April 10- God’s Love
April 17- Salvation
April 24- New Life
May 1- Receiving God’s Gift
May 8- Praying for Baptism in the Holy Spirit
May 15- Growth
May 22- Transformation in Christ

It is important that you make the effort to attend all seven talks. For more information call:

Anna 954-967-9533 or Jack 954-467-8228

HOLY THURSDAY
April 5th
The Lord’s Supper
7:00 p.m.

GOOD FRIDAY
THE PASSION AND DEATH OF THE LORD
April 6th
3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

HOLY SATURDAY, EASTER VIGIL
April 7th
7:30 p.m.

EASTER SUNDAY
April 8th
8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. English
12:30 p.m. Spanish

However, not everyone is able to travel to the Holy Land. So, ever since the Middle Ages, churches and chapels began erecting images devoted to an aspect of the passion. By the 15th century, the Franciscans had developed a devotion they called “stations.” The word means a place where people stand still or gather together. So even though it implies something “stationary” the service obviously must include the movement of pilgrims following the footsteps of Christ. It took a while to fix the number and the names of the stations, but in 1731 Pope Clement XII established the 14 we know today.

We still find some variations on the number. Many places add a 15th station, for example, the resurrection of Jesus. Discontent with leaving Christ in the tomb when our faith expresses so much more, worshipers have found consolation in completing the story of the cross.

Over the years our church has authorized various versions of the stations for different occasions. For example, Pope John Paul II altered the traditional stations for his Good Friday service in Rome. He eliminated some stations which derived from tradition, and substituted them with events from the Gospels. Here are the stations he has used:
1-Jesus in the Garden of Olives.
2-Jesus betrayed by Judas.
3-Jesus condemned to death by the Sanhedrin.
4-Jesus denied by Peter.
5-Jesus judged by Pilate
6-Jesus flogged and crowned with thorns.
7-Jesus carries his cross.
8-Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene.
9-Jesus encounters women of Jerusalem.
10-Jesus is crucified.
11-Jesus promises the kingdom to the good thief.
12-Jesus on the cross.
13-The mother of Jesus and his disciple at the cross.
14-Jesus is placed in the tomb.
The stations inspire us all to follow Christ through suffering to peace. We celebrate the Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Come and remember the passion of our Lord.

We are nearing the end of our first year of FIRE IN THE LORD and so we take a look back and a look ahead to what has happened and the direction for the future. Last May we had our first meeting to form a committee of both teens and adults who were interested in developing a contemporary style mass with a focus on our young people of the parish. Each month on the second Sunday of the month we held our Fire In The Lord mass. The feedback over the year has been very favorable. Through the hard work and dedication of so many people who have been involved with this important project we have found much success. I want to give special recognition to Kevin and Judy for their tireless hours of rehearsals and help they have given to teaching new music in song to your young people who became involved as musicians and choir singers.
Although we have had much success there have also been many challenges in terms of promoting this special Liturgical celebration to our young people, encouraging them to get involved as musicians and singers. And even though we have had a small number who have remained steady some have come and gone for various reasons. Perhaps this is to be expected with such a new project. This just means that we all need to be supportive and encouraging to our youth to find excitement in making their liturgical experience their own and continuously building upon what we already have.
We have only two more Fire In The Lord masses scheduled for Easter which is a total parish experience and May 13th which is also Mother’s Day and our May Crowning Sunday. They have been practicing hard for May 13th to make it not only special for our mother’s but also for our Blessed Mother. We encourage all of you, the Family of St. Maurice to continue to encourage and up-lift our young people. They are important to the growth of our parish as we look into the future.
We are planning another “JAM FEST” for the month of July for all who have been and for persons who are interested in being a part of Fire In The Lord in the future. There is a real need to have more involvement by our youth and more encouragement and commitment is called for on the part of the parents to be sure that they are able to make it to rehearsals and do the necessary practicing at home to be ready for every monthly mass. This commitment on the part of the youth and the parents is absolutely essential if we are to continue to grow and succeed in making this mass all that it can be.
I want to say THANK YOU to all those who have been a part of Fire In The Lord this year for your dedication. I also want to encourage other teens and parents to get involved with Fire In The Lord so as we look to next year we will know there is a real desire and willingness to make the commitment to making this special youth liturgy a joyful and total success. On behalf of myself and Fr. Roger we thank all those who have been involved with Fire In The Lord this past year and look forward to your continued dedication and encouraging others to get involved as we shape the future of FIRE IN THE LORD.

Sincerely, Father Dennis

The Lord is calling for talent with a heart.
For you to serve his St. Maurice Family in our new Fire in the Lord Youth Mass.
Kids 12 and older can participate in:
Signing in the choir
Play your favorite instrument in the band
Greet your fellow parishioners
Read Gods word to the family
Serve as an acolyte

