THE OLD CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF LOUIS, KING OF FRANCE

FIRST CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

Founded in 1770 present Church dedicated in 1834 Third Sunday of lent March 7, 2021

Archbishop of St. Louis Sunday Masses Confessions 5:30 PM (Sunday Vigil) Daily, 11:30 AM—12:00 PM The Most Reverend 8:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM, Saturdays, 4:30 PM—5:15 PM Mitchell T. Rozanski and 5:00 PM Marriage Rector Daily Masses Please arrange at least six months in Father Nicholas Smith Monday through Friday advance of the desired date. Director, Office of Sacred Worship 7:00 AM and 12:10 PM To reserve a date, or for more Faculty, Kenrick-Glennon Seminary SATURDAY– 7:00 AM information, please contact Tracy Marklein at 314.231.3250. Live Stream Mass

In Residence 7:00 AM Weekdays Father Charles Samson Devotions Assistant Professor, Kenrick-Glennon 10:30 AM Sunday Perpetual Help Devotions: Seminary Access the live streams at: Tuesdays, 12:00 PM oldcathedralstl.org Readings for the week of March 7, 2021 MASS INTENTIONS Sunday: Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 Sunday, March 7 [Jn :68c]/1 Cor 1:22-25/Jn 2:13-25 or Ex 17:3-7/Ps 95:1-2, 8:00 AM Parish Family 6-7, 8-9 [8]/Rom 5:1-2, 5-8/Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 10:30 AM 39a, 40-42 Thomas Maher Monday: 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab/Ps 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4 [cf 42:3]/Lk 4:24-30 (Live Streamed) Tuesday: Dn 3:25, 34-43/Ps 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9 [6a]/Mt 18:21- 12:00 PM Donald Andrtejewski 35 5:00 PM Perry & Susan Hernandez Wednesday: Dt 4:1, 5-9/Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20]/Mt 5:17-19 Thursday: Jer 7:23-28/Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 [8]/Lk 11:14-23 Monday, March 8 Friday: Hos 14:2-10/Ps 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17 [cf. 11 and 7:00 AM Ramen & Susan Hernandez 9a]/ Mk 12:28-34 12:10 PM Marie Hong Tran Saturday: Hos 6:1-6/Ps 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab [cf. Hos 6:6]/Lk 18:9-14 Next Sunday: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23/Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 [6ab]/Eph 2:4-10/Jn Tuesday, March 9 3:14-21 or 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a/Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4m 5, 6 [1]/ 7:00 AM Maria Detrick Eph 5:8-14/Jn 9:1-41 or 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38 12:10 PM Celebrant’s Intentions Observances for the week of March 7, 2021 Wednesday, March 10 7:00 AM Mike Neubauer & Family Sunday: 3rd Sunday of Lent 12:10 PM Pol Hernandez Monday: St. John of God, Religious Tuesday: St. Frances of , Religious Thursday, March 11 Wednesday: Lenten Weekday 7:00 AM Rebecca Hernandez Thursday: Lenten Weekday 12:10 PM Niki Bordokas Friday: Lenten Weekday Saturday: Lenten Weekday Friday, March 12 Next Sunday: 4th Sunday of Lent; Daylight Saving Time begins 7:00 AM Reinelda Kniepmann 12:10 AM Tim & Helen Mooney Weekly Giving Saturday, March 13 7:00 AM Robert Geisz The Old Cathedral has long been 5:30 PM Theon Robert recognized as one of the most historic and beautiful churches of its time.

Sunday, March 14 Our parish is proud of its more than 240 year history as a self-supporting 8:00 AM Ellen Capuano Roman Catholic Parish. 10:30 AM Parish Family Your presence, prayer, and generous kindness continue to make it so. Parish Family (Live Streamed) Your weekly envelope donations can still be made by mail or in 12:00 PM Mark Mannion person by check at the Old Cathedral rectory or you can set up 5:00 PM Celebrant ’s Intentions online donations at: www.oldcathedralstl.org/give THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

The Old Cathedral

209 Walnut Street St. Louis, Missouri 63102 Sunday, 02/28/21 Phone: 314.231.3250 Email: Online Donations $810.00 [email protected] Sunday Collection $3518.00

Website: Total $4328.00 www.oldcathedralstl.org

From Our Rector

Dear Old Cathedral Parishioners and Visitors:

Each of us longs to know and love God better. Each of us needs the grace of God in our lives. Today’s readings subtly teach us something important about receiving grace and instruction from God. First, he must cleanse us. First, he must make room in our hearts so that he can fill us with his grace.

