St. Catherine's home

Lighthouses serve as beacons for many travelers. The lighthouse keeper’s responsibility is to maintain the brightness of the light. Ancient lighthouses required constant kindling of a large fire. Eventually, lighthouses used combustible materials such as kerosene to create the brilliance of the illumination. Lenses were added to increase the intensity of the beam. The lighthouse keeper not only had to maintain the flame, but also had to clean the kerosene residue from the myriad of lenses in order for the light to shine forth in the night.

At the beginning of the Easter Vigil, a fire is kindled to light the Paschal Candle. While in procession, the words “the light of Christ” are sung to serve as a reminder of Christ’s presence among us. Additionally, the words “the light of Christ” reaffirm that Christ’s light shines through us.

During Lent, the forty days before Easter, we are called to cleanse or change that which tarnishes the Illumination within each of us through intentional prayer, study and action. In a sense, we are Christ’s lighthouse keepers. May these forty days prepare us to kindle the fire of Christ so that on Easter we may shine brilliantly as beacons to an often darkened world.

A sacred Lent and a most glorious Easter to you from the people of St. Catherine’s!

Sun.	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.
			Feb. 6 Day 1 Ash Wednesday	Feb. 7 Day 2	Feb. 8 Day 3	Feb. 9 Day 4
Feb. 10 First Sunday	Feb. 11 Day 5	Feb. 12 Day 6	Feb. 13 Day 7	Feb. 14 Day 8	Feb. 15 Day 9	Feb. 16 Day 10
Feb. 17 Second Sunday	Feb. 18 Day 11	Feb. 19 Day 12	Feb. 20 Day 13	Feb. 21 Day 14	Feb. 22 Day 15	Feb. 23 Day 16
Feb. 24 Third Sunday	Feb. 25 Day 17	Feb. 26 Day 18	Feb. 27 Day 19	Feb. 28 Day 20	Feb. 29 Day 21	Mar. 1 Day 22
Mar. 2 Fourth Sunday	Mar. 3 Day 23	Mar. 4 Day 24	Mar. 5 Day 25	Mar. 6 Day 26	Mar. 7 Day 27	Mar. 8 Day 28
Mar. 9 Fifth Sunday	Mar. 10 Day 29	Mar. 11 Day 30	Mar. 12 Day 31	Mar. 13 Day 32	Mar. 14 Day 33	Mar. 15 Day 34
Mar. 16 Palm Sunday (Sunday of the Passion)	Mar. 17 Day 35	Mar. 18 Day 36	Mar. 19 Day 37	Mar. 20 Day 38 Maundy Thursday	Mar. 21 Day 39 Good Friday	Mar. 22 Day 40 Holy Saturday

Easter Day - March 23, 2008
Christ is Risen. Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thank you to all who contributed to this collection, especially:

Ellen Adams, Susan Bayless, Kelly Beard, Bill Bowden, Martha Bowden, Sallie Bowes, John Brooks, Jennifer Buckalew, Richard Carter, Carol Eskew, Ash Gale, Jenny Gale, Barbara Garner, Ron Greger, Susan Greger, Bill Holman, Kathy Holman, Tom Hunter, Deborah Hurd, Bill Ivey, Elizabeth Ivey, Doug Jenkins, Al Jones, Ellis Kilgore, Karen Kraeger, Bill Lee, Karen Manno, Marcia Markette, Gail McGill, Katja Michael, Carroll Mitchell, Jim Nixon, Joan Nixon, Sharon Parisi, Jan Potter, Sally Powers, Liz Rea, Robbie Roy, Hale Sanders, Juan Sandoval, Margaret Shaw, Amelia Snider

• Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Saturday. During Lent, the “alleluias” are omitted and the altar is not decorated with flowers in order to emphasize the penitential tone of the season. The liturgical color is purple.

• Lent lasts forty days before Easter. The forty days correlate to Christ's forty days of fasting in the desert. The number forty also has other biblical significance. Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai with God. It rained for forty days and forty nights while Noah was on the ark. The Hebrew people wandered forty years in the desert while traveling to the Promised land. The prophet Jonah gave the city of Nineveh forty days in which to repent.

• In the early church, Lent served as a time for candidates to prepare through fasting, instruction and prayer for their Baptism on Easter morning. Once Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, all Christians were required to observe Lent.

• The six Sundays in Lent are considered days of resurrection and are not counted as part of the Forty Days.

• The sixth Sunday in Lent is called Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday, and is the start of Holy Week. The liturgy begins with the blessing of the palms and the Gospel describes Christ's suffering and death. The liturgical color of red is used to symbolize Christ's suffering.

• Wednesday in Holy Week is sometimes called “Spy Wednesday” for the day when Judas betrayed Jesus to the authorities.

• Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday because Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us. Also, this day commemorates the institution of the Eucharist. The custom of foot washing is observed to remember Jesus' act of humility and love in washing the disciples' feet. The service closes with the stripping of the altar commemorating Jesus' suffering before his death.

• Good Friday remembers Jesus' crucifixion and burial. The Liturgy of the Stations of the Cross is observed to commemorate Jesus' journey of condemnation, suffering, crucifixion, and burial.

• The Easter Vigil begins at sundown on Holy Saturday with the lighting of the Paschal Candle and commemorates God's saving actions through history. The service continues with Baptism and Eucharist.

• The liturgical color of Easter is white symbolizing joy and celebration of Christ's resurrection.