February 14-15, 2009

Next weekend Corpus Christi will be awash in delectable tastes and smells as we mark the end of Ordinary Time, in anticipation of Ash Wednesday, with our Mardi Gras Food Fair. At present we have the following items scheduled for your edible pleasures: * Mayette Ramos will be hosting a Taste of the Philippines; *Mira Johnson will tantalize with Croatian Goulash; *Mary Kopinski will share the experience of Ukrainian food; *Dave Bell/POPS – will steer toward PBJ sandwiches for kids (not from the factory in the news!!!) *Jonathan/ Music M. will make our palates sing with Korean BBQ Vietnamese sides; *Patti Fisher and Crew will help cut through the serious food with Sweets from all over; *Guess WHO is offering the ever delectable BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON BACON (but please, no bacon mints or bacon floss or other supposed bacon items please!); and the *The Moran’s will take a culinary bow to our Southern roots with Corpus Christi Creole Stars. Please set aside some extra time to enjoy the items, available for enjoyment after ALL the Masses or for purchase to be enjoyed at home. Thanks.

Some thoughts as LENT approaches…..
Following the exhausting frenzy of Advent/Christmas with its requisite parties, decorating and gift purchasing, Lent can seem downright dowdy. It is initiated with an ashen cross being placed on our foreheads accompanied with a day of abstaining from meat and fasting (cutting back to the equivalent of ONE full meal spread out over the whole day.) This is a far cry from the champagne excess of Christmas gatherings with their flurry of delicious treats being hyped on every magazine cover. We rarely see a cover-story on ‘fasting’ or how to fashionably wear an ashen cross. Yep, Lent does not get much play unless it is to anticipate cooking the Passover Supper or how to dye Easter eggs. Yet, Lent is embraced by most Catholic-Christians as an appropriate time for introspection, an opportunity to consider the direction of our lives, the choices we are embracing, the ramifications of past foibles or miscalculations….all with an eye to making necessary course corrections so as to have a full and happy life in sync with Jesus. While Lent is sometimes portrayed as a period of gloom, doom and deprivation, in reality it is a wonderfully ‘ officially designated time’ by which to take stock of our lives on a yearly basis. This year, Lent begins on Wednesday, February 25th, Ash Wednesday. The ashes come from the burned palms from last year’s Palm Sunday and are meant to physically remind us of the Scriptural admonition to put on ‘sack-cloth and ashes’ as a way of making amends to God for having distanced ourselves from him. Sort of like showing up with flowers at the girlfriends door as an opening symbol of being contrite for a stupid slip of the tongue. The passage of Lent is prelude to the poignant events/story of Holy Week which speaks of the glorious embrace of Jesus by the crowds, who are easily swayed to ultimately reject him, humiliate him and crucify him. Within this story there are the micro-stories of betrayal by both Judas and Peter, of remorse and fear by the disciples, of strength and determination by the women in Jesus’ life…of loss and hopelessness, death and life, love and loss. Wow…sounds like an appropriate story for what many of us may be going through in these tough economic times. So, once again, an invitation is extended….come and receive an Ashen Cross on your forehead…and wear it throughout the day. Don’t just wear it home for dinner after going to an evening service or Mass….wear it when you go to school, when you go to work, when you greet people at the market or when you are chatting with the other parents waiting in line. Thus….we do not offer any evening Ash distribution opportunities…BUT our first Ash Service is at 4:00 a.m.! (And even earlier if you need it…just call.) That allows plenty of time to get up, get ready and still be on time for early morning classes or to catch the freeway drive to LA. The schedule shows you there are other ones after that as well, with the LAST one being 10:00 a.m. With so many things hitting us in these disturbing times, which of us has not caught ourselves saying ‘God, when will all this end?’ Well, why not draw close to Jesus on Ash Wednesday so as to perhaps get some strength to keep going….so close that you get an imprint of a cross on your forehead? I hope to see you during the morning of the 25th! FKB

Read a book, meet some new friends…Please join us on March 2, at 7:00, Room 4, to discuss Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.
Christi Kids Club Winter/Spring 2009 Session begins soon! And we have some super cool additions to the program, especially for our 4th and 5th graders: Christi Kids “Clubhouse”. Too cool to hang with the tots and not quite old enough for JAMS? Christi Kids Clubhouse is for YOU! In addition to all the fun arts and crafts and outreach activities, Christi Kids Clubhouse (4th and 5th graders) will meet for music, and cool games and hang out with Jammers and Havenites.

