As Sacred Scripture records, Jesus spent 40-days in prayer and

fasting prior to beginning His public ministry of teaching,

preaching, healing, and forgiving. He spent dedicated time

listening to the Father and being filled with the love of the Spirit.

This grand ‘retreat’ kick-started His journey to the suffering,

death, and resurrection. This ‘retreat’ enabled Him to gather a

people to Himself and the Father. This ‘retreat’ formed Him,

tested Him, and proved Him before devil.

Certainly, as the Scriptures also saw, this was not the last time

Jesus entered into prayer and fasting. Frequently, Jesus is shown

slipping away to pray. He is shown spending the night in prayer.

He is shown sweating blood in prayer. Those holy 40-days were

formative and necessary, but not sufficient in themselves for a

lifetime of obedience and self-sacrifice to the Father through the

Spirit for you and me.

We come again to these 40-days of Lent. We’ve been here before. We’ve tried and failed. We’ve tried and

succeeded. But day-by-day, we must be renewed. We must be sustained. We must be filled-up with God and

get out of His way. This only happens in the self-emptying act of prayer.

For the next six-weeks of Lent, I encourage you; I

plead with you; I beg of you, to enter into more fervent,

active, open prayer. Bare your soul and your life to God.

Let Him in. Lift up your spouse in prayer – even

introduce the intimacy of prayer together into your

relationship. Bring your children to God in prayer.

Reach out to your neighbor, your coworker, and your

enemy in prayer. Pray with the Scriptures. Pray your

Rosary. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Pray in silent

meditation. Invoke the Nine Choirs of Angels in prayer.

Call upon the whole Communion of Saints in prayer.

But pray, pray, pray. Christ knew enough to know that

to do the Father’s Will required, first-and-foremost and

every day, prayer.

I leave Sunday afternoon (2/18) – not for 40-days – but

for 4-days of silent prayer and retreat before Jesus Christ

in the Eucharist with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual

Adoration. I will pray for you. Be so kind as to pray for

me.

St Mary, Mother of Prayer, pray for us. ~ Fr. Gries

ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH Forming Saints for Christ and the Church

FEBRUARY 18, 2018 FIRST SUNDAY

OF LENT

512 North Perkins Street Rushville Indiana 46173

Parish: 765-932-2588 School: 765-932-3639 www.stmaryrush.org

WELCOME TO ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH 2

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. Fast: One full meal; a person is allowed two light snacks/meals. Those who are to fast are 18-59 years old. Abstinence: No meat, those who are 14 years and up. Only for health reasons could a person be excused. All Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence.

Parish & School Maintenance Position: St. Mary Catholic Church, Rushville, is seeking an individual to fill a paid, full time Maintenance Personnel posi-tion with benefits. Mr. Tom Giesting has decided to retire at the end of the 2017-18 school year. This person will provide cleaning, set-up, and light maintenance for the parish and school buildings and parish grounds. The ideal candidate will be a hard- working, faith-filled, and self-directed person with a basic knowledge of building repair, carpentry, and painting, as well as physical fitness to lift and move items. Position could start any time after March to aid transition with Mr. Giesting. If interested, please contact Fr. Gries, with your resume, at 765-932-2588 or frgries@stmaryrush.org.

Each week a picture and bio of an RCIA candidate or catechumen will be in the bulletin. This week, Carl

Harcourt is the featured Candidate.

I have lived my entire life in Rush County and was in the last graduating class of Milroy High School. I received an Electrical Engineering degree from Purdue University and am now a retired computer engineer. I worked for various companies including Naval Avionics Center, Intel Corp., Hill-Rom, and Roche Diagnostics. While growing up, I attended the Moscow Christian Church and later was confirmed in the Anglican Communion. I have been married to Barbara for 43 years. I enjoy attending Purdue sporting events. “I look forward to full participation in the Catholic Church!”

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) Class TODAY, February 18, 2018. Commandments 9 & 10.

Women of all ages: Mark your calendars for March 10, 2018. The 13th Annual Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference will be held in the 500 Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center! To register or find out more about the great line-up of speakers and events the day offers, go to www.indianacatholicwomen.com.

K of C Chicken Fry—Saturday, February 24, 2018. 5-7:30p.m. Carry-outs available.

Paul and JoAnn Leising will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary on February 24. Congratulations, Paul and JoAnn!

Eve Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of Andrew and Abby Gordon, will receive the Sacrament of Baptism on Saturday, February 24. Welcome, Eve!

FEBRUARY 18, 2018 * FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT 3

Sunday Offerings February 11, 2018

Adults (123 Envelopes + 12 Loose Checks$ 9,058.34 Youth (3 Envelopes) $ 3.00 Loose $ 225.05 Total $ 9,286.39 Weekly Budget (2017/2018) $ -8,000.00

+1,286.39

Sunday 2/11/18 $ 9,286.39 Regular Maintenance & Utilities $ 760.00 Votive Candles $ 21.00 Food Pantry $ 228.00 Criterion $ 400.00 Capital Improvements $ 50.00 Ash Wednesday $ 15.00 TOTAL 2/11/18 $ 10,760.39 Mass Attendance 2/11/18 - 542

Mass Schedule: February 19 - 25

Monday No Mass Tuesday 6:30p.m. No Mass Wednesday 8:30a.m. No Mass Thursday 8:30a.m No Mass Friday 8:30a.m. Vernie Comer Saturday 5:30p.m. Gloria Moran Sunday 7:30a.m. Bob Muckerheide 10:00a.m. St. Mary Parish Stations of the Cross, February 23 at 7:00p.m.

