Sunday, February 28, 2016 - Third Sunday in Lent

Worship: 8 & 10:45 am

Readings: Is. 55:1-9; Ps. 63:1-8; 1 Cor. 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9

Gospel Acclamation: Jesus began to proclaim, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matthew 4:17)

"…the liturgy of Ash Wednesday is not focused on the sinfulness of the penitent but on the mercy of God… Nowhere will we find more tender expressions of the divine mercy than on this day. [God's] mercy is kind. The blessings of the ashes know God only as the 'God who desires not the death of the sinner.'…The God of Ash Wednesday is like a calm sea of mercy. In this God there is no anger."

            Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Seasons of Celebration