Over 70 parishioners have already made their campaign pledges and we are approaching $1.1 million raised thus far! We have had some wonderful gifts and special thanks to those of you who are including notes of encouragement with your pledge cards.

Many families have picked up their campaign packets and are still praying about what they can contribute. If you are one of those families...

NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR PLEDGE!

We encourage all parishioners to consider a 5-year pledge. Most families have told us that they find it is easier to be on a payment plan.

And…..if you have NOT picked up your families’ packet please stop the tables in the narthex after Mass this weekend. Our volunteers will assist you and answer any questions you may have.

Visit TogetherGoForth.org and click “Donate.” To give securely and directly, be sure to select “Our Lady of the Lake Parish, LHC” to ensure your pledge helps our parish.

If you have any questions please call the Parish Office at 928-855-2685.

Indeed, our hearts are still filled with Easter joy as we continue to celebrate the victory of the Cross and Resurrection. The victory of life over death, of good over evil, of the Father of mercies over the father of lies.

The tradition of celebrating the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday was started by St. John Paul II, who was inspired by the visions of St. Faustina. We are all familiar with the image of Jesus that St. Faustina had painted. The painting shows Jesus with the rays of light flowing from out of His wounded side, like the blood and water that flowed from His heart on the Cross. This is what calls for our celebration today. Little wonder the readings for the feast are carefully selected to tell us more about God’s mercy, the necessity for trusting Faith and the need for the forgiveness of sins.

Dear brethren, we are all happy to come together once again to celebrate the Glory of the Son of Man-Jesus. We are back here to celebrate the fact of His Resurrection.

This is a celebration that calls for a deeper reflection on the Great statements presented in the readings today:

1. That Jesus is Risen
2. That All prophetic scripture must be fulfilled
3. That preaching repentance and forgiveness of sin has become imperative- a command by all witnesses (Christians).
4. That Power is to come upon you through the Holy Spirit, by staying and praying together.

LUCKY 70 and 1/2 CLUB

If you are 70 1/2, you are eligible to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution by transferring funds directly from your IRA to a charity and Our Lady of the Lake Together Campaign qualifies!!! You are eligible to give up to $100,000 per year in this way and your spouse can do the same.

At the lucky age of 70 1/2, you must start receiving income from your IRA which is 100% taxable to you - EXCEPT for the amount you transfer as a QCD - short for Qualified Charitable Distribution.

You can plan to do this each year for the five-year campaign pledge period as a wonderful way to fund a generous pledge to Our Lady of the Lake, Together Let Us Go Forth Campaign.

Dear Parish Family,

Today, we celebrate not only an empty tomb, but the One who opened the tomb and left it empty. Jesus the Christ destroyed death; His death and our death. Fear of death may once have had power over us. But, for Jesus’ disciples, then and now, faith in Jesus Christ conquers that fear. It is His gift of faith that brought us here today to celebrate His victory and worship Him as Lord of the world.

Jesus conquered death, but he didn’t give us a way around it. Instead, He confronted death and won. We also, with faith in Him, must confront death. Let Jesus roll away the stone that you cannot move (sorrow, sickness, addiction, etc.). Let Him fill that space with His light and the fresh wind of His Holy Spirit.

Dearly beloved, today is Passion Sunday, also known as Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of HolyWeek. It is a special Week deep into Lent which recounts a complex and meaningful series of eventswhich lead to the Resurrection on Easter Day. By this understanding we can say Palm Sunday representsa preparation, a setting up, for the Resurrection to occur.

As we begin the campaign we are asking each family to pray about a 5 year pledge. For most parishioners this is a manageable way to make a gift that fits into their budget and allows each family to plan ahead. About 90% of parishioners who pledge choose a monthly payment plan. We are hoping that every family would consider a “courageous pledge” and one that will help us build a new school, and a new outdoor gathering space.

Below is a chart that may assist in determining how to support our campaign:

All the readings today seem to say to us: "Forget the past and push on into the future.” God's words to the Israelites in captivity through the Prophet seem to resonate all through the readings: "Remember not the events of the past; the things of long ago consider not. See I am doing something new! Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it?" What is happening is that a way is being prepared for us all to return to our homeland and to a happier future.

Paul writes to the Philippians from prison, facing his own death, and he tells them, “I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead.” This is apt and encouraging!

Campaign packets will be available in the Narthex after all Masses this weekend and next weekend.

Special thanks to those families who have already made their pledge.

