Lent

As Christian believers, we begin our annual observance of Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 5th. Using the Lord Jesus’ forty days in the desert as a template, the penitential season is a time to prepare for the solemn celebration of the Paschal Mystery: the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Church recommends three great spiritual practices for Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. At St. Francis Xavier Parish, we offer the following for Lenten prayer: Mass, Stations of the Cross, Recitation of the Rosary and Liturgy of the Hours - Morning Prayer. The "Feed the Hungry" Ministry and "Mother Mary's Cupboard" are ideal for almsgiving.

• Spiritual Opportunities for Lent 2025
  
  • Ash Wednesday, March 5th, marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Ashes will be distributed at St. Francis Xavier Church at the 7:30am and 6:30pm (Spanish) Mass and at Our Lady of the Lakes Church at the 12:00 noon Mass.
  • Recitation of the Rosary at Our Lady of the Lakes Church on Tuesday and Thursday following the 8:30am Mass.
  • Stations of the Cross will be observed at both Our Lady of the Lakes Church (7pm) and St. Francis Xavier Church (6:30pm) on Friday evenings. Would you like to be a reader or candle bearer at Stations of the Cross at Our Lady of the Lakes? Contact Henry Beary or Joan Desmarais.
    
  • Recitation of the Rosary in Portuguese is offered at Our Lady of the Lakes Church on Monday evenings at 5:00pm.
  • Liturgy of the Hours - Morning Prayer is available as a ZOOM event on weekday mornings, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 8:30am. Morning Prayer is a 20 minute offering of prayers and psalms - a great way to start your day. This link will take you to a detailed explanation of the Liturgy of the Hours.
    Morning Prayer - Zoom
    Meeting ID: 975 5237 7466   Passcode: 080396
    
  • Almsgiving The "Feed the Hungry" Ministry of St. Francis Xavier Church accepts donations at the Church Hall and donates to Loaves and Fishes of New Milford.
    "Mother Mary's Cupboard" accepts donations in the atrium of Our Lady of the Lakes Church and donates to the New Milford Food Bank.
  • Bible Study - Hope: An Anchor in Today’s World. Hope is one of the great theological virtues, a sign of our trust in God, the foundation for making our way through difficulties and an invitation to witness to God’s care in our lives. Sometimes our hopes are dashed. Where do we turn when we look at best-laid plans and see only shattered dreams? In this four week Bible study we will study six biblical readings that will help us to better understand the virtue of Hope in our world.
    Sessions will be on Wednesdays: March 12th, 19th, 26th, and April 2nd from 9:30-11:00 at St. Francis Xavier Church and are presented by Maura Pauli, Graduate of Archdiocese of Hartford Catholic Biblical School. Sign up sheets are in the back of both churchs. More details on the Adult Education webpage.
  • Tenebrae, 8:30am, Tenebrae is a prayer service observed during the final days of Holy Week - Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday - commemorating the sufferings and death of Christ.

• Palm Sunday Mass:
  - 5:00pm, Vigil Mass (Saturday), St. Francis Xavier
  - 8:30am, Our Lady of the Lakes
  - 10:00am, St. Francis Xavier
  - 11:30am, St. Francis Xavier (Spanish)
  
• Tenebrae, Explanatory Meeting:
  Tuesday, 6:30pm, St. Francis Xavier
  
• Holy Thursday:
  Tenebrae, 8:30am, St. Francis Xavier
  Mass, 6:30pm, St. Francis Xavier
  
• Good Friday:
  - Tenebrae, 8:30am, St. Francis Xavier
  - Ecumenical Walk on the Green, noon
  - Celebration of the Lord's Passion:
    - 3:00pm, Our Lady of the Lakes (Spanish)
  
• Holy Saturday:
  Tenebrae, 8:30am, St. Francis Xavier
  Mass, 8:00pm, St. Francis Xavier
  
• Easter Sunday Mass:
  - 8:30am, Our Lady of the Lakes
  - 10:00am, St. Francis Xavier
  - 12:00 noon, St. Francis Xavier (Spanish)