April 5, 2020Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord

Corpus Christi Catholic Church6300 McKenna Drive, Mobile, Alabama 36608

Email: Church@CorpusChristiParish.com ! Website: www.CorpusChristiParish.com

PARISH OFFICE HOURSMonday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Parish Office: 342-1852 • Fax 342-6313School Office: 342-5474, ext. 1 • Fax 380-0325Rel. Ed. Office: 342-5474, ext. 7 • Fax 380-0325Full-Day Care: 342-2424 • Fax 343-3119Youth Ministry: 342-1852 • Fax 342-6313

PASTORAL STAFF

Very Reverend James F. Zoghby, V.F.Reverend John S. BoudreauxDeacon Arthur W. RobbinsMrs. Kristy F. Martin, School PrincipalMrs. Jennifer S. Pritchett, Parish Catechetical LeaderMr. Peter J. Stoyka, Youth Ministry Director

TO REGISTER AS A MEMBER OF THE PARISH

Please fill out a Census Form. Census Forms areavailable in the church vestibule and parish office.

COMMUNITY CENTER RENTALS & SERVICES

For rental information and catering services, pleasecall the parish office at 342-1852 or 342-1420.

SUNDAY MASSES

Vigil: 5:30 p.m. SaturdayMorning: 7:00, 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.

WEEKDAY MASSES

6:30 a.m. Mass: Monday through Friday8:15 a.m. Mass: Monday through Saturday

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Saturday: 5:00 p.m. and by request, particularlyafter the 6:30 & 8:15 a.m. weekday Masses.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, ANOINTING OF SICK

Please call the parish office (342-1852) for informationand scheduling baptism, marriage, anointing of sick.

ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (R.C.I.A.)

Please see published schedule for specific dates andtimes, or call the parish office (342-1852).

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Grades K–12, Sundays duringschool year, 10:05-10:55 a.m. in school bldgs.

SCHOOL Grades PreK2 through 8. Info: 342-5474,ext. 1, or email kmartin@CorpusChristiParish.com.

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Our Easter Triduum Liturgies will be online on our parish website and on YouTube:Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7 p.m. ! Good Friday Liturgy at 7 p.m.

Holy Saturday, (The First & Principal Mass of Easter), the Easter Vigil Mass at 7:30 p.m.

All R.C.I.A. candidates for Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharistwill be received into the Church at individually-scheduled times,

beginning on Easter Sunday, April 12, through the next Sunday, April 19.Each person can schedule a morning, afternoon or evening time, April 12 to April 19.Each person’s sponsor should attend. Parents, spouse or fiancé/fiancée may attend.

To schedule a day and time, please call 421-1135 or 342-1852.

MARRIED IN CHRISTWilliam Eugene Derieg & Bonnie Freedom Walker

FIRST COLLECTION: Tithing Offerings.SECOND COLLECTION: Catholic Relief Services.

MAR. 1ST BUILDING FUND ONLINE & COLLECTION: $1,293.60MAR. 1ST TITHING ONLINE & COLLECTION: $27,407.07

Thank You and God Bless YouGod bless all for tithing, contributions, bequests, remembrancesin wills in support of God’s work here at Corpus Christi Parish.To make a donation of stock, ask your financial manager, or

contact Sadee Snedigar at 470-1084 or atSadee.Snedigar@MorganStanley.com.

Receive a detail listing of your contributionsby mail, email or fax at any time:

Call 342-1852 or email Church@CorpusChristiParish.com

To set up Online Giving: Please go

to www.CorpusChristiParish.com; click “Church”; thenclick the green Online Giving icon on the left side of thechurch’s homepage. Follow the instructions to eithermake a one-time contribution, or set up a recurringwithdrawal, from a checking, saving or credit card

account to tithing or building fund, school annual fund or other specialcollection. For assistance, call 800-348-2886, ext 1, or the parishoffice, 342-1852.

Offering EnvelopesIf you wish to use Offering Envelopes, just notify the parish office (342-1852). An initial set will be sent toyou right away, and then, every two months, you will receive a two-month’s supply of envelopes

Lord, be my rock of safety.Psalm 31:2

It is good to hope

in silencefor the saving help of God.

A reading from the book of Lamentations

My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is;I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the Lord.The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall;Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me.

But I will call this to mind, as my reason to have hope:

The favors of the Lord are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent;They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness.My portion is the Lord, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Good is the Lord to one who waits for him, to the soul that seeks him;It is good to hope in silence

for the saving help of the Lord.

Wait for the Lord with courage.Be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.” (Ps27:14)

Generous and Merciful God, fill us withcompassion and concern for others, young andold; that we may look after each other in thesechallenging times, especially those among us whoare vulnerable. May your example give uscourage. Heal us of our fear.

