COLLECTION OF CRS RICE BOWLS
Our Lenten journey with CRS Rice Bowl comes to an end on Palm Sunday. Next weekend at all Palm Sunday Masses, members and friends of the Social Action Committee will collect your Rice Bowls at the church entrance. 75% of your donation will go to Catholic Relief Services’ programs serving the poorest of the poor overseas, 25% will go toward NY archdiocesan projects that minister to the poor and vulnerable in our own community.

If you made an on-line donation, please let us know so we can include it in our parish totals. Also, let us know how Rice Bowl enhanced your Lenten journey. Write down your thoughts and include it in your Rice Bowl.

What you give up for Lent changes lives:
“Lent is a time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty.”
— Pope Francis

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COLLECTION

Thank you so very much for your generous response to the needs of the parish. Our collection last Sunday was $9,225. $3,389 was received in ParishPay for a total of $12,614. $2,768 was collected for our second collection to support Catholic Relief Services.

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Easter FLOWERS OFFERING
Should you wish to make an offering for the Easter flowers in memory of a loved one, please place your offering in an envelope and on paper within, print clearly the name or names of those in whose memory the offering is made. The names will be listed in all the Easter Mass Programs
as well as the Church bulletin. Prayers will be prayed for them throughout the Easter Season.

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School of the Blessed Sacrament is accepting applications for grades
1 - 8, with financial aide opportunities for qualified families! School of the Blessed Sacrament is a pre-k through eighth grade Catholic elementary school in the heart of the upper west side. Our well-rounded curriculum incorporates love of God, self, and others. We integrate technology, the arts, music, and physical education to provide a liberal arts education for the whole child. We seek to develop saints and scholars through innovative, personal learning experiences. Contact us today at 212-724-7561 or www.sblsnyc.org.

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34^th ANNUAL PAX CHRISTI NY WAY OF THE CROSS
Join several hundred people in one of the largest public Christian peace witnesses in New York City. For over thirty years Pax Christi Metro New York has walked The Good Friday Way of the Cross as a modern-day enactment of the Stations of the Cross, praying for peace and justice on the streets of our city. Pope Francis has declared 2016 as the year of Mercy, join with us as we reflect on Living Lives of Mercy with Care and Compassion.

The Walk will take place from 8:30am to 12:00 noon on Good Friday, March 25th.
We begin at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th and First Avenue) and proceed along 42nd street between Eight and Ninth Avenues.

PLEASE WEAR OR CARRY A CROSS.

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BOOK CLUB
Our next book club will be held Thursday, March 31, 6:30 to 8:00. We'll be reading "Death Comes for the Archbishop" by Willa Cather. A novel about the Church in the early Southwest, it's also a work showing that faith is much more than simply a set of rules and regulations, doctrine or dogma, but a commitment to social justice and compassion as well.

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LENTEN SIMPLE SUPPERS
Please join us during any or all of the Wednesdays of Lent: 3/16 for our Lenten Simple Suppers. Prayers and meditation begin at 7PM in the rectory, followed by a meal of soup and salad…and fellowship. The suppers are a wonderful way to not only deepen one’s Lenten experience, but also to be able to reflect in a very comfortable and quiet setting with fellow parishioners. For more information, please call John Gasdaska at 646-345-7350. We look forward to seeing you then.

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SMACK
Do you need help running errands? Is it difficult for you to grocery shop? Or get to an appointment? Do you know someone who could use just a little help or a small act of kindness (SMACK)? Contact the rectory for assistance and we'll connect you to one of our parishioner-volunteers. This program is not appropriate for people that need medical assistance or skilled nursing care. (Note: We are no longer accepting volunteers at this time, only people in need of assistance.)

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Blessed Sacrament CSA (farm share) with Harmony Farm :
Starting in April, our parish will begin a truly unique program to live out Pope Francis' call in Laudato Si. This is the last weekend for Parishioners of Blessed Sacrament to purchase organic vegetables grown by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt on their farm in Goshen NY.

