From Aleteia.org

Over the centuries many pious customs have been developed to enter more deeply into the sorrowful heart of Mary. One such custom was instituted by the Servite Order, a group founded by the “Seven Holy Founders” in 1233. From the very beginning they were devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows and passed on that tradition to subsequent generations of priests and religious.
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The Servites eventually made their way to the United States and founded a parish in Chicago in 1874. Several decades later in 1937 Archbishop Mundelein approved a “Perpetual Novena in honor of Our Sorrowful Mother.” According to a pamphlet describing its history, “The first Novena services were held on Friday, January 8, 1937. They consisted of the Via Matris (stations of the Seven Sorrows of Mary), six prayers culled from the ancient Servite Manual, two hymns to Our Blessed Mother, the Memorare, and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.”

Furthermore, “One year after His Eminence granted the Imprimatur, 73,000 people were making the Novena at 38 services each Friday in Our Lady of Sorrows Church. This phenomenal weekly attendance at one church constituted a world record.” It is believed that during the novena’s peak it spread to over 2,300 parishes.

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Saint Paul
2018 Lenten Fish Fry, March 2, 9, 16, & 23. Our Annual Fish Fry’s are just one week away. Anyone able to help out with Friday dining room or Kitchen duties please call Janet at 562-3995. We serve dessert with each fish dinner and are in need of at least 15 to 18 desserts weekly. Serving begins at 5:00 pm. If you are able to donate for one week or all weeks we are grateful. Feed back to our workers from customers is their love of variety of desserts. The fruity, fluffy, chocolate, chewy, and gooey ones are always the first to go. Family Life always appreciates who participates and donates.

Stations of the Cross will be said after Wednesday Masses during Lent. 

Saint Michael
St. Michael's: Stations of the Cross will be held on Wed. evenings at 7:15 p.m. during Lent. This is mandatory for CCD students to attend. CCD classes begin at 6:30 p.m. as usual and students should be upstairs and ready to begin stations at 7:15 p.m. 
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St. Michael’s Parish is installing a handicap lift to the basement The cost of the project will be approximately $18,000. Donations are being requested so as not to dip so heavily into savings. To donate simply place your donation in a plain envelope (do not use parish envelopes) mark it lift project, include your name, and place it in the collection basket. If you want to donate secretly give the envelope to Fr. Letona. Money counters will be notified on how to deposit these funds. 


Saint James
Stations of the Cross will be said after Saturday mass during Lent. 

​Our Camp Douglas food pantry is in dire need of donations. Please con- sider bringing a few groceries and place them in the box at the entry of the church. ​​​

Greetings to you on the Second Sunday of Lent!
“This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” Lent is a time of turning to the Lord, and listening to him. 

The Lord Jesus going up to Mt. Tabor with Peter, James and John (cf Mk 9:2-10) reminds us of another figure in Scripture who went up a mountain with three companions: Moses when he went up Mt Sinai with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu (cf. Ex 24).

The presence of God was on that mountain and it was covered by the bright luminous cloud of God’s presence. Later when Moses returned to his companions his face and his garments were radiant. And they feared to look upon him. So when Moses told the people of Israel of God’s commands and his plan for Israel, they listened to him.

In the first reading God gave a command and a promise to Abraham: “"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you."

This sacrifice pre-figures the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus is called God’s “beloved Son”— as Isaac is described as Abraham’s beloved firstborn son. In today’s Epistle, Paul uses exact words drawn from this story to describe how God, like Abraham, did not withhold His only Son, but handed Him over for us on the Cross.

God now reveals that Jesus is the One who fulfills this great plan. As Jesus’ face and garments become radiant with the light and glory of God, Moses and Elijah appear next to him and converse with him about the Law and Prophets, meaning that everything God promised is about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem, by His cross and resurrection.

Just as Moses led Israel through the exodus to the promised land, we are to follow the Lord Jesus to the eternal and heavenly promised land.

“As we sing in today’s Psalm, Jesus believed in the face of His afflictions, and God loosed Him from the bonds of death (see Psalm 116:3).

His rising should give us the courage to face our trials, to offer ourselves totally to the Father—as He did, as Abraham and Isaac did.