We notice in today’s first reading that, before God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, writing his law on their hearts, he had to get them out of Egypt. He had to free them so that they could be free to love and serve him. In to- day’s Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple, making a whip out of cords and overturning tables! But then, he teaches. He prophesies his glorious resurrection.

Lent is a time for examining what obstacles to grace and instruction from God may be in our lives. Remember that God respects our free will, and so he doesn’t “force” his grace upon us; we have to cooperate. And so we, in humility, ask ourselves: What do we need to “cleanse” in order to “make room” for God’s abundant grace? What false idols might we rank higher than God, even unconsciously? We know that the temple of [Jesus’] body was destroyed and raised. Therefore, we can trust that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead can also cleanse and breathe new life into our hearts.

To the world, it may seem foolish to place God and his commandments first in our lives, above money, power, and pleasure. But Saint Paul reminds us that to unbelievers, the simple fact that we glorify Christ crucified – Jesus killed as a criminal – is foolish, at best. God, in his infinite wisdom, desired this to be the way humankind was saved, and so we proclaim with joy: Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.

As we approach the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, let our simple prayer be: Jesus, I want to cleanse my heart to make more room for you.

Blessings upon your week and Lenten journey.

-Father Smith

Saint John of God, religious founder (March 8): Saint John of God, O.H., (Spanish: Juan de Dios and Portuguese: Joao de Deus) was born on March 8, 1495, and died on March 8, 1550. He was a Portuguese-born soldier turned health-care worker in Spain, whose followers later formed the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, a world-wide Catholic religious institute dedicated to the care of the poor sick and those suffering from mental disorders. He was born Joao Duarte Cidade in Montemor-o-Novo, now in the District of Evora, Portugal, the son of Andre Cidade and Teresa Duarte. Cidade (Saint John) experienced a major religious conversion on Saint Sebastian’s Day (January 20) of 1537, while listening to a sermon by John of Avila, a leading preacher of the day who was later to become his spiritual director and would encourage him in his quest to improve the life of the poor. At the age of 42 he had what was perceived at the time as an acute mental breakdown. Moved by the sermon, he soon engaged in a public beating of himself, begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past life. He was incarcerated in the area of Royal Hospital reserved for the mentally ill. Cidade was visited by John of Avila, who advised him to be more actively involved in tending to the needs of others rather than in enduring personal hardship. John gained peace of heart, and shortly after left the hospital to begin work among the poor.

Saint Frances of Rome, married woman and religious foundress (March 9): Saint Frances of Rome, Obl.S.B. (Italian: Santa Francesca Romana) lived from 1384 to March 9, 1440. She was a wife, mother, mystic, organizer of charitable services, and a Benedictine who founded a religious community of , who share a common life without . Frances was born in 1384 in Rome to a wealthy and aristocratic couple. When she was eleven years old, she wanted to be a , but, at about the age of twelve, her parents forced her to marry Lorenzo Ponziani, commander of the papal troops in Rome and member of an extremely wealthy family. With her sister-in-law Vannozza, Frances visited the poor and took care of the sick, inspiring other wealthy women of the city to do the same. During a time of flood and famine, she turned part of the family’s country estate into a hospital, and distributed food and clothing to the poor. According to one account, he father-in-law was so angry that he took away from her the keys to the supply rooms; but gave them back when he saw that the corn bin and wine barrel were replenished after Frances finished praying. On August 15, 1425, she founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary, a of pious women, under the authority of the Olivetan of the Abbey of Santa Maria Nova in Rome, but neither clostered nor bound by formal vows, so they could follow her pattern of combining a life of prayer with answering the needs of their society. In March 1433, she founded a at Tor de Specchi, near the Campidoglio, in order to allow for a common life by those members of the confraternity who felt so called. This monastery remains the only house of the Institute. On July 4 of that same year, they received the approval of Pope Eugene IV as a of oblates with private religious vows. The community later became known as the Oblates of Saint Frances of Rome.

All you Holy Men and Women, of God, pray for us.