20 - 25 families can purchase a "share" in the farm and receive food each week from April - November 2016. You can pick up the food in front of the Church on weekends. Vegetables will also be delivered to our Soup Kitchen and given to folks in need. If you don't cook, please do consider donating to the program anyway. Your contribution directly helps parishioners that would like to receive vegetables each week but can't afford it.

Social Action Committee members are in the back of the Church after all masses to answer your questions.

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Be the Change: Climate Commitments for Lent
Lent is an opportune time to evaluate our lifestyles and make conscious decisions that contribute to a happy, healthy planet. Together, we can follow Pope Francis’ lead to choose what is good by adapting our behavior and being better stewards of the earth and her resources. Each week through Easter, we will be providing advice and tips on how to decrease your carbon footprint this Lent. You can begin to incorporate these actions and changes in your daily life, creating a sustainable and more earth-friendly lifestyle.

Sixth Week: March 13
Did you have luck replacing plastic shopping bags with reusable ones? Great! Now pay close attention to your beverages. Last year, Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles, and only a small percentage was recycled. Do what you can to avoid plastic bottles by purchasing a reusable water bottle.

To be involved in the parish’s Care for Creation efforts, contact Luke Mayville at 208-610-1783.

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Couples celebrating their 50 ^th Wedding Anniversary anytime during 2016 are invited to attend the Annual Golden Wedding Jubilee Mass with Cardinal Dolan at the Cathedral of St. Patrick, Saturday, June 25 ^th at 1:30pm or Sunday, June 26 ^th at 2:00pm. Pre-registration is required. Please contact your parish for registration. The closing date to register for the Mass is Tuesday, May 24 ^th, 2016. This event is sponsored by the Family Life – Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of New York. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Family Life – Respect Life Office at 646-794-3188

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Lector and Eucharistic Minister Training
Thursday, March 31, 6:30PM- 8PM - In the Church

We are in need of more lectors to minister the Word and Eucharistic ministers, especially for the 5:30pm Saturday & 12:30pm Sunday masses. If you have a love for Scripture and would like to serve as a lector or would like to administer Communion to your fellow parishioners as a Eucharistic minister, please come to the training session. All training will be held in the Church.
No need to RSVP.


Email Kimberley LaMarque Orman ( [email protected])
or Brian Fallon ( [email protected]) with any questions.

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NYC Catholic Families Meetup Group
Parents are invited to join our NYC Catholic Families Meetup Group. We are +130 families striving to raise our children in the love and knowledge of Christ. In addition to seasonal events, we host "night out" events for mothers and fathers here at the rectory.
For more info: www.meetup.com/NYC-Catholic-Families/

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ABC’s of Catholic Relief Services
CRS/Mali: American Catholics serve one million people in Mali via CRS. It is one of the 25 poorest countries in the world. Work focuses on training in better sanitation, agricultural, and nutrition practices. 75% of all deaths are reportedly related to communicable diseases, maternal child health complications and poor nutrition. Last week - CRS/Liberia. Next week - CRS/Nepal. For more info visit: www.crs.org

Margaret F. Grace Lecture
“Where Do I Find Hope?”
Dorothy Day and the Solution of Love:
A Conversation with Robert Ellsberg, John L. Allen Jr., and Sr. Simone Campbell

April 12, 2016
7pm – Smith Hall
College of Mount Saint Vincent
6301 Riverdale Avenue, Riverdale, New York 10471

For more information and to register, visit: www.mounsaintvincent.edu/grace

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Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard
Who: National Religious Campaign Against Torture and panelists - Scott Paltrowitz, Associate Director, Prison Visiting Project at Correctional Association of NY; Mary Buser, Author of “Lockdown on Rikers”; Terrence Slater, CEO, Incarcerated Nation; Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture; Ede Fox as Master of Ceremonies, Social Justice Committee Member, Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph

What: Panel Discussion, followed by a public Q & A session

Where: Holy Family St. Thomas Aquinas Church Hall, 249 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 When: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 7 - 9 pm

When: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 7 - 9 pm

For more info, contact Luke Mayville ( [email protected]).