Freed from death by His death, we come to this Mass to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and to renew our vows—as His servants and faithful ones.” (Dr. Scott Hahn)

God bless you all,
​Father Robert Letona 

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Saint Paul
Our Annual Fish Fry: Approximately 2 weeks before our Annual Fish Fry begins. Agin dates are March 2,9,16,23, We serve between 300-350 customers weekly and are in need of 15 to 18 desserts each week. Please consider a yummy donation to compliment our meal when ever possible. Please call Janet if you can donate your time working at one or all of the fish fries.

Stations of the Cross will be said after Wednesday Masses during Lent. 

Saint Michael

St. Michael’s Parish is installing a handicap lift to the basement The cost of the project will be approximately $18,000. Donations are being requested so as not to dip so heavily into savings. To donate simply place your donation in a plain envelope (do not use parish envelopes) mark it lift project, include your name, and place it in the collection basket. If you want to donate secretly give the envelope to Fr. Letona. Money counters will be notified on how to deposit these funds. 

St Michaels Winter Snow Removal We need your help to make our steps and sidewalks safe during the upcoming winter season. Again this year we are requesting volunteers. The weekly 
commitment is for Wednesdays before 6:30 CCD classes and before 8:00 AM Sunday Mass. Shovels, salt and snow blower are provided. A sign-up calendar is located on the table at church entrance. If you feel you are not physically able to participate in clearing, a monetary offering can be given to Jerry Bloom for the purchase of salt and gasoline. Direct questions to the Building and Grounds Committee members. 
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Saint James
Ladies mark your calendar, our Winter Inspiration is on its way, February 24th at 12:30 pm at the Fountain Mission Chateau. 

​Our Camp Douglas food pantry is in dire need of donations. Please con- sider bringing a few groceries and place them in the box at the entry of the church. ​​​

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings to you on the First Sunday of Lent. I hope and pray your Lenten disciplines (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving) are off to a good start.

We began Lent with the imposition of Ashes and the stark reminder that we “are dust, and unto dust” we shall return.

The all important lesson we take from this marking of our bodies is to ex- amine what our lives shall be between the time we have the ashes smudged across our foreheads and the time we become ash ourselves.

Through our Lenten observance we withdraw, with Jesus, into the desert to examine our lives and to be cleansed and purified.

As Noah and his family were saved through the waters of the great flood (Gn 9:8-15), we were saved through the waters of Baptism (1 Pt 3:18-22).

Right after Jesus was baptized “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the de- sert” (Mk 1:12). In the desert he was in harmony with the wild animals and was served by Angels. In this sense he represents a humanity that is restored, made new, a New Adam. The original Adam walked among the wild beasts and lived in peace with creation in Eden until tempted by the devil. Jesus was tempted by the devil in his time in the desert.

But where Adam failed, Jesus overcomes!

We too, once we are baptized, are driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness of the world. Once we’re in the world, we too will face temptation. Prayer is our weapon against the Devil. Fasting is our weapon against the flesh and carnal desires. Almsgiving is our weapon against the pride, anger, and greed of this world.

Jesus is with us in our moments of temptation. Remember what we prayed in Psalm: “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.”

Each of us is confronted with temptation everyday. Our Lord knows the struggle, he endured it himself, and His victory can be our victory. He will show us sinners the way if we turn to him.

As we embark on this journey through Lent, let us renew our baptismal vows - to repent and believe in the Gospel.

God bless you all, Father Robert Letona 

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From Aleteia.org

Kneel down at 3:00 to pray 5 Our Fathers and 5 Hail Marys
In a local Church council held by St. Charles Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, it was decreed that the church bell should ring every Friday at 3:00, to remind the faithful of the Passion of Jesus Christ at that hour. This devotion was very popular and Pope Benedict XIV extended the practice to the universal Church. He declared in 1740 that all churches should ring the bells of their churches every Friday at 3:00. He also invited the faithful to kneel down and say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys in memory of the Passion and agony of Jesus Christ, praying for the intentions of the Holy Father and the conversion of sinners.

