more joy than one could ever imagine.

One day we visited an elderly woman living is house not bigger than ten by twelve feet. Since it was in the middle of the day during the hottest time, her house was quite warm! The doctor with our group examined the woman and then excused himself before he became overheated. I stayed behind and gave her the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. When I finally emerged from the house sweating profusely, I informed the doctor that on the next visit I would be going first! What a blessing a cool breeze can be.

But now it is time to get back to work in our parish here at Saint Patrick. Of course that means getting back into the routine of supporting our capital campaign. As our capital campaign invitation expands, we have organized a Prayer Team to invite personal and community prayer for the wisdom and guidance to determine our own financial support, and to guide our priority decisions when it comes to repairing and improving our facilities and completing the ministry enhancements.

On the weekends of March 7-8 and March 14-15, I will invite you to join me here in church and offer a 36-month financial commitment from March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2023. I will share more details about that next weekend.

By inviting a planned and proportionate financial commitment from ALL who call Saint Patrick Parish their spiritual and educational home, we will have a much clearer picture on how to proceed with the proposed projects. Let each of us, based on our individual financial capacity, find a way to help this important effort succeed.

Finally remember this Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. We have Mass at 6:30 AM, 10:00 AM, and 6:30 PM. Ash Wednesday is also an obligatory day of fast and abstinence. The norms for fasting are for people age 18 to 59. We are permitted to eat one full meal and two smaller meals. The norms for abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday are for individuals age 14 and older.

Original source can be found here.