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Page Four St. Augus ne’s Church, Baldwinsville, New York February 4, 2018 Faith Forma1on News Faith Forma:on Classes this Week Faith Forma on Classes for Grades 1Ͳ10 meet on Sunday, February 4. SEEDS/K and CLOW also meet. Grades 6Ͳ10 meeton Monday evening, February 5. Grades 1Ͳ9 meet NEXT week, February 11 and February 12. Confirma:on Prep Confirma on candidates are reminded that our next session is Saturday, February 10 at 1 PM in The Gathering Room.Parents are encouraged to join us for the 5:15 PM Mass. First Eucharist Enrollment Weekend At our 5:15 PM Saturday and 10:30 AM Sunday Masses this weekend, we welcome our First Eucharist families. Duringthe Enrollment Ceremony, the children and parents will be asked if they are willing to prepare for First Eucharist throughprayer at Sunday liturgy and lessons at home and here at church. The members of St. Augus ne’s also will be asked tosupport our First Eucharist families on their journey toward First Eucharist and a life me of being Eucharis c people. These children are preparing to receive their First Eucharist at St. Augus ne’s on Sunday, May 6th: Evan Beckwith, NolanCarvel, Gabriella Chilbert, Gianna Chilbert, Emily Diep, Isabel Flood, Nolan Fox, Caleb Hawthorne, Benjamin Lamson,George McNabb, Ma hew Niedzialek, Anthony O s, Michael Price, Julian Torrillo, Rowen Williams and Ryan White. Sunday Evening Time Out I’m usually pre y good at coun ng my blessings and seeingthe glass as halfͲfull. Occasionally, though, I get stuck. That’s right stuck. And stuck is right where I am as I writethis, buried under a pile of so blankets, in comfy pajamas,ready to call it a day. I know very well that this mood willpass, but in the mean me, I’ve put myself in “ me out” toget these thoughts down on paper. Everyone has their own concerns that some mes weighthem down. For me, it’s the fear of the unknown as thelast of our children prepares to leave home for college thisfall. As excited as I am for her and all that lies ahead, I truly have no idea what it will be like to not have a child athome because that has been my reality for the past twentyͲsix years. There were only three early years in our marriage when it was “just the two of us,” and those yearsseem so long ago. Some people will say, “The best days are ahead,” and whilethat may be true, I have such fond memories of those babydays, the middleͲofͲtheͲnight feedings when the housewas completely quiet except for the baby and me, and thecreak of the rocking chair. I know there will be a mesomeday when Steve and I can re re andcreate some new adventures, but rightnow there’s a li le part of me just wishing the me hadn’t gone so quickly. AndI am filled with moments of sadness andconcern about whatever might comenext. In prayer, though, I am comforted by theONE who has accompanied our familythrough the best and worst of mes, the ONE who hasnever le our side. These words from Jeremiah seem tosum it up nicely: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to giveyou hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 I hope that these words might also bring you some comfortif you have lots on your mind today. I hope you, like me,will be pa ent with yourself as you try to accept whateveryour current situa on may be. The important thing to remember about being “stuck” in whatever mood one findsoneself, is to not stay there too long. Otherwise, you maymiss out on whatever plans the LORD s ll has in store foryou or me! mercifulmomentsblog.wordpress.com

Page Five St. Augus ne’s Church, Baldwinsville, New York February 4, 2018 Souper Bowl of Caring Holy Week Cantata Ͳ Welcome All Singers! The combined music ministry programs ofSt. Augus ne’s and St. Mary’s will present aHoly Week Cantata tled: “Come to the Crossand Remember” composed by Pepper Choplin.This special musical reflec on will be held onFriday, March 23rd at 7:00 PM at St. Mary’s, andon Sunday, March 25th at 3:00 PM atSt. Augus ne’s. We are looking for singers and musicians/instrumentalists whowould like to par cipate. The cost of the cantata booklet is 10.00,and this includes a rehearsal CD to assist you in learning your vocalpart. If cost is an issue for you or your family, assistance is availableto you. Rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, February 7th at 7:15 PM at St.Mary’s. An addi onal schedule of rehearsals will be given at thisme. If interested in par cipa ng, please see Ryan Schaffer a er mass,or email: musicministry@stmarysassump on.org rschaffer@staugus nesparish.org According to the Na onal Retail Founda on, theaverage amount per household spent by Americanswho plan to watch the Super Bowl Game is approximately SeventyͲEight Dollars. This is money spenton food, beverages and team merchandise. On Super Bowl weekend, St. Augus ne’s is con nuing its longͲstanding tradi on of collec ng for the“Souper Bowl of Caring” and you have a chance tohelp! Young people from our parish will be collec ngmoney a er each Mass on Saturday, February 3rd,and on Sunday, February 4th, to assist a local Baldwinsville family in need. Cash dona ons of anyamount are welcome, and checks should be madepayable to St. Augus ne’s Church with “SouperBowl” in the memo. Let’s think of others in need as we prepare forGame Day and share what we can when our youngpeople stand at the church doors this weekend! Have You Received Our Weekly Update? We have been sending out a weekly update with helpful informa on regarding events and general parish informa on. Ifyou would like to receive this email, please visit our website and complete the subscrip on informa on at the bo om ofthe main page. You may also call the office and provide your email address. Ash Wednesday Day of Prayer at Christ the KingRetreat House with Sr. Donna Corcoran, OSBWednesday, February 14th from 10:00 AMͲ 3:00 PM "How to get "on track" for a seriousͲͲandjoyousͲͲLent." Love lost? Love leB? The Allure of Lent Spiritual Renewal Center with MaC Cortese, SJ Thursday, February 15th 7:00Ͳ9:00 PM Offering: 30 includes lunch. Register at ctkretreat.comor call 315Ͳ446Ͳ2680. While Lent o en gets a bad rap, all wilderness and penance, the season is nothing lessthan the Chris an story of love in microcosm. Join Ma Cortese, SJ, for an eveningadventure into the beauty and love of Lent!Ma will share wisdom from St. Augus neand contemporary writers to help us seeand celebrate Lent in a new way. Contact the Center to register for what promises to be an insighWul and inspiringteaching! 20 or whatever you can afford. Register by calling 315Ͳ472Ͳ6546 or at spiritualrenewalcenter.com. Online Giving Now Available Like us on the weekend? Follow us on social media. Our Parish is par cipa ng in WeShare Online Givingthrough Liturgical Publica ons (the publisher of our bullen.) This process is free, secure and convenient for you touse. You may follow the link on the bo om of our Parishwebsite or visit: staugus nesparish.weshareonline.org. Facebook: h ps://www.facebook.com/staugus nesparishbville Instagram: staugbville The retreat will focus on the Paschal Mystery in our lives and will include talks, reflec on me, guided medita ons and sugges ons for contempla ve living. Mass anddistribu on of ashes will also be included.