The fun for all Christi Kids happens Wednesdays, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm, beginning February 18th through May 6th, 2009. Music, arts and crafts, outreach projects, faith and fun for kids K through 5th grade. K through 3rd grade meet in the Good Shepherd room, 4th and 5th (CK Clubhouse)) graders meet downstairs. Christi Kids Club is like a second neighborhood, where our Corpus Christi kids can meet and grow in their faith together. Sign your K through 5th grade child up for this one-of-a-kind program! This session will also include special Lenten activities including a Seder supper. Registration forms are available on the concierge tables and in the Good Shepherd/Childcare room, or by contacting Peggy Armenta at peggyarmenta@corpuschristialisoviejo.org

Please note, the Parish Offices are closed on Monday, February 16 for President’s Day.

February 14-15, 2009
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Leviticus 13:1-46 First Corinthians 10:31-11:1 Mark 1:40-45

The cleanest of fine restaurants has dirty floors. No sooner do we step out of a cleansing shower than our skin begins to flake and become soiled with sweat. No sooner do we drive from the car wash than small bugs and dust begin to smack into our windshield. Everybody has some sort of closet with a skeleton or two….but do we focus on the closet or do we see it as part of a bigger picture…a picture that may be so big that the closet becomes insignificant? In looking at the issue of leprosy in today’s First Reading and Gospel (a rather unpleasant topic for Valentine’s Weekend…sorry!) the issue is not really about the (now curable) physical disease. The issue is that Jesus is NOT wary of those afflicted with choices/diseases/sins that might make a person reprehensible to our society or community. While in the Leviticus selection we hear that a person afflicted with a disgusting ailment should pull apart from society…in the Gospel of Mark we have Jesus doing the unthinkable and TOUCHING the leprous man…and encouraging the man to get back into the swirl of community by going into the temple area to complete the process. While the physical disease is rare in today’s world, who might the modern-day leper’s be? Wall Street brokers who accepted large bonuses? Politicians who failed Income Tax 101? Ponzi schemers? Sexual molesters? Drug addicts? Out-of-control parents who scream at their kid’s coaches? Repeat divorcees? Illegal immigrants? Who are the people, whom, when we hear of them, our first reaction/response is: ‘ I don’t want them anywhere near me or my family!’ How do we reconcile that these flawed persons are a part of our society…how do we continue to incorporate them into our culture? Of course, there are some people who probably think that it is okay to simply dismiss these people as unworthy of consideration, perhaps even desire to lock them up and throw away the key forever…and they righteously think these things as they receive Communion! On this weekend devoted to ‘Valentine love’….our readings speak of the depth of Jesus’ love for EVERYONE….especially those who are flawed, sick and despicable. And that includes each of US….the people who individually have dark sides and mistakes….the people who in the course of Mass each week pray: ‘forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ Hmmmm…..what if the grace of God was a quid pro quo exchange? We will get what we are willing to give?

Happy Valentine’s weekend to all who have come to share our worship and celebration here at Corpus Christi this weekend. Have you jumped on board our Pastoral Services Appeal effort for this year? Come on…step up and be part of the family paying down our loans! Next weekend is our Mardi Gras Food Fair, make sure you schedule some extra time in your schedule to enjoy the offerings of the assorted booths….BACON RULES! Our Corpus Christi College Scholarship Application Forms are available on the Concierge Shelves…submission deadline for consideration is April 15th. Please accept a Bulletin on your way home, with Ash Wednesday starting to draw close (February 25th) you may want to know of the Ash distribution schedule along with other Lenten happenings. As you either seek out…or try to avoid….Cupid’s arrows, remember, you are loved. FKB