A winter parishioner from Minnesota recently sent in a generous campaign gift and offered the following note:

Henri Nouwen, the author of an acclaimed book: A Spirituality of Fundraising offers us at Our Lady of the Lake some advice for our campaign.

“Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission. Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek funds, we are declaring: we have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you - your energy, your prayers, and your money - in this work to which God has called us.”

I came across this piece while researching for this homily. It's about Mahatma Gandhi the father of the Indian nation. In his memoirs he humbly and frankly acknowledged that, when he was fifteen, he stole a little piece of gold from his brother. However a few days later, he felt very guilty and decided to come clean by confessing to his father. So, he took a paper, wrote down his fault, sincerely asked his father for forgiveness and promised never to repeat the offense. Taking that note to the bedroom of his father, the young Gandhi found him ill in bed. Very timidly he handed the note to his father without saying a word. His father sat up in bed and began reading the note. As he read it, the senior Gandhi was so deeply moved by the honesty, sincerity and courage of his son that tears began to stream from his eyes.

St. Francis of Assisi once invited a young friar to go with him into town to preach. Francis and the young friar spent all day walking through the streets and then came home. When the day’s journey was done, the young friar was disappointed and asked “Weren’t we supposed to preach today?” Francis replied, “Son, we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We were seen by many and our behavior was noted. It is of no use walking anywhere to preach unless we preach wherever as we walk!” He summed up his idea in these words “Preach the Gospel everywhere, and if necessary, use words.” To him witnessing to Jesus wasn’t merely quoting some words out of the Bible from time to time but one who lives by the word of God each day.

As we begin the campaign we are asking each familyto pray about a 5 year pledge.

For most parishioners this is a manageable way tomake a gift that fits into their budget and allows eachfamily to plan ahead.

About 90% of parishioners who pledge choose amonthly payment plan.

We are hoping that every family would consider a “courageous pledge” and one that will help us build anew school, and a new outdoor gathering space.

The readings of today give us a glimpse of how the power of God can transform the most ordinary life and lead a person into ways he never dreamt of.

The first reading describes the transformation of a pagan into a believer in the one God. God called Abraham, a childless wanderer and promised he will make him become Father of many nations and have a wonderful land of his own.

Abraham took God’s providence seriously and trusted confidently that he will fulfill His promise. His faith was strong and sustained. And all he did was to obey God’s commands.

Beloved in Christ, there is need to remind you here that throughout Scripture God has given man a multitude of promises: love, forgiveness, salvation, Holy Spirit, Everlasting life, peace, joy, freedom, growth, encouragement, excellence and strength.

The Together Campaign

People have asked: “Why do we need a Campaign?” “Why are we conducting this campaign with the Diocese?” “I already make an offertory gift when the basket is passed, why would I give to this campaign also?”

Let me simply answer by saying:

1. We are running out of classroom and meeting space. Our school continues to grow: adding a 2nd grade class in the Fall. Our goal is to add 1 grade each year until we are full K-8 school. The HFPC will become the Early Childhood Center as the older students move into the new classrooms.
2. Conducting a “combined campaign" with the Diocese has been more than 2 years in the planning. Approximately 20 other parishes have very large building projects like ours. They are also conducting combined campaigns. There are many advantages to this approach.
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Question: What is the difference between the Together Campaign and the annual Charity Development Appeal (CDA)?

Answer: Every diocese in the United States has their own annual Bishop's Appeal to fund ongoing ministries throughout their diocese. Each diocese does this independently. Our annual campaign is called the CDA (Charity and Development Appeal). We announce it every year in early February.

Last Wednesday we began the 40days program of Lent. A spiritual exercise organized by the church to bring us closer to God, to heal our broken relationships with Him and our fellow brothers and sisters. It is a special spiritual discipline also to strengthen our faith in the Lord Jesus, for Lent will mean nothing if we do not believe in Christ.

Indeed, Lent is a time to become more deeply aware of our faith and to deepen that faith by practical actions. The Book of Deuteronomy reminds us that our faith is in response to God’s action in our lives. And that means that once again we must face this question: Do I see that God has acted in my life? Our Jewish ancestors in the faith had no doubts that God had acted in their lives and in their history as a people.

As we get set this week to commence the discipline of LENT, l feel it's important we ask ourselves how we have been growing in the faith, and we do this by checking whether Jesus’ teaching is taking root in our hearts. A sincere self-examination of oneself l believe will help one to have a fruitful Lenten season. We always set aside this season to declare spiritual war against all our sinful inclinations. Today's readings have given us a lot to think and pray about.