March 2021 Dispatch Brother Knights, March 2021 provides a full month of Lent. Before we know it, March will be gone and Easter will be upon us, the greatest celebration of the Church. Not only will the promise of the Resurrection be a reason for joy, but spring should most likely be underway. Sure, there’s always a chance for inclement weather even into May, but the worst of it is certain to be behind us. So, brothers, let’s keep that in mind as we move through March - although there is a decent chance of still having unfavorable weather, we are close to the end! Also near the end of March, we will celebrate the Annunciation of the LORD on March 25, which is exactly nine months before Christmas. The Annunciation is a feast day that probably does not get as much attention as it deserves. The Annunciation celebrates Mary saying yes to the will of God, at which moment Jesus Christ became incarnate in her womb through the working of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the salvation of the world! What a tremendous, astounding, and mysterious gift. The infinitely powerful and bodiless God had transcended down to creation to become one of us. Why? John tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. ∞ ∞ Not only is it amazing that God chose to become a weak human being under the humblest of conditions, but it is absolutely crazy that God loves us enough, sinful as we are, to save us in the greatest act of love ever conceived. The plan of salvation, from eternity (even before creation itself), ordained that Jesus would redeem humanity by becoming fully man, while remaining fully God, and then offer Himself up to the Father in loving sacrifice on the Cross, pouring out His blood so that ours would be spared. Jesus traded His life so that we may have ours. His blood, the lifeblood of His very human and divine Self, was poured out as the catalyst and covenant for repairing the divided relationship between God and man. An infinitely good sacrifice of love to cancel out the infinitely terrible sin that man had brought into the world and committed against our infinitely good God. The plan of salvation had to start somewhere, and it started with Mary agreeing to be the Mother of God. This is why the Annunciation is so important, and in fact, has historically been considered to be more important than Christmas in some ways. In order to make this Lent a great one, we too must start somewhere. We are asked to look inside ourselves and fast from those things in our lives that inordinately lead us away from the LORD or add things in our life that lead us closer to Him . The intention is build up the ability to say no to ourselves and yes to the things of God, just as Mary did. This is why it is so important to ask for her intercession. She is the perfect human model for how to live a holy life. This is why I am pushing the council to adopt a holy hour this Lent, every Thursday from 6 to 7 PM. Except for the Mass, there is no better way to grow closer to Jesus and be transfigured into a man of God (see Good of the Order below). Through Lent, through Mary, and through the Incarnate LORD, we will hopefully have a greater strength in resisting temptations and developing a life of holiness. Mother Mary, our Lady of the Annunciation, pray for us! Help us to offer good penance and prayer to God for all sinners, especially through the remainder of Lent, that Jesus may be born evermore in our hearts and shared. May God abundantly bless you and your families! Happy birthday to Dennis Jonas! Upcoming Events Summary – Mark Your Mobile Calendars! It’s the only way one can remember these things! Lasagna Building and Sale – the Knights are having another lasagna sale (no dinner)! The morning of Saturday, March 6, the lasagnas will be built between 8:30 to 10:00 and frozen for patrons to pick up later that evening after 5:30 PM Mass or after any Mass the following day. This is really good lasagna (St. Robert Bellarmine parishioners love it) and it’s a good time making them once the assembly lines get going. It also happens to be very effective fundraiser for the council. If you can help, please sign up using the Sign Up Genius link below. If you’re interested in supporting the council by purchasing a lasagna, you can purchase a half or full pan at the second link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0C44AFA92CAAFB6-march https://tinyurl.com/SRBKOCLasagna2021 Regional Free Throw Championship – the council Free Throw Championship, held on Tuesday, January 12, was a good success with 43 boys and girls participating. There