St. Rose of Lima

Guidelines:
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday - obligatory days of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics aged 18-59. 
Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence from meat (age 14+).

When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. 

If possible, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily his Resurrection. 

In the words of Pope Francis: 

• Fast from hurting words... say kind words.

• Fast from sadness... be filled with gratitude.

• Fast from anger...be filled with patience. 

• Fast from pessimism... be filled with hope.

• Fast from worries... have trust in God. 

• Fast from complaints... contemplate simplicity

• Fast from pressures... be prayerful. 

• Fast from bitterness... fill your hearts with joy. 

• Fast from selfishness... be compassionate to others. 

• Fast from grudges... be reconciled

• Fast from words... be silent so you can listen.   

Each year is a dilemma – what to ‘give up’ for Lent? Material indulgences like chocolate or adult beverages don’t seem terribly sacrificial and are especially guilt-inducing when I slide after a few weeks. And besides, it benefits no one but me. Pope Francis calls us to action in Laudato Si, to love the earth and all its creatures. I work in environmental education and pay a lot of attention to the outdoors. A growing problem that’s been in the news, and all too visible, is the growing amount of plastic trash.

Plastic, a miracle material that literally saves lives (COVID vaccines are delivered in plastic syringes), is also hurting the environment because it is cheap and disposable. Only 10% of plastics are recycled, and most types of plastic can’t be recycled due to lack of cost-effective technologies and low demand. The rest ends up in landfills, or tossed into open air. Perhaps you’ve heard about the plastic ‘garbage patch’ the size of Texas swirling in the ocean, but did you know that microplastics (tiny bits of plastic) have been found on remote mountaintops, at the ocean’s bottom, and in the microscopic creatures that form the base of the food chain? One way to approach the problem is to clean it up. Maybe you’ve spent time picking plastic bags, bottles, and straws from the road or out of neighborhood streams. I have and still do, but it always comes back. So I’m focusing on the problem’s source. 

My personal Lenten action for the past few years is to give up plastic. Our rule is, don’t bring new plastic into the house. That means buying unwrapped fruit and veggies, paper-wrapped fish and meat (no Styrofoam trays), and choosing cardboard or textile packaging whenever possible. It means refusing plastic bags (and remembering the reusable ones), choosing bar soaps, and switching brands of rice. It means taking lunch in interesting containers like beeswax wraps. And when there’s no choice (we’re very picky about laundry soap), I’ll try to pick the lower-plastic or recyclable option. It has been a challenge, with so many opportunities to remember Jesus!  Luckily, non-plastic alternatives are increasingly available as awareness of our plastic problem builds. And for some reason my guilt quotient has decreased with this action choice. Even if I ‘slide’, Earth is a little bit better.  

Martha Gach

Join us this Lent - Saturday, March 18th from 11:00 to 2:00pm, as our parish raises funds and then gathers together to pack thousands of meals to help alleviate hunger throughout the world. 

Donate and/or volunteer online by clicking the RISE AGAINST HUNGER image. 

"You pray for the hungry, now Feed them"  Pope Francis

CRS Rice bowl takes us on a journey of encounter with our brothers and sisters in need throughout the world. As we engage in their stories, we are invited to pray for those in need and to share the gifts we've been given. What you give up for Lent can change lives so please join us and make this a Life Changing Lent!. 

Rice Bowls can be found in the Gathering Space of the church. They can be returned to the church at our drop off the weekend of April 15th.

Easter Food Collection

Distributed at all Easter Masses for families to fill with Food to assist the Northborough Food Pantry. Please return the filled bags to Saint Rose of Lima parish throughout the Easter season.