From Father George's Desk 2/8/2026

I am taking a little time away this weekend before the busy Lenten Season begins.  Thanks to my friend and retired priest of the diocese, Father Bill McGuirk for pinch-hitting in my absence.  Please keep me in your prayers during my travels and know that you are in mine. See you at the end of the week.

Don’t look now, but Lent is sneaking up on us very quickly.  Ash Wednesday is only a week and half away, which means it’s a good time for us to do a little bit of planning to make this our best Lent ever.  As we make decisions about what to give up or what new practices we should be undertaking the question that should be foremost in our minds is “What can I do to make myself a better disciple?”  Our practices, our sacrifices, and our self-denial should contribute to bring us closer to Christ during these upcoming 40 days.  In addition to the individual things that we can do there are several other opportunities for spiritual growth during Lent; watch for more in the coming weeks.

·  Don’t forget to bring your old palms to church by next Sunday.  We will have a short liturgy with the burning of the old palms next Monday, February 16 at 6:30PM at St. John.

·  Ash Wednesday is February 18.  The Little Black Books for Lent will be available soon.

·  After a few years’ hiatus, the very popular St. John Fish Frys are returning this Lent, beginning February 20.  They have been greatly missed, not only by parishioners but by the larger community. Volunteers are    needed for us to have a successful season; please see info elsewhere in today’s bulletin for details on      getting involved.

·  Stations of the Cross will be prayed on the Fridays of Lent at 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM at Holy Family and at Noon at St. John.

·  Our next quarterly Anointing Mass is scheduled for Saturday, February 28 at 10:00AM at St. John.

·  Be sure to keep watching the bulletin for more information on all of these events and more!

Just a gentle reminder about the strain the winter weather puts on the parish budget.  Every time it snows—even if it’s only a “nuisance snow”—parking lots need to be cleared and sidewalks need to be shoveled and salted.  And, of course, the furnaces and boilers get quite a workout.  The terrible weather conditions also have a negative impact on Mass attendance and our weekly offertory is often reflective of that.  So, I put forth this gentle reminder to please keep current with your offertory.  If you are not able to make it to Mass, hold on to your envelopes until you can or you can always mail them to the office. 

This Saturday, on secular as well as religious calendars, is St. Valentine’s Day.  There are at least three different St. Valentines among the canon of saints, all of whom are martyrs of the early Church. Ever wonder why St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated as it is?  I did a little research and found this at Catholic Encyclopedia online: “The popular customs associated with St. Valentine’s Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on the 14th of February, i.e. halfway through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair.  Thus in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day

Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers’ tokens.”

On the Church’s universal calendar of saints, however, February 14 is the feast day of Saints Cyril and    Methodius.  They were brothers, born in Thessalonica, Greece in the early 9th century.  They both became priests and their missionary zeal led them the Slavic territories of Eastern Europe, where Christianity had yet to take root.  At the time, the Western Church only recognized the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages; therefore the brothers were charged with the task of translating the Scriptures and liturgical texts into Slavonic.  Because Slavonic did not have a written language, the brothers had to develop a script which would become known as the Cyrillic alphabet, named for St. Cyril [2011 Sourcebook, p. 94].  St. Cyril died in 869, St. Methodius in 884.  Pope John Paul II called these “Apostles to the Slavs” the “spiritual bridge between the Eastern and Western traditions” when he declared them co-patrons of Europe during the Jubilee Year of 2000.