Easter Memorial Flowers

The beautiful Easter plants and flowers that adorn our Cathedral are a special part of the celebration of Easter at the Old Cathedral. We invite visitors and parishioners to share in the experience through a memorial or thanksgiving gift by filling out the form below. Donations toward the cost of Easter flowers in the Basilica may be made in memory or honor of family members and friends. This is a wonderful way to remember loved ones, honor friends, and offer thanksgiving to God for prayers answered and blessings received. The suggested donation is $10.00 per remembrance. The names of all those being remembered will be printed in the parish bulletin on Easter Sunday and the week following Easter. Please indicate in whose memory, or honor, you wish the flowers to be dedicated. Completed forms and payment may be placed in an envelope and dropped into the weekend offertory baskets, OR mailed to: Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, c/o Memorial Flowers, 209 Walnut, Saint Louis, MO 63102.

Wording as you wish it to appear in the bulletin:

Given by: ______

Your Email Address ______Phone (_____)______

Please check one: ____ In memory of OR ____ In honor of (those still living):

Name of person/family being honored: ______

Please check one: ____ In memory of OR ____ In honor of (those still living):

Name of person/family being honored: ______

Please check one: ____ In memory of OR ____ In honor of (those still living):

Name of person/family being honored: ______

Please check one: ____ In memory of OR ____ In honor of (those still living):

Name of person/family being honored: ______

Please check one: ____ In memory of OR ____ In honor of (those still living):

Name of person/family being honored: ______

Total number of remembrances ______X $10 each = Total Payment of $ ______Please make checks payable to the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France

Order deadline: Wednesday, March 24, 2021

ARCHBISHOP’S COLUMN

Though present everywhere, God is found Archbishop in special ways in certain places Mitchell T. Rozanski Showing, instead of stating, that faith is important can help heal our culture, which appears to be complacent

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Does place matter in our relationship with God?

In many ways it doesn’t, because God is everywhere. That’s why the first thing the Catechism of the says about the matter, quoting from John 4, is: “The worship ‘in Spirit and truth’ of the new covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place” (CCC 1179).

But let’s reflect together, for a few minutes, on the ways place does matter, and why that might be important for us.

In this week’s readings, we hear about the healing of Naaman, an army commander from Syria who was afflicted with leprosy. He came to Israel, to the prophet Elisha, to be healed. Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River.

At this point, Naaman objected. You could summarize his objection this way: “You have got to be kidding me! The rivers in Syria are every bit as good as this muddy Jordan. You can’t tell me there’s something special here that I couldn’t find there.”

The response to Naaman’s objection could be put this way: well, make an experiment for yourself and find out.

Naaman’s servants prevailed on him to try. And he did. And he came out of the water healed. He made an experiment, and the evidence was clear. There is something special about this place, something that can’t be found elsewhere. Naaman learned for himself what Israel already knew: this is the Promised Land, and place makes a difference. At the end of the episode Naaman took home two mule loads of soil — a recognition that God is present here, in this land, in a way that He isn’t present anywhere else.

It’s not so foreign to our experience, actually. People visit the Holy Land or Assisi and say: “There’s something about this place.” People visit Auschwitz and say the same. Closer to home, we might visit Gettysburg, or the hotel in Memphis where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, or the of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne in St. Charles, or simply go back to the house where we grew up — and our own experience tells us that, in some ways, place matters.

Why might that be important to us?

For one thing, because our culture is engaged in a massive experiment. An increasing number of people claim no religious affiliation. The percentages are dramatic when it comes to young adults. What they’re saying is: faith doesn’t matter.

We know, from history, how this experiment turns out. Every time Israel becomes complacent in the Old Testament, it leads to collapse, and the collapse needs to be healed. The same is true in the history of individuals, marriages, parishes and nations. Complacency leads to collapse; collapse needs to be healed. Increasingly, that’s the path our culture is taking.

We can respond by insisting that faith is important. A better response is showing that faith is important. And part of showing that faith is important is giving witness to how place matters. It matters whether we show up for Mass. It matters whether we go to confession. It makes a difference when we spend time in adoration. Sure, God is everywhere. But, like Naaman, we’ve made the experiment, and discovered that He’s present in the Mass, and in confession, and in the adoration chapel, in a way that He isn’t present elsewhere. We can bear witness to that and invite others to find out for themselves.

Does place matter? Yes and no. We can encounter God anytime, anywhere. But the Bible tells us that place matters. And our own experience tells us that place matters. Let’s not be too quick to say that place doesn’t matter when it comes to the life of faith.

Saint Michael Prayer

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. FUNERAL HOME 2906 GRAVOIS 772-3000 10151 GRAVOIS 842-4458 5255 LEMAY FERRY 894-4500

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