Healing God, bring healing to those who are sickwith the coronavirus. Be with their families andneighbors. We pray especially for those who areisolated, that they may know your love. Stay byour side in this time of uncertainty and sorrow.

God of Strength, accompany all those who serveus with such love and generosity in the medicaland healthcare professions and all who areworking in health care facilities. We give thanksfor their continued work in the service of others. We ask you to bless them, strengthen them andguide them with your abundant goodness.

God of Wisdom, guide the leaders in healthcareand governance; that they may make the rightdecisions for the well being of people.

God of Creation, God of Life, we place ourselvesand all the people of our world in your protectionand love. May your peace be with us today,tomorrow and always.

With the intercession of the Blessed Motherand all the angels and saints, we pray to youthrough Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit,one God forever and ever. Amen.

The Presence of GodWe don’t have to wait to experience God’s presence in stupendous miracles and visions from heaven. We canexperience his presence in any situation and at any moment of our everyday lives. God is always with us. Whenwe’re mowing the lawn, changing diapers, driving down the street, studying, playing sports, preparing meals,washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen, doing our usual jobs, God is there.

Brother Lawrence was a Carmelite monk in 17th century Paris, France whowas assigned by his superiors to the monastery kitchen where he cooked andcleaned everyday. He wrote down little sayings that were later publishedunder the title “The Practice of the Presence of God.”

Brother Lawrence believed that our everyday business, no matter howmundane or routine, was the pathway to experiencing God’s love. And hesaid: “We don’t have to do great things. We can do little things for God.”And he said: “I turn the cake that is frying in the pan for love of him.”

And Brother Lawrence wrote:“People invent means andmethods of experiencing God’slove. They learn rules and set

up devices to remind them of that love, but it seems like so muchtrouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence. And yet it is really so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to doour common, everyday business wholly for the love of him?”

And he wrote: “It isn’t necessary thatwe stay in church in order to remain in God’s presence. We can make our heartspersonal chapels where we can enter anytime to talk to God privately.”

St. Teresa of Avila, another Carmelite, wrote:“Don’t think that if you had a great deal of timeyou would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid ofthat idea! God gives more in a moment than in along period of time, for His actions are notmeasured by time at all. Know that even whenyou are in the kitchen, our Lord is moving amongthe pots and pans!”

God is everywhere. Right now, God’s presencefills this room — and any room we find ourselvesin. He’s within us and all around us. Always. Everywhere.

“At night, Ignatius would go up on the roof of the house.

With the sky up above him, he would sit there quietly, absolutely quietly.

Taking off his hat, he would look up for a long time at the sky.

Then he would fall on his knees, and bow profoundly to God.”

— From written recollections about Ignatius of Loyola by Diego Lainez (the first successor of Ignatius as leader of the Jesuits)

While we are away from church, let usbe aware of the true presence of Godall around us — in our homes,in ourselves, in our family,in our neighbor — and, like Ignatius,in our universe.

“Do you not believe that I am in theFather, and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:10)

Do you not believe that I am in youand in your neighbor?

“God is love. Those who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.” (Jn 14:10)

In loving one another and all people,in our prayers and in our actions,let us recognize the presence of God.

O Lord, I knowyou are here,

standing always atmy side.

Where can I runfrom your love?

If I climb to the heavens, youare there.

If I fly to the sunrise,or sail beyond the sea,still I’d find you there.

Dan Schutte / cf Psalm 139

Love

One

Another

“God is love, and he

who abides in love abides in God, and Godabides in him.” (1 Jn 4:16) These words fromthe First Letter of John express with remarkableclarity the heart of the Christian faith.

Pope Benedict XVI

The name of the Holy Trinity is impressed on

everything that exists, because everything comes fromlove, reaches out for love and is moved by the spirit oflove. Three Persons are one God alone because theFather is love, the Son is love and the Holy Spirit islove. The greatest proof that we are all made in theimage of the Trinity is that only love makes us happy,because we live to love and to be loved.

Pope Benedict XVI

The vocation to love makes the human person an

authentic image of God: Man and woman come toresemble God to the extent that they become lovingpeople.

Pope Benedict XVI

Human pride and egoism always create divisions, build

walls of indifference, hate and violence. The HolySpirit, on the other hand, makes hearts capable ofunderstanding the languages of all – the language oflove; for, the Holy Spirit is Love.

Pope Benedict XVI

God is love which saves, a loving father who wants

to see his children look upon one another as brothersand sisters, working responsibly to place their varioustalents at the service of the common good.

Pope Benedict XVI

In the saints one thing becomes clear: those who draw

near to God do not withdraw from people, but ratherbecome truly close to them.