Contact Father Dennis in the church office for more information:
954-961-7777

At our liturgy committee meeting last May, the committee decided that we needed to have a “youth” mass to encourage our youth to attend Sunday Mass and to have a liturgy that was contemporary in style and tone. Father Roger asked me to take charge and to put together a committee and move ahead with this most important ministry for our young people. They are the future of the church; they are the future of our parish and the family of St. Maurice.
In July we held a “July Jam Fest” to encourage musicians and singers to come together in a sort of jam type session each Sunday. It went very well and we have been able to identify several of our young folks who are now in regular practice with Kevin preparing for our first FIRE IN THE LORD mass on Sunday, October 9 at the 10:30 mass.
We have been holding meetings all summer and have made some very significant progress in identifying great talent among our young adults and are now working hard to prepare for this October liturgy. We are still looking for more people to get involved to cover all the ministries that are needed at every liturgy: Eucharistic ministers, Lectures, ushers/greeters. What a wonderful witness value and a testament of faith to see our young people fully participating in all aspects of our Sunday Liturgy, and especially to see a young adult giving communion to their peers. WONDERFUL! We are looking for more volunteers.
As a parish we need to get behind this ministry and show our support and encouragement to our youth and young adults. Personally, I am hoping to see the church packed, like at Christmas and Easter for our first FIRE IN THE LORD mass on Sunday, October 9 at the 10:30. Let’s give it all we have and boost this much needed ministry in our parish.
Look for weekly announcements in the bulletin about what’s happening with our teen ministry and the FIRE IN THE LORD masses that are planned for the second Sunday of each month at the 10:30 mass. For more information or to volunteer please call the office and leave your information for me. Each week my homilies are posted on the parish web-site www.StMaurice.org
Blessings, peace and wellness to all,
Father Dennis

Read the Roman Missal page 1

Read Roman Missal page 2

We pray that one day the hopes and dreams of the children of Haiti will be realized. We at St. Maurice, with the help of God, are helping to alleviate the suffering. As was reported last week, the container on our property was filled two thirds of the way with supplies to be shipped to Haiti through Cross International. A heartfelt “thank you” to all who contributed their time, and treasure to accomplish this project.

There was an article in the February 5th edition of the Miami Herald entitled “For Orphans a life of neglect and pain.” Six little boys eating large bowls of oatmeal at the Good Shepherd Home were pictured. This is one of our Hunger Program’s projects in Port au Prince. Father Luc Jolicoeur, the onsite coordinator is quoted as saying, “The government must care for the children.” According to Father Luc, no one from the government has ever visited the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd Orphanage. It is a blessing that dedicated people like Father Luc are willing to assume the responsibility of the care of these orphaned and abandoned children.

We have been attempting to discover the status of our seven projects in Haiti. Marlene Mathurin, the project leader for the At Risk Children’s Foundation traveled to Haiti on the day of the earthquake. This project has two locations, one orphanage is in Cape Rouge and the other in Cayes, they are both in southern Haiti. Marlene is safe, but has the sad news to report that three are dead, and others missing. Bishop Joseph Lafontant, of our Morning Bread project, has assumed a leadership role in Haiti after the death of the archbishop and vicar general. He is quoted as saying, “As for material things, we can rebuild, but in lives- the archdiocese has suffered.” Father Glenn Meaux, coordinator of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Project in Kobonal reports that all are safe, and that only tremors were felt in their area. He is preparing for an influx of refugees from Port au Prince. I contacted Sister Pat Downs, coordinator of the Ferrier Elderly Nutrition Program, and she was happy to report that all are well. Four Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament were in Port au Prince at the medical school when the quake hit, but they all survived. The school feeding program at St. Joseph’s School in Limbe is preparing to resume, even though there is no electricity. At this point in time, we have not been able to determine the status of the Notre Dame Parish Feeding Program in Port au Prince.

We keep these suffering people in our thoughts and prayers. This is their Good Friday, may they experience the joy of Resurrection.

The Board of Directors of the Hunger Program

Haiti is in crisis. It is hard to imagine saying that its crisis has deepened, but it has! The number of dead as a result of the earthquake has risen to over 230,000 and people, especially children, are dying of diarrhea. The crisis seems to be growing ever deeper.

During this time of special need, the St. Maurice family has reacted with its usual speed and generosity. St. Maurice filled a 40’ container with many necessities. Family and friends donated items such as water, medicine, food, blankets , quilts, towels, juice, bleach, charcoal, wheel chairs, crutches, and many other products. They were shipped to Haiti for distribution. St. Maurice raised $3300.00 towards the shipping costs.

At the best of times, Haiti is a nation in crisis. St. Maurice has been involved in dealing with human need for food and drink in Haiti through our Hunger Program for many years.

St. Maurice supports 7 projects in Haiti. Most projects involve feeding people, especially the young and the elderly. The Hunger Program contributes money that supports the project. The Hunger Program assigns a project leader for each project.

Here is the list of the names of the projects, the location of each, the name of the group providing the service and the St. Maurice Hunger Program project leaders for each. There is a brief description of the project.

Project Leader: Marlene Mathurin

This orphanage cares for about 45 children. It gets funds to assist in buying food.

Port au Prince                                                            Service Provider: Little Brothers

Project Leader:    Shel McCartney

The project provides shelter to approximately 160 boys who would otherwise be on the streets. It also provides 500 others with a meal each day.

Limbe                                                                            ServiceProvider:  St. Joseph  School

Project Leader: Ramona Rung

This school has 891 students. The Hunger Program funds a portion of the lunches.

Port au Prince                                                            Service Provider: Pain du Matin

Project Leaders: Marilyn Hogarth                                                                                                                              Therese Katende

This project provides poor families with a daily voucher for a bag of bread.

Port au Prince                                                             Service Provider: Terre Rouge Lunch

Program

Project Leader: Ellen Volpicella

This project provides a hot lunch for 500 children

Kobanal                                                                        Service Provider: OLHT Mission

Project Leader: Barbara Faticone

This project provides 110 families with 3 meals a day.

Ferrier                                                                           Service Provider: St. Vincent de Paul

Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

Project Leader: Mary Becconssal

This project provides a hot lunch to each senior who comes to the center.

At this time we are not sure about what is happening with some of the projects that the Hunger Program supports.

May the Lord have mercy on this long suffering faith filled people!