Pray this prayer of St. Pius V
O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open Thy ears, and listen to me as Thou didst listen to Thy eternal Father upon Mount Tabor.
O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open Thine eyes, and look upon me as Thou didst look from the tree of the Cross upon Thy dear Mother sorrowing and afflicted.
O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open Thy blessed mouth, and speak as Thou didst speak to St. John when Thou gavest him for son to Thine own most beloved Mother.
O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, open Thine arms, and embrace me as Thou didst open them upon the Cross to embrace the whole human race.
O my Lord Jesus Christ crucified, Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, open Thy Heart, and receive therein my heart, and hear me in all that I ask of Thee, if so be it be agreeable to Thy most holy will.

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From the USCCB:

U.S. Bishops Conference Offers Audio Recordings of Scripture, Daily Reflections, Downloadable Calendar to Help Catholics Observe Lent 

WASHINGTON—A variety of resources to help Catholics observe Lent, which this year begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14, are being provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

With the theme "Raise Up, Sacrifice, Offer," resources include a new set of daily suggestions for reading, reflection, prayer and action, in addition to the traditional downloadable reflection calendar available in years past. The downloadable Lent calendar with quotes from Pope Francis, Scripture, and Church fathers, is available in both English and Spanish. The daily suggestions and downloadable calendar offer teachings and suggestions for taking an active approach to the three traditional pillars of Lenten observance: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

The website www.usccb.org/lent, also includes facts about saints whose feast days or memorials fall within Lent, a reflection on fasting, information on rediscovering the Sacrament of Penance, and a section on Holy Week observances. The USCCB has also created an accompanying video reflecting on Lent for sharing on social media. 

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From Aleteia.org

​Similar to the English word “Easter,” the word “Lent” was originally a secular word with no particular religious associations.

The word is traced etymologically to an Old English word lencten (related to “lengthen,” referring to the lengthening of days) that simply referred to the season of spring. It is also related to a Teutonic word with the same meaning.

The penitential season in the Church always fell during the springtime in Europe and over the centuries the word “Lent” became synonymous with the liturgical period. Additionally, for the Anglo-Saxon people it was an easier word than the official Latin title. In Latin it is called quadragesima, which means the “40 days” (or more literally the “40th day” before Easter). This term identifies the season with the 40-day period of preparation before the celebration of Jesus’s Passion, death and resurrection.
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Saint Paul
Please mark your calendars for our 2018 Fish Frys: March 2, 9, 16, & 23!! 

Saint Michael
All Tomah Area Women: You are cordially invited to “Chase Away the Chill of Winter” wine & cheese social on Saturday, Feb. 17 (12:30-?) at Queen of the Apostles  Church Hall. This event is free to all Tomah area women. Morira Kneer, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Spiritual Care & the Healing Place of Sacred Heart Hospital, Eau Claire has experienced the challenges of being a primary caregiver for her daughter. Her witty reflections on aged wisdom might help us find ways to expand on our own experiences. SHE INVITES YOU TO WEAR A HAT! 

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St. Michael’s Parish is installing a handicap lift to the basement The cost of the project will be approximately $18,000. Donations are being requested so as not to dip so heavily into savings. To donate simply place your donation in a plain envelope (do not use parish envelopes) mark it lift project, include your name, and place it in the collection basket. If you want to donate secretly give the envelope to Fr. Letona. Money counters will be notified on how to deposit these funds. 

St Michaels Winter Snow Removal We need your help to make our steps and sidewalks safe during the upcoming winter season. Again this year we are requesting volunteers. The weekly 
commitment is for Wednesdays before 6:30 CCD classes and before 8:00 AM Sunday Mass. Shovels, salt and snow blower are provided. A sign-up calendar is located on the table at church entrance. If you feel you are not physically able to participate in clearing, a monetary offering can be given to Jerry Bloom for the purchase of salt and gasoline. Direct questions to the Building and Grounds Committee members. 
​
Saint James
Share your time and talents with the church. St. James is looking for anyone who would like to help with Mass. We are in need of readers, money counters, ushers and Eucharistic Ministers. 

Our Camp Douglas food pantry is in dire need of donations. Please con- sider bringing a few groceries and place them in the box at the entry of the church. ​​