News - February 2023 RSS Feed

There will be a parish potluck Sunday, March 19 after the 10:00 AM Mass to celebrate our Parish Feast Day! Bring your favorite dish to share. For questions or information, contact Pam Stewart or Dot Commo at 802-556-1447. We hope to see all of you at this special celebration!

People enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) for the Diocese of Burlington will receive from Bishop Coyne Sunday the title “Elect,” and become eligible to receive the Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation - at this year’s Easter Vigil. All are welcome to this ceremony at 3:00 p.m. in the upstairs church at the Cathedral. There will be a light reception after the ceremony. Sponsors and catechists will testify to the candidates’ and catechumens’ fitness for these sacraments. Candidates have been baptized in a Christian denomination but seek full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Catechumens have never been baptized, and ask for membership in the Church, beginning with Baptism. During Lent, these RCIA members prepare for their initiation through a series of steps and phases.

The Mass for Ash Wednesday Mass is 12:05PM upstairs in the Main Church. Ashes will be distributed. Today we begin our penitential journey to the Church’s greatest Solemnity, Easter Sunday. The word Lent derives from a German word for spring. This day, we fast and abstain from meat following Church guidelines. Our priest wears purple vestments, we no longer pray the Gloria or sing the Alleluia, and church decorations are spare. All music must be instrument accompanied singing. Honoring saint feast days, except for Solemnities (St. Joseph, the Annunciation) is optional. Some writers describe this paring down and reducing as reflections of the penitent’s losing, casting off the encumbrances that bar our salvation. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!" said St. Paul.

These ashes, blessed by the priest, become a sacramental that we wear today as a sign of our attempts to repent and reform, to do penance for our sins. The black, powdery ashes are the burned remains of last year’s holy palms from Palm Sunday. They are a symbol from old times of repentance and mourning. We recall Old Testament figures putting on sackcloth and covering themselves with ashes. We hear the priest or designated minister say, as he presses the ash on our forehead, "Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return," or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in French, is the day before Ash Wednesday. It takes its name from the old tradition of eating butter, eggs, animal fats, and meat for the last time before the Lenten fast that forbid these foods. Today, we abstain from these items only if we choose to give them up for Lent. Fat Tuesday often was, and still is, a last chance for merrymaking before the solemn, 40-day penitential season leading to Easter. Catholic in many countries celebrate the day by making pancakes and doughnuts, which include lots of fat, butter, and eggs. Mardi Gras today sees parades and often wild celebrations such as in New Orleans. The term Shrove Tuesday comes from an old word for confessing one’s sins, or being shriven. Penitents would seek Confession on this day to enter the Lenten season with a clean soul. The day’s colors are green, purple, and gold: gold for God’s power, purple for his royal justice, and green for our faith and hope for eternal life.

Please consider a generous donation Ash Wednesday to support Vermont Catholic Charities. This agency offers counseling, emergency aid, prison ministry and residential care homes for the elderly. Donations can also be made through our website at: https://www.vermontcatholic.org/ministries-programs/ catholic-charities/ash-wednesday-appeal/ or by mailing a check to Vermont Catholic Charities, 55 Joy Drive, South Burlington, VT 05403. Please know that every gift--whatever the size--makes a difference. Thank you for your generosity.

There will be a 12:05 PM Mass on Presidents Day and Confessions at 11:30 AM in the chapel.

The Church’s calendar of saints retains St. Valentine but not in a prominent spot because his life story is not verified. However, in the U.S., St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated with many tokens of love, especially romantic love. The real St. Valentine was a third-century martyr, maybe a priest, persecuted under a Roman emperor. Valentine’s legend says he married couples in secret Christian ceremonies, performed miracles, converted enemies, and once signed a note, “Your Valentine.”

If you have any palms in your homes and you would like to dispose of them properly, please bring them to the Church the weekends of February 11/12 or February 18/19 and we will take care of them for you. You can give them to the ushers and they will give them over for disposal before Ash Wednesday. If you have questions, please call the Parish Office. Thank you!