Page Six St. Augus ne’s Church, Baldwinsville, New York February 4, 2018 Taking Pain To The Heart Wri ng in his journal during a me of bi er heartbreak,Henri Nouwen wrote these words: The great challenge is living your wounds through instead ofthinking them through. It is be#er to cry than to worry,be#er to feel your wounds than to understand them, be#erto let them enter into your silence than to talk about them.The choice you face constantly is whether you are takingyour wounds to your head or your heart. Part of us understands exactly what he is saying here, evenas another part of us congenitally resists his advice: There’sa place in us that doesn’t want to cry, doesn’t want to feelour hurt, doesn’t want to take our pain to a place of silence,and doesn’t want to take our wounds to our heart. And soinstead, in our heartaches andIt is only aEer the desert wounds, we grow anxious andobsessive, we struggle to underhas done its work on us,stand, we talk endlessly to othsays Trevor Herriot, that ers, and we try to sort things outan angel can come and with our heads rather thanstrengthen us. le ng ourselves simply feelthem with our hearts. And that isn’t always a bad thing. Nouwen’s counsel, for allits wisdom, needs some qualifica on: It is important thatwe also take our wounds to our heads. Our hearts andheads need to be in sync. But what Nouwen points to hereis something that he, a man blessed with an extraordinarysensi vity to the things of the heart, learned only throughcrushing heartache and breakdown, namely, that we moreeasily take things to the head than to the heart, even whenwe think we aren’t doing this. The way we take pain to our heads and block healing tearsin our hearts is by denial, by ra onaliza on, by blaming, bynot simply and honestly admi ng and owning our ownpain, our own helplessness, our own weakness, and ourown inadequacy. And we all have plenty of occasions to do this: The morealive and sensi ve we are the more we will experience excrucia ng heartaches. The more honest we are the morewe will be aware of our own limits and inadequacies. Andthe more generous and pure we are the more we will beaware of our own sin and betrayals. And so Nouwen’s counsel contains a healthy challenge:When we are brought to our knees by heartache and pain,we shouldn’t try to deny that pain, deny its bi er strength,or deny our helplessness in dealing with it. To do so is torisk becoming hard and bi er. But if we give our deep painsand heartaches their honest due they will induce the kind oftears that so en and stretch the heart. It is helpful to remember that tears are saltͲwater, of one substance withthe waters of the original oceans from which we sprung.Tears connect us to our origins and allow the primal waterof life to again flow through us. Moreover, when we take our pain to our hearts, when wehonestly admit our weaknesses and helplessness, God canfinally begin to fill us with strength. Why? Because it is onlywhen we are brought to our knees in u er helplessness,only when we finally give up on our own strength, that Godcan send an angel to strengthen us, like God send an angelto strengthen Jesus during his agony in the garden. One night, some months before his death, Mar n LutherKing received a deathͲthreat on the phone. It had happenedbefore but, on this par cular night, it le him frightenedand weakened to the core. All his fears came down on himat once. Here are his words as to what happened next: “I got out of bed and began to walk the floor. Finally I wentto the kitchen and heated a pot of coffee. I was ready togive up. With my cup of coffee si)ng untouched before me,I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture withoutappearing a coward. In this state of exhaus on, when mycourage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem toGod. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchentable and prayed aloud. The words I spoke to God that midnight are s ll vivid in my memory. I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now Iam afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership andif stand before them without strength and courage, they toowill falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing le .I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” At thatmoment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I hadnever experienced Him before. It is only a er the desert has done its work on us, says Trevor Herriot, that an angel can come and strengthen us. Thatis why it is be er to feel our wounds than to understandthem and why it is be er to cry than to worry. Ron Rolheiser Used with permission of the author, Oblate FatherRon Rolheiser. Currently, Father Rolheiser is servingas President of the Oblate School of Theology in SanAntonio Texas. He can be contacted through his website, www.ronrolheiser.com.

charis c Minister or Lector at either liturgy, please sign your name on the sheets provided in the ves bule. We appreciate your connued service to our parish family as we prepare to enter the Lenten season. Sta ons of the Cross will begin Friday, February 16, 2018 at 11:30 AM. Sta ons are then followed by a soup and sandwich lunch. Dona ons