Christ The King Catholic Community-

FROM THE PRIESTS: Well, plans for 1st Reconciliation already got changed. Looking at our schedules, we would encourage that you bring your child to one of the opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

• Tues., March 2, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 6:15 pm until all heard;
• Fri., March 5, St. Bernard, Breda, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard;
• Fri., March 12, St. Augustine, Halbur, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard; • Sun., March 21, St. John, Arcadia @ 3:00 pm (3 priests; Fr. Remmes helping);

• Fri., March 26, Sacred Heart, Templeton, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard.

We will continue to hear confessions by appointment. We will also work to have a safe station for the sacrament before weekend Masses.

CONFIRMATION at regularly scheduled Weekend Masses:

Sunday, February 28: St. Augustine, Halbur & St. John the Baptist, Arcadia

March 6-7: Sacred Heart, Templeton & Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mount Carmel & St. Bernard, Breda

 SACRED TRIDUUM & EASTER

Holy Thursday, April 1

7:00 pm: St. Bernard, Breda & Sacred Heart, Templeton

Good Friday, April 2

1:00 pm: St. Elizabeth Seton, Glidden & St. Augustine, Halbur

3:00 pm: Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St. John the Baptist, Arcadia

Holy Saturday, April 3—EASTER VIGIL

8:00 pm: St. Bernard, Breda & St. Elizabeth Seton, Glidden

Easter Sunday, April 4

8:00 am: Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St. Augustine, Halbur

FROM THE PRIESTS: Well, plans for 1st Reconciliation already got changed. Looking at our schedules, we would encourage that you bring your child to one of the opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

•   Tues., March 2, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 6:15 pm until all heard;

•   Fri., March 5, St. Bernard, Breda, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard;

•   Fri., March 12, St. Augustine, Halbur, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard;

•   Sun., March 21, St. John, Arcadia @ 3:00 pm (3 priests; Fr. Remmes helping);

•   Fri., March 26, Sacred Heart, Templeton, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard.
  
  We will continue to hear confessions by appointment. We will also work to have a safe station for the sacrament before weekend Masses.

Readings: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Psalm 116:10, 15, 16- 17, 18-19 (R. “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the liv- ing.”); Romans 8:31b-34; Mark 9:2-10

The story of Genesis 22, “The Binding of Isaac”, is one of the most harrowing in the Scriptures. God, who had made a covenant with Abraham that God would make of him “a great nation” (Gen 12:2), with descendants as numerous as the stars (15:5), for God would “multiply [Abraham and Sarah] exceedingly” (17:2), now asks Abraham to sacrifice the only son that he and Sarah have! That is dismaying enough. Abraham doesn’t even ask any clarifying questions! He prepares to “offer up [Isaac] as a holocaust” (22:2; a sho’ah, a completely burned sacrifice to show total dependence on God). In the end, the “LORD’s messenger” halts the sacrifice. Isaac lives; the promises of God remain: “I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore” (22:17).

In its original telling, this story may have been a dramatic way to make it clear that the LORD God of Abraham did NOT want child sacrifice, as many of the gods of other nations were thought to demand. If so, then it is not the first part of the story but the last that would have been most important. We can note that there were two kings of Judah, Ahaz, and Manasseh, who did sacrifice children and are severely condemned for it (respectively, 2 Kgs 16:3; 21:6). Nevertheless, early hearers of the story of “The Binding of Isaac” would also have seen in Abraham an example of trusting God even when it appears that the assurances and promises of the covenant were in the balance. The descendants of Abraham were often in dire straits— famine, wars, occupation by foreign powers, etc. In those times, they could take hope from the example of Abraham’s total trust in God in “Moriah” (22:2), which is a play on the verb “to see”, and thus means “God will see to/provide” (22:8). God does see to that there is a ram as a holocaust in place of Isaac. — It is still a harrowing story!

Abraham’s example may be in the background of Paul’s description of God as the one “who did not spare his own Son” (Rom 8:32) and even the famous and ubiquitous John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Both Paul and the evangelist John certainly knew that Jesus was crucified, but they also clearly knew why he was crucified. Jesus wasn’t crucified because the Father wanted that. Rather, Jesus was crucified because he remained totally faithful to the mission of preaching the Kingdom of God that the Father had given him. He was “obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). Jesus was not crucified because the Father wanted it; Jesus was crucified by those who rejected his message and conspired to have him crucified. Nevertheless, the crucifixion of Jesus will not have the final word. Rather, because of Jesus’ faithfulness, “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Phil 2:9), that is, LORD.

The inner group of the disciples, Peter, James, and John, get a glimpse of Jesus’ resurrected glory when he is transfigured (literally, “morphed). In the Gospel narratives of Mark, Matthew, and Luke (it is not in John’s Gospel), this experience will help the disciples when Jesus faces greater and greater hostility. This experience also prepares them to see the risen Lord when he appears to them—despite having abandoned Jesus during his passion. For all of us, may Abraham’s great faith and this glimpse of Jesus’ resurrected glory help us through our Lenten journeys. If we open our- selves to that in reflection, prayer, and good works, then we will truly be joining the Psalmist: “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living” (116:9).

Some opportunities for the
Sacrament of Reconciliation

Sun., Feb. 21, St. John, Arcadia, 1st Reconciliation @ 2:00 pm (3 priests; after the children until 3:15 pm or all are heard).

Wed., Feb. 24, St. Elizabeth Seton, Glidden: from 4:00 pm until 5:30 Mass (Fr. Fred); 1st Reconciliation after Mass (after the children, both Frs. Tims will be there till all heard; (Fr. Pick arriving about 6:30 pm)

Tues., March 2, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 6:15 pm until all heard (“The Light is on for You”)

Fri., March 5, St. Bernard, Breda, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard (“The Light is on for You”)

Fri., March 12, St. Augustine, Halbur, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard (“The Light is on for You”)

Fri., March 26, Sacred Heart, Templeton, with Adoration, 6:15 pm until all heard (“The Light is on for You”)

We will continue to hear confessions by appointment. We will also work to have a safe station for the sacrament before weekend Masses. More info as we have it.

ST BERNARD-Breda
Office Hours Mon - Fri: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Phone: 712-673-2582
stbernard@westianet.net

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST-Arcadia
Office Hours: Mon & Fri 7:30-11:30 am Phone: 712-689-2595
stjohnarcadia@gmail.com

ST AUGUSTINE-Halbur
Office Hours Mon & Fri: 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Phone: 712-658-2464
Fax: 712-658-2464 staug@iowatelecom.net

PASTOR
Rev. Timothy A. Friedrichsen
Breda Rectory Office (712-673-2351) t.a.friedrichsen@gmail.com

PAROCHIAL VICAR
Rev. Timothy A. Pick
Breda School Office (712-673-2582) 
pickt@scdiocese.org

Donna Wesely
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Phone: 712-673-2582
stbernard@westianet.net