Once again, the Ladies of St. Ann's and the Knights of Columbus are offering two $500 book scholarships to parishioners who are graduating from high school and planning to attend college. Applications for this scholarship are available on the table in the narthex, the parish office, or you may download the form by clicking on "Book Scholarship" above. The deadline for submitting this scholarship is this Tuesday (April 23).
Students in grades 5-12 will gather for Mass this Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., followed by a delicious Easter meal, provided by members of the St. Therese Circle. After we eat, we will continue our celebration with an Easter party! See you there!
There will be no youth ministry this week. Please make plans to join us for the Triduum liturgies during this Holy Week. Next Wednesday, we will celebrate Easter together with a special Mass, meal, and activity.
This Wednesday, April 17, will be the last opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance at St. Ann's before Easter. Fr. Busch will be available in the Reconciliation Room from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
We will celebrate the three most sacred days of the liturgical year this week with the Mass of the Lord's Supper (with the washing of feet) at 7 p.m. on Holy Thursday, followed by a Night Watch before the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel until 10 p.m.; Stations of the Cross at 3 p.m. on Good Friday and the Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Passion (with veneration of the cross) at 7 p.m. on Good Friday; and the Great Vigil of Easter (with the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist at 8:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday. Our celebrations of the Eucharist on Easter Sunday will be at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Good Friday is a day of fasting (one full meal, two smaller meals that combined to not equal the full meal, no eating between meals) for Catholics ages 18-59 and a day of abstinence from meat for all Catholics ages 14 and older.
Students who are preparing to receive First Communion in May will have an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance for the first time on Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m. in the church. A student who is unable to be present for this celebration may celebrate the Sacrament of Penance at another time prior to First Communion Sunday (May 5). Please check the weekly schedule in the bulletin for those days and times.
Come discuss this month's adult study book ("Embracing Grace: Discovering the Gospel that Restores Us to God, Creation, and Ourselves" by Scot McKnight) on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. or Friday, April 12, at 1 p.m.
Holy Week is now just one week away! If you are a liturgical minister (lector, Communion minister, altar server, or usher) and have not yet indicated your availability to serve at one or more of our Holy Week liturgies, please do so by singing one of the sheets on the glass table in the narthex after Mass this weekend.
Our parish's Lenten Fish Fry & Shrimp Boil is on Friday, April 12, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us and invite your friends and neighbors to come along!
Due to the success of our chili cook-off, we will be hosting a "Slider Cook-off" in the parish hall on Saturday, after the 6 p.m. Mass. Competitors will be asked to create small sandwiches ("sliders"), with your choice of bread and ingredients. Be as creative as possible! The grand prize (a $500 United gift card) and second and third place (a $250 and $100 United gift card) will be awarded at the end of the night, along with prizes for the most creative slider and the best presentation. All parishioners are welcome to compete in this cook-off or simply to come and enjoy tasting the sliders. Registration forms with contest rules and instructions are available in the parish office. You may also download the registration form by clicking on "St. Ann's Slider Cook-off" at the top of this article.
This Friday (April 5), parishioners ages 60+ are invited to join us in the parish hall for a meatless potluck luncheon (since it's a Friday during Lent) and an afternoon of bingo. The meal with being at 1 p.m. Please bring a meatless dish to share with others.
Tomorrow (Monday, March 25), we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, when the angel Gabriel visited Mary and told her that God wanted her to be the mother of God's son. When she uttered her fiat ("be it done") or her "yes" to God's will, the Word of God began to take flesh in her womb, making it the first moment of the Incarnation (which we fittingly celebrate nine months prior to Christmas). We will celebrate the Eucharist on this special feast day at 12:15 p.m. and Adoration will begin at 1 p.m.
Our parish's Confirmation students will be serving lunch this Saturday (March 30) at Faith City Mission in Amarillo. Please meet at the parish hall at 9:30 a.m. for a group session prior to our departure for the service project. We will return to St. Ann's around 2:30 p.m.
Students in grades 5-12 will gather for Mass this Wednesday evening at 6 p.m., followed by a delicious pasta penne bake prepared by our youth director Adrian. After we eat, intermediate/junior high students will discuss different Lenten traditions while high school students will break into their men's and women's discussion groups! See you there!
Our parish Lenten mission, featuring Br. Casey Cole, OFM, as our preacher, begins this Wednesday evening (March 20) at 7 p.m. in the church. The three-night mission continues on Thursday and Friday evenings at the same time. Please join us as Br. Casey helps us to reflect on the mystery of salvation from a Franciscan perspective. See you there! There also will be an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance on Friday from 6-6:45 p.m. (For more information about Brother Casey Cole, and links to his website and social media platforms, please click on this article's title above.)
All committee chairs are asked to attend a "wrap up" meeting this Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. in meeting room C. We will review what worked and what didn't at this year's dinner and make notes for next year.
Join us this Wednesday for a Mexican casserole meal prepared by members of St. Jude Circle and the Circle of the Holy Spirit. We will be sharing this meal with students from the Catholic Student Center. After we eat, we will attend the first night of our parish Lenten mission at 7 p.m. in the church. You won't want to miss hearing Br. Casey Cole, OFM, and his talks on what God has been doing throughout history to lead us into a life of divine love and communion.
The St. Ann's parish council will meet this Thursday, March 28 at 7 p.m. in meeting room C. If you are unable to attend, please call the parish office ASAP. Thanks!
Congratulations to Ethan Douglas (catechumen), Brooklyn Cornelsen (candidate for reception in to full communion with the Catholic Church), and Haley Hunt and Renee Salazar (baptized Catholics who are preparing to celebrate the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist) as they celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion with Bishop Zurek at St. Mary's Cathedral this afternoon. We look forward to celebrating the sacraments of initiation with them at this year's Easter Vigil!