Infant Jesus of Prague Byzantine Catholic Church

        LITURGICAL SCHEDULE

Sat. 24: 6:00 pm @ Infant Jesus

           First & Second Findings of

           The Head of John the Baptist

           +Anna Dean from Mary &

           Jerry Novak

Sun. 25: 9:00 am @ Infant Jesus

          2^nd Sunday of Great Lent

          +Sharon Sandoval from Jim

          & Kylie Shipsky

Mon. 26: NO LITURGY

Tues. 27: NO LITURGY

Wed. 28: 6:00 pm @ Infant Jesus

           Pre-Sanctified Liturgy

           Lenten Education Classes to

           Follow

Thurs. 29: NO LITURGY

 Fri. 1: 5:00 pm @ St. Nicholas

            Pre-Sanctified Liturgy

Sat. 2: 6:00 pm @ Infant Jesus

           3^rd All Souls Saturday

           +Marian Dzurnak from

           Robert Democko

Sun. 3: 9:00 am @ Infant Jesus

          3rd Sunday of Great Lent

          Veneration of the Cross

          Living & Deceased Members

          Of the Altar & Rosary Society

Collection Report

Week of 02/18/2024

$                 1168.00   Offertory

$                     65.00   Easter Flowers

$                     10.00   Maintenance Fund

$                     40.00   Candles

$                 1787.00   TOTAL

Attendance from last week’s Liturgies:

Saturday: 24

Sunday: 61

ON LINE: 5

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR PARISHIONERS:

Pearl Tablack, Nina Zavatsky & Joe Markovitch all at home. Dolores Schurko & Louise Macabobby at Hampton Wood and the rest of our parishioners who are in nursing homes.  May God grant to all the sick of our parish many blessed, happy and healthier years.

ATTENTION:

If any parishioner or family member is ill & would like to be on the pray list, or receive get-well wishes, please notify Fr. Michael or Paula.

ROSARY:

The Altar & Rosary Society will be praying the rosary NEXT Sunday, March 3rd at 8:30 am. Everyone is welcomed.

LENTEN EDUCATION CLASS:

This year, following all Wednesday’s Pre-Sanctified liturgies there will be again, a Lenten adult education class. All parishioners, family and friends are welcomed to learn about our Byzantine faith.

ECF CLASSES:

ECF classes for children have resumed following 9:00 am liturgy on Sunday. Classes will go until May 12^th.  

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS RAFFLE:

The Knights of Columbus are holding a raffle on May 18, 2024 with numerous monetary prizes. All proceeds benefit local charities.  Tickets are $5.00. Please see Fr. Michael for tickets.

SANCTUARY CANDLES:

The Sanctuary candles will be lit for the entire week for your intentions.

For the week of February 25-March 2, 2024, there are no requests for the sanctuary candles.

SECOND SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT

Collegeville Bible Commentary 2:1-12 “My son, you are forgiven/ healed.” Back in Capernaum, Jesus is surrounded by great numbers of people again (v. 2; see 1:33). As he preaches to the crowd, four friends of a paralyzed man lower him on his mat through the roof so that he can be close enough for Jesus to see him and cure him (vv. 3-4). (Such extraordinary means to get close to Jesus emphasized the faith of these friends as well as the overwhelming size of the crowd Jesus attracted.) Jesus responds to this act of faith, not by healing the man immediately, but by touching off the first of a series of controversial dialogues with the onlooking scribes and Pharisees. When Jesus says, “Child, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5), he is as much as saying, “It is God whom you approach.” (In the Old Testament, only God is capable of forgiving sins; and it was expected that he would do so only at the end of time.) It thus becomes clear why the scribes murmur “he is blaspheming” (v. 7) and why Jesus brings it all out in the open. His claim to be able to forgive sins better reveals his identity as Son of God than do the miracles he performs. Aware of the silent censure his forgiving word has caused in the crowd, Jesus proceeds to prove that “the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth” by commanding the man to rise and walk in the sight of everyone (vv. 8-11). In concluding this miracle, Mark asks his readers to praise God for his presence in their midst as the forgiver-healer, just as the crowd did (v. 12), even in the face of those who do not believe. It is significant that Mark has chosen to present this miracle and teaching about Jesus’ power to forgive sins so early in his Gospel drama. It shows that the need for the experience of God’s forgiveness was as important to first-century Christians as it is today. Mark’s readers praise God for saying clearly, even today, “My sons, my daughters, I absolve you from your sins.”