were eight champions based on age and gender brackets that were eligible for the District competition. St. Robert Bellarmine Council 10108, under District Deputy Dennis Podjenski’s leadership, again hosted the District Free Throw Championship on Sunday, February 21. It was a really fun event and we had approximately 45 boys and girls participate, with four St. Robert’s kids advancing to the Regional Championship. The Regional Free Throw Championship will be hosted at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School on March 14 at 3:00 PM. I will be helping and supporting the St. Robert’s kids. Anyone else wanting to help and/or support can just show up as well. Monthly Calendar March Upcoming Events Birthdays Holy Days / Feast Days 1 Dennis Jonas St. David of Wales Shann McKeever, Timothy 2 St. Agnes of Bohemia Weiler 3 Ronald Thorngren St. Katharine Drexel 4 Knights Holy Hour Daniel McMahon St. Casimir St. John Joseph of the 5 Stephen Toth Cross St. Mary Ann of Jesus of 6 Lasagna Building Paredes Lasagna Sale/Donut 7 Dennis Podjenski St. Perpetua and St. Felicity Sunday 8 Gregg Vonnahme St. John of God 9 Bradley Kwiatek St. Frances of Rome Leonard Becker, Robert 10 General Council Meeting St. Dominic Savio Blake 11 Knights Holy Hour Daniel Erker St. John Ogilvie Sean Cuddigan, Jeff Holbrook, 12 Blessed Angela Salawa Matthew Lathrop, Gary Schmitz 13 St. Leander of Seville Regional Free Throw 14 St. Maximilian Championship Gregory Kunz, Curtis 15 St. Louise de Marillac Neesen, Randy Kurtenbach 16 Scott McCarthy St. Clement Mary Hofbauer John Beers, Steve Patterson, 17 St. Patrick Deacon Joe Laird 18 Knights Holy Hour St. Cyril of Jerusalem St. Joseph, Husband of 19 Mary Gregory Reynolds, Joe 20 St. Salvator of Horta Taylor 21 Blessed John of Parma 22 St. Nicholas Owen 23 St. Turibius of Mogrovejo 24 Officer Meeting St. Oscar Arnulfo Romero 25 Knights Holy Hour Annunciation of the LORD + 26 St. Catherine of Genoa Richard Mangus, David 27 St. Lazarus Sambol, Al Menghini 28 Palm Sunday St. Catharine of Bologna 29 St. Ludovico of Casoria 30 St. Peter Regalado Chris Wheeler, Michael 31 St. Stephen of Mar Saba Burke, James Egan, Jr. *Bold Underlined Numerical Dates Represent Sunday – Don’t Forget Mass and Rest! *Bold , Italicized, and Underlined Dates Represent Holy Days of Obligation +Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the LORD. May it be done to me according to your word.” -Luke 1:38, NABRE Nine Months Prior to Christmas – The Annunciation of the LORD (The Incarnation) “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus.” - Luke 1:31, NABRE Good of the Order “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” - Mark 9:7, New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) Brother Knights, Every second week of Lent, as with this last weekend, we revisit the miracle of the Transfiguration, only reading the same version every third year. The other two versions are from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, with this year being the Gospel according to Mark. It is striking how very similar all versions are with minor, yet expected, differences in descriptive terms and writing styles. This second Sunday is not the actual feast day of the Transfiguration, but it does serve a very practical purpose for the season of Lent and I would like to explore that here. I will use a phrase that I read from Bishop Robert Barron. The Transfiguration is the New Testament version of the burning bush. However, consider how much greater this event actually is over Moses experiencing and hearing God in the form of a burning bush. Peter, James, and John are in the actual presence of the Incarnate God Himself, Jesus, Who suddenly becomes engulfed in a dazzling and blinding light. This is indeed a small, yet glorious, experience of Heaven. Peter has no clue what to do or say, but he knows that it is good that they are there and he wants to stay in that moment. This is why he offers to build three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. While Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are discussing Jesus’ suffering, crucifixion, and death, it’s hard to imagine what other thoughts and sensations the three Apostles were experiencing – being they were enveloped in a taste of Heaven. A couple of the sensations they had to have felt was peace and joy, yet the moment is suddenly disrupted by the voice of God the Father saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” The three went from joy to fearful, yet the instruction and command could not be any clearer.