Pope Benedict XVI

If I fail completely to pay attention to others, solely out

of a desire to be “devout” and to perform my “religiousduties,” then my relationship with God will grow arid,dry. It becomes merely “proper,” but loveless. Only myreadiness to encounter my neighbor and to show himlove makes me sensitive to God as well. Only if I servemy neighbor can my eyes be opened to what God doesfor me and how much he loves me.

Pope Benedict XVI

God has an infinite capacity to love and we must

become messengers of that love through compassion.The early Christian theologians considered the greatestsin of the pagan world to be a hardened, insensitiveheart. Becoming Christian is to receive a tender heart,a “heart of flesh” that is sensitive and moved by the painand suffering of others.

Pope Benedict XVI

Our God is not a distant God, untouchable in his

blessedness. Our God has a heart, indeed a heart offlesh. He became flesh precisely to suffer with us andto be with us in our sufferings. He became a man to giveus a heart of flesh and to awaken in us a love for thosewho suffer, for those in need. Let us pray to the Lord inthis hour for all those in the world who are suffering. Let us pray to the Lord that he truly give us a heart offlesh, that he make us messengers of his love not onlywith words but with our entire life. Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus did not come to teach a philosophy, but to show

the way, indeed, the path that leads to life. This path islove, which is the expression of true faith. If you loveyour neighbor with a pure and generous heart, it meansyou really know God. But if say you have faith but donot love your brother, then you are not a true believer.

God does not dwell in you. As St. James writes: “Faithof itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Pope Benedict XVI

Everywhere, on every continent, to whatever people

one belongs, a human being is a child of that Father whois in heaven and is a brother or sister of everyone else.Human pride and egoism always create divisions, buildwalls of indifference, hate and violence. The HolySpirit, on the other hand, makes hearts capable ofunderstanding the languages of all – the language oflove; for, the Holy Spirit is Love.

Pope Benedict XVI

As members of the one family of God we can tolerate

no division or discrimination in our midst. When theFather sent his Son into the world he entrusted him witha mission of universal salvation. Jesus came that “allmay life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). No person,no group is excluded from this mission of unifying lovewhich has now been entrusted to us. We too must prayas Jesus did on the very eve of his death, with the simpleand sublime words: “Father, may they be one in us, asyou are in me and I am in you” (Jn 17:21).

Pope Benedict XVI

All Christians, especially those engaged in charitable

works, need faith – that personal encounter with God inChrist and the experience of his love. Christians arepeople who have been conquered by Christ’s love andaccordingly, under the influence of that love, they areprofoundly open to loving their neighbor in concreteways. A Christian life starts with accepting God’s giftof faith with wonder and gratitude, but it is a journeythat continues as God seeks to transform us to becomemore like Christ and share his love with others. Onlythen does our faith become truly active through love,only then does he abide in us. The Christian lifeconsists in continuously scaling the mountain to meetGod and then coming back down, bearing the love andstrength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers andsisters with God’s own love.

Pope Benedict XVI

To be drawn and transformed by the splendor of Jesus’

face is to live in God’s presence on earth. All Christiansshould be on a never-ending search for Christ, who canbe seen in the faces of all people, especially the poorand needy. We will be filled with the presence of Godby imitating the lives of the saints who lovinglyrecognized the face of Jesus in their brothers and sisters,especially the poorest and those most in need.

Pope Benedict XVI

I want to invite you to dare to love. Do not desire

anything less for your life than a love that is strong andbeautiful and that is capable of making the whole ofyour existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselvesas a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, inimitation of the One who vanquished hatred and deathforever through love.

Evangelize by radiating love...

Proselytism (or proselytizing) is aggressivelyattempting to convert others to one’s faith.

“The Church does not engage in proselytism.

Instead, she grows by attraction... she accomplishesevery one of her works in spiritual and practicalimitation of the love of her Lord.

“Charitable works cannot be used as a means of

engaging in proselytism. Love is free. It is notpracticed as a way of achieving other ends. Thisdoes not mean that charitable activity must somehowleave God and Christ aside, because the Church isalways concerned with the whole person. TheChristian knows that disdain for love is disdain forGod and man alike. It is an attempt to do withoutGod. Consequently, the best defense of God and manconsists precisely in love. It is the responsibility ofthe Church’s charitable organizations to reinforce thisawareness in their members, so that by their activity– as well as their words, their silence, their example– they may be credible witnesses to Christ.

“Those who practice charity in the Church’s name

will never seek to impose the Church’s faith uponothers. They realize that a pure and generous love isthe best witness to the God in whom we believe andby whom we are driven to love.

“They know when it is time to speak of God and

when it is better to say nothing and to let love alonespeak. They know that God is love, and that God’spresence is felt at the very time when the only thingwe do is love.

“We have the task of building parish communities

that are more and more like families, to evangelizenot only by word, but by radiating love.”

— Pope Benedict XVI