dear visitation family, shalom (peace)! texas …churchofthevisitation.org/bulletins/022518.pdfdear...
TRANSCRIPT
Dear Visitation Family, Shalom (Peace)!
Each of the three Scripture readings on this second Sunday of Lent makes reference to the mountain. A
mountain is a biblical image of the place of encounter with God. On a mountain the air is cleaner, the view is
clearer; our perspective of God and of our lives is certainly and positively very different. In today’s first reading
(Gn.22:1-18) on Mount Moriah we see Abraham’s obedient faith that is willing to sacrifice even his only son. But
most importantly we also see how God brings Abraham out of a pagan culture of false gods demanding human
sacrifice, to faith in the one true God who is against human sacrifice. In the second reading (Rom 8:31-34) St.
Paul takes us to Mount Calvary, where we witness the faithfulness of Jesus unto the Cross, the proof of the
greatest love the world has ever seen, which should give us confidence in God’s redemptive love for us, sinners.
And in the gospel (Mk 9:2-10), St. Mark leads us to Mount Tabor, to witness the transfiguration of Jesus, in order
to strengthen our faith, even more in troubling times, and to long in hope for the glory we will share with Jesus,
through the Paschal Mystery. But for lack of time/space, let us just zoom in on only the Mount of Transfiguration.
I want to focus on just the VISION and the VOICE that St. Mark, the disciple of St. Peter, who along with James
and John were the only witnesses, describes in his version of the Transfiguration that took place when Jesus
had taken these three apostles with Him to a high mountain, apart by themselves. At the Transfiguration, His
clothes became dazzling white such as no fuller on earth can bleach them, and Jesus was seen conversing
with Elijah and Moses. As Pope Benedict XVI said, this vision of the Transfiguration must be seen in relation to
two other divine revelations: 1) Moses climbed Mount Sinai and there received God’s revelation. He asked God
to show him His glory but God answered Moses that he would not see His face but only His back (Ex 33:18-23).
2) God made a similar revelation to Elijah on the mountain: a more intimate manifestation, not accompanied by a
storm, an earthquake or fire, but by a gentle breeze (1Kg 19:11-13). Unlike these two episodes, in the
Transfiguration it is not Jesus who receives the revelation of God; rather, it is precisely in Jesus that
God reveals His face to the Apostles. Thus, those who wish to encounter God must contemplate the face of
Jesus, His face transfigured: Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father’s holiness and mercy.
We are also told that the Apostles heard a voice coming from the cloud saying: “This is my beloved Son.
Listen to Him.” 1) On Mount Sinai, Moses also received the revelation of God’s will: the Ten Commandments.
2) And again, it was on the mountain that Elijah received from God the divine Revelation of a mission he was to
undertake. Jesus, on the contrary, did not receive the revelation of what He was to do: He already knew
it. Rather it was the Apostles, who heard God’s voice in the cloud, commanding: “Listen to Him.” God’s
voice was fully revealed in the Person of Jesus. Anyone who wants to live in accordance with God’s Will must
listen to Him, accept His words, acquire a deep knowledge of them, and follow Jesus, with the help of the Spirit.
That is why we are here at Mass today, being invited by Jesus with great affection, to the Mount of the altar so
that we can grow in the knowledge and love of Him by encountering Him in the Eucharist, by listening to His
Word, and through prayer and charity. It is at Mass that we will experience profoundly the vision and the
voice of God as the apostles did on Mount Tabor. It is that experience, which will help us, as it did for them, to
understand, accept, live out and profess in our lives the Paschal mystery of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection! This
is the Encounter that leads to Transformation! Never miss an opportunity to go to Mass regularly!
May God bless and Mary protect you! Please pray for me as I do for you that we may have a holy season of
Lent leading us into a renewed and hope-filled life with the Risen Christ! Always remember to be Growing
Disciples of and for Christ! May your Lenten season be blessed!
I am blessed to be your father in Christ!
Fr. Edwin Kagoo THY WILL, LORD!
TEXAS BISHOPS THANK GOVERNOR FOR HIS CLEMENCY TO A DEATH-ROW INMATE
On February 22, 2018 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott commuted the death sentence of a man who masterminded
the murder of his mother and brother after the inmate's father, who barely survived the crime, pleaded for his
killer son's life to be spared. Abbott's decision, announced just a half-hour before Thomas "Bart" Whitaker was
set to receive a lethal injection, is only the third time in four decades that a Texas governor has granted
clemency to a death-row inmate on humanitarian ground. Whitaker, 38, will now serve a life sentence without
the possibility of parole for the 2003 double murder. Abbott, who has allowed 30 executions to proceed under
his watch, said he was partially swayed by the emotional appeal of the inmate's father, Kent Whitaker. "Mr.
