Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of chords and drove them all out of the temple area. Jn 2:13b-15a Cuando se acercaba la Pascua de los judios, Jesús llegó a Jerusalén y encontró en el templo a los vendedores de bueyes, ovejas, y palomas, y a los cambistas con sus mesas. Entonces hizo un látigo de cordeles y los echó del templo. Jn 2, 13-15 I was recently talking with my kids about why we choose as a family to eat mostly health foods STEWARDSHIP REFLECTIONS and avoid more unhealthy junk foods when possible. It was a basic talk on cause and effect. When we eat junk food, we start to feel bad because our bodies need veggies and protein to grow big and strong. Something that came up was the concept of free will and human beings’ ability to choose freely for themselves which path they will take. This led the conversation to the reality that while everyone is free to choose, one cannot choose the consequences of those choices. I am free to choose to run on ice, but the nature of ice and the laws of gravity will eventually catch up to me. I am free to touch a fire, but I am not free to choose whether it burns or not. This concept seems fairly straightforward, yet in today’s culture there is a skewed sense of freedom. We forget we are a redeemed people, rescued from the grips of death by a God who has literally chased us down to bring us back to him. This skewed sense of freedom leads to so many misunderstandings about the Ten Commandments. Are they just arbitrary rules from ancient times meant to make us feel bad? Are they still applicable today? Couldn’t we bend them to speak to modern man? But in the readings today, if we read closely, we see a different message. A message of a Father who is madly in love with his children. By following God’s commands, we experience the true freedom of children being cared for by their Father. The first reading begins not with an admonition, but with a reminder of love: “I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.” Before the Commandments are given, God reminds His people that He is a God that is on their side. They were once living in oppression as slaves, but it was God who brought them freedom. It’s important to read the following verses in this context. God doesn’t set out a long list of rules to control or harm His people, rather after bringing them freedom He shows them the way to stay within the boundaries of that freedom. The Ten Commandments are a love story of a God who wants to do everything possible to bring His people back to Him. He knows the weakness of humanity, and He guides us as a loving Father to the ways that will make us more human, the ways to live a morally upright life. St. Paul describes this in the second reading when he says that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.” It doesn’t make sense to our minds to accept boundaries as the road to freedom. Modern man seeks to fill the expanses of his heart by exposing himself to as much in this world as possible without realizing the things that lead him to sin shrink and narrow the heart. But even using a car to reach a far-off destination requires boundaries like the proper fuel and taking paved roads. Our hearts are made to image God. Freedom is only free if it makes us more like Christ. In the Gospel Jesus teaches us the path to this freedom: through authentic worship at the new temple, his Body. As Fr. Jacques Philippe says in his book Fire and Light, “the Eucharist makes clear the degree of intimacy which God wants to draw us. In the Eucharist, the mad dream of all lovers is realized.” Jesus stops the money changers not because he is losing control, but because the boundaries of his love free our hearts. Authentic worship and prayer are what will free us, not using our churches as places for commerce. In this culture of faux freedoms, God is calling us back to Himself. We are free to choose to follow Him or not, but we are not free to choose the consequence of that choice. Only in choosing to follow Christ do our hearts find the answer to our deepest longings. As St. Augustine so famously said in his Confessions, “our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Angie Windnagle, LPi MARCH 7, 2021 | THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT 