The
COURIER
St. Patrick March 17
March 2023
Official Newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, MN | dowr.org
Pope: Lent Is Time to Let Go of the Bishop Frivolous, to Choose Truth, Love Chairman By CAROL GLATZ, Catholic News Service
Pope Francis, dressed in the purple vestments of the Lenten season, bows his head in prayer during an Ash Wednesday Mass Feb. 22, 2023, at Rome's Basilica of Santa Sabina. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
ROME (CNS) -- What matters is the truth and the love that God sees, not what is superficial, showy and self-centered, Pope Francis said during a Mass to mark the beginning of Lent. Lent is the time, he said, "to proclaim that God alone is Lord, to drop the pretense of being self-sufficient and the need to put ourselves at the center of things, to be the top of the class, to think that by our own abilities we can succeed in life and transform the world around us." "How many distractions and trifles distract us from the things that really count! How often do we get caught up in our own wants and needs, lose sight of the heart of the matter, and fail to embrace the true meaning of our lives in this world!" he said. "Lent is a time of truth, a time to drop the masks we put on each day to appear perfect in the eyes of the world," he said, and to "reject lies and hypocrisy. Not the lies and hypocrisies of others, but our own." Pope Francis, dressed in the purple vestments of the Lenten season, celebrated an Ash Wednesday Mass Feb. 22 at Rome's Basilica of Santa Sabina. The liturgy began with a procession from the nearby Church of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill. However, Pope Francis did not do the traditional walk because a painful knee has limited his mobility. At the Basilica of Santa Sabina, the pope received ashes on the top of his head from Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who also was the main celebrant at the altar. Cardinal Piacenza, who is head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, distributed ashes to a number of cardinals, bishops and others attending the Mass.
Lent, cont'd on pg. 4
Marks First Anniversary of Russian Invasion of Ukraine from usccb.org
WASHINGTON - Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on International Justice and Peace, marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by renewing the Church’s call to prayer, solidarity and hope amidst the mounting tolls of this war. Bishop Malloy’s full statement follows:
It is with a heavy heart that we acknowledge the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This past year has seen the horrific consequences of Russian armed aggression on the sovereignty of Ukraine, its infrastructure, its economy, and most
Ukraine, cont'd on pg. 4
INSIDE this issue
How to Pray for the Eucharistic Congress
page 7
How We Spent Catholic Schools Week pages 8-9
The Minnesota Abortion Debate
page 13