No Wednesday Bible Study in February.

February 18 - Session 18 February 25 - Session 19

February Food Pantry Needed Items: Canned Soups and Ravioli. Thank you!

SLEEPING MATS FOR THE HOMELESS: Bags are no longer needed. Thank you to everyone who donated plastic bags for this project.

Mowing Bids are now being accepted for the mowing of the church and school grounds for the 2018 mowing season. Bids must be submitted to the

parish office by noon on February 19, 2018.

Fr. Burkhart Scholarship applications are available in the parish office during regular business hours. Applicants must be attending a Catholic college in 2018/2019. Deadline to apply is April 1, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted.

The Annual Spring Rummage Sale benefitting the St. Mary School PTO will be held at the CONSERVATION CLUB (1204 E ST RD 33) on Friday, March 2 from 9a.m.-5p.m.and Satur-day, March 3 from 9a.m.-1p.m. Please start gathering your donations. Drop off for the sale items will be on Thursday, March 1 from 9a.m.-6p.m. at the CONSERVATION CLUB. Anyone wanting to donate items for the bake sale may also bring those items to the Conservation Club on Thursday. Contact Rya Meo (561-0226) or Susan Spaeth (561-3124) with any questions.

Easter Choir: Want to be more involved at St. Mary’s? Have you ever thought about singing in the choir at church? If you are in the 7th grade or old-er, please come join the Adult Choir as we prepare for Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday! Practice will be held on Thursdays at 7p.m. starting with our first practice on February 15 in the church. If you have questions, please contact Nancy Beyer (317-364-0943 or nsbjlaj@tds.net) or Cindy Powers (765-561-3776 or cindy.powers83@gmail.com). Don’t come alone-bring a friend or two!

Staff Rev. Jeremy M. Gries, Pastor frgries@stmaryrush.org Debbie Spaeth, Administrative Assistant dspaeth@stmaryrush.org Jill Kuntz, Administrator Religious Education jkuntz@stmaryrush.org Amaranta Kemple, Youth Group Coordinator akemple@stmaryrush.org Sherri Kirschner, Principal skirschner@stmaryrush.org Ashley Busald, School Secretary abusald@stmaryrush.org

Parish Office Hours Monday-Thursday......8:30a.m.-4:30p.m. Friday………………….8:30a.m.-Noon

Our St. Mary Prayer Line Regenia Ripberger 765-561-1179 Lisa Wagoner 812-593-0790 - 765-663-2444

Parish Council - Chair: Shawn Adkins

Finance Council - Chair: Elbert Gordon

School Commission - Chair: Susan Spaeth

Baptism Call the parish office for scheduling.

Reconciliation/Confession Saturday…4:30p.m.- 5:15p.m. Tuesday…...6:00p.m.6:25p.m.

Marriage

Engaged couples must meet with the Pastor to com-plete initial marriage paperwork at least 9 months before the anticipated wedding date and prior to making any other arrangements concerning the wedding.

Abortion Alternatives Birthline Mon.-Fri. 317-635-4808 Option Helpline 24/7 1-800-712-HELP

Stations of the Cross - February 23 7:00p.m. Sofia & Clara Kemple Servers – February 24 & 25 Sat. 5:30p.m. Macy & Nick Hoeing, Emma Tressler Sun. 7:30a.m. Nick, Tyler, Jacob Amos 10:00a.m. Gabby Pavey, Isabella Pavey, Eliza Snow Lectors—February 24 & 25 Sat. 5:30p.m. Ruth Koelmel Sun. 7:30a.m Regenia Ripberger 10:00a.m. Aaron Snow Extra-Ordinary Ministers - February 24 & 25 Sat. 5:30p.m. Bob Dwenger, Rita Corn, Denise Small Sun. 7:30a.m Gary Nigh, Tom Giesting, Kevin Dolan 10:00a.m Denise Hoeing, Kim L. Yager, Jason Pavey Ushers for February, 2018 Sat. 5:30p.m. Bob Meer & John Meyer Sun. 7:30a.m. Brian & Grant Hill 10:00a.m. David & Brayton Schultz Ministers to the Sick: Feb. 19 Joan Meo Feb. 26 Linda Jenkins Money Counters: Feb. 20 (Tues.) Nancy Newbold, Lucille Hinton, Diana Leising, Donna Land Feb. 26 Jeanie Spaeth, April Yager, Royanna Eck, Mary Ann Harpring Food Pantry Volunteers: Feb. 19 (Restock) Melanie Krieger & Steve Pavey Feb. 21 Karen Hall, Laura Ash, Marty Connerly Feb. 28 Jody Carmony and Family

Welcome to St. Mary Parish! You are invited to stop by the parish office and register to become a part of our

parish family.

New Parishioners

Ministry Schedules ST. MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH 512 North Perkins Street, Rushville, IN

Parish: 765-932-2588 † School: 765-932-3639