2 | MARCH 7, 2021 MASS INTENTIONS Requests may be made by contacting the Parish Office. SPECIAL OBSERVANCES INTENTIONS READINGS Saturday, March 6 8:00am Herminia Cu+ Mi 7:14-15, 18-20/Ps St. Colette Boylet 4:00pm John Mason+ 103:1-4, 9-12 [8a]/Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 Sunday, March 7 8:00am People of SPX Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, Third Sunday of Lent 10:00am Ben Cisneros+ 12-17/Ps 19:8-11 [Jn 12:00pm Camilo Andrade+ 6:68c]/1 Cor 1:22-25 Jn 2:13-25 or Ex 17:3-7/Ps 95:1-2, 6-9 [8]/Rom 5:1-2, 5-8/Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42 Monday, March 8 7:30am Monica Magelle+ 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab/Ps 42:2, St. John of God 3; 43:3, 4 [cf 42:3]/Lk 4:24-30 Tuesday, March 9 7:30am Edmund Simpliciano Dn 3:25, 34-43/Ps St. Frances of Rome 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9 [6a]/Mt 18:21-35 Wednesday, March 10 7:30am Soussan Ahmadi+ Dt 4:1, 5-9/Ps 147:12-13, St. John Ogilvie, Martyr 15-16, 19-20]/Mt 5:17-19 Thursday, March 11 7:30am Caroline Marie Platt+ Jer 7:23-28/Ps 95:1-2, St. Eulogius, Martyr 6-9 [8]/Lk 11:14-23 Friday, March 12 7:30am Lukas Garcia+ Hos 14:2-10/Ps 81:6c-8a, St. Maximilian, Martyr 8bc-11ab, 14 and 17 [cf. 11 and 9a]/Mk 12:28-34 Saturday, March 13 8:00am Jenny Volland Hos 6:1-6/Ps 51:3-4, St. Christina of Persia, 4:00pm Tom Snowden+ 18-19, 20-21ab [cf. Hos Martyr 6:6]/Lk 18:9-14 CLERGY MASS SCHEDULE PARISH OFFICE WEEKEND REV. JAY BANANAL 1120 CUYAMACA AVENUE Saturday 4:00pm Vigil Pastor CHULA VISTA, CA 91911 Sunday 8:00am, 10:00am [email protected] 12:00pm Spanish PH: 619-420-9193 | FX: 619-420-9353 DAILY [email protected] Monday-Friday 7:30am www.saintpiusx.org Saturday 8:00am WEEKEND HOURS PETER JOHNSON Parish Hall Welcome Center Masses will be celebrated outdoors Permanent Deacon Saturday & Sunday in the Plaza. [email protected] Now open after all Mass times Tips and Recommendations: WEEKDAY HOURS • Bring Your Own Chair (BYOC) Monday Closed • Use Sun Protection: sunscreen, Tuesday-Thursday 9:00am-12:00pm hat, and/or umbrella held low in PATRICK WRIGHT and consideration of others Permanent Deacon 1:00pm-4:00pm • Dress appropriately for colder [email protected] Friday 9:00am-12:00pm weather. ADORATION OF THE CONFESSION SCHEDULE BLESSED SACRAMENT JOSÉ MACIAS SATURDAY 3:00pm-4:00pm Permanent Deacon Plaza St. Jude Adoration Chapel [email protected] CLOSED until further notice BY APPOINTMENT Jesus is present in the tabernacle for veneration in the Plaza. MARCH 7, 2021 | 3 PARISH SCHOOL 60TH ANNIVERSARY WINE GLASSES St. Pius X Catholic School has commemorative wineglasses to celebrate its 60th Anniversary. They are available for purchase after all Masses this weekend. You can also purchase online by visiting the school website: spxcv.com. For more information, please contact the PTG Vice President: [email protected] PARISH SCHOOL TILES St. Pius X Catholic School is getting a face lift, and you can help! Your personally painted 6” x 6” tile will become part of the wall of Patriot Park, making our campus that much more attractive. Tiles are available in the ADA lot this weekend after all Masses. To purchase online, visit the school website at spxcv.com. For more information, please contact the PTG President at [email protected] PARISH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT IS OPEN FOR THE 2021-2022 SCHOOL YEAR! ANNUAL LENTEN COLLECTION This year, our school has experienced March 13-14 many challenges, but we have also Next weekend has been designated for the 2021 Annual encountered great success. Our ability to Lenten Collection. Special envelopes will be available for open in person has allowed our students to the collection, which supports the works of Catholic Relief learn here at school or at home, and our Services, the Church in Africa, and the Church in Latin community has grown. We are blessed with America. Please prepare to respond generously to this all the current families in our school! worthwhile collection. Our school is planning to be open five days a week and support full-time students whether they are here at school or at home. RETROUVAILLE ONLINE Please visit the school’s website April 8-11, Virtual Retreat www.spxcv.com for more information.