Whitaker’s father, who survived the attempt on his life, passionately opposes the execution of his son. Mr.
Whitaker’s father insists that he would be victimized again if the state put to death his last remaining immediate
family member," the governor said in a statement that also cited the unanimous recommendation of the Texas
parole board. Thomas Whitaker, 38, was convicted of hatching a 2003 plot to murder his wealthy parents and
19-year-old brother for inheritance money. His father was also shot but survived, and this week he convinced
the state parole board to recommend a life sentence. On the night of the killings, Thomas Whitaker's
roommate was lying in wait with a loaded gun at the family's suburban Houston home. As they returned from a
dinner out, he shot and killed Whitaker's mother, Tricia, and brother, Kevin. In a clemency petition full of
biblical quotations, Whitaker's attorneys said his deeply religious father begged the district attorney's office to
seek life in prison for his son and was denied, while the actual gunman escaped a death sentence. Kent
Whitaker is haunted by the murders of his wife and child, but believes that his older son has changed and that
his death would be "meaningless," the petition says. "Kent lived the assassinations. He watched his son Kevin
walk into the house, heard the first and fatal shot, and saw his son's fallen body in their darkened home. He
heard Tricia's last, wet coughs as Kent himself lay dying from his own gunshot wound. The bullet hit Kent
nearly six inches from his heart," Whitaker's lawyers wrote. "He also experienced the revelation that his own
son was behind the killing of his beloved wife and younger son and his own attempted murder. The crucible of
Kent's anguish and tribulations is beyond the ken of our imagination." The parole board's decision Tuesday
was 7-0, and no one seemed more shocked than Kent Whitaker. "This is Texas," he said then. "This doesn't
happen and I am just so encouraged that the system has worked. This was the right thing, the right thing to
do." “We believe this case suggests a spirit of restorative justice, and we pray all may reflect how Texans
would be better served by a criminal justice system which embraces restorative justice. We pray the Whitaker
family may also experience healing and ongoing reconciliation in their lives” the bishops of Texas said in a
statement released by the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops to thank the governor.
ST. CASIMIR (1458-1483) whose memorial day is March 4th was a teenaged conscientious objector, now
celebrated as the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania. Born of kings and in line (third among 13 children) to
become a king himself, he was filled with exceptional values and learning. Even as a teenager he lived a highly
disciplined, even severe, life, sleeping on the floor, spending a great part of the night in prayer before locked church
doors, and dedicating himself to life-long celibacy. His charity for the poor knew no bounds, and earned him the
title of ‘Father and Defender of the Poor and wretched’. He was drawn to the meditation on the Passion of Jesus,
the power of the Mass, and the intercession of Mary. He had a great love for our Blessed Mother whom he would
address as his “Good Mother” and would daily recite on his knees the tender hymn composed by St. Anselm of
Canterbury, “Daily, daily, sing to Mary.” A copy of that hymn, infact, was buried with him. He hated wars, reigned
briefly as King of Poland (1481-83) during his father’s absence. He died at the age of 26 due to consumption.
St. Casimir’s life teaches us that Our life is measured authentically not by its length, but by its depth.
MASS INTENTIONS & LITURGICAL MINISTRY SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK
Weekend Mass
Intentions
Sat, 02/24-6:00pm Sun, 02/25- 8:00am Sat, 03/03-6:00pm Sun, 03/04- 8:00am
+Doug Landry +Gilbert Wilde
+Erwin Kahlig +Gladys Kahlig
+Leroy Garvey
+Albert (Pete) Ejem
Parishioners
+Connie Smiser +Douglas Doskocil
+Albert (Pete) Ejem
Parishioners
Altar Servers
Brenden Doskocil
James Lorenz Addison Wilde
Nolan Kahlig
Carson Kahlig Makenzie Hughling
Nolan Kahlig
Carson Kahlig Makenzie Hughling
Preston Hering
Nate Hoelscher Brooke Skala
Lector Kelby Kosel Caroline Hoelscher Patty Pletzke Shawna Ranly
Gift Bearers Carl Hubik Family Gary Frei Family Edward Hurta Family Randy Frei Family
Ushers Paul Doskocil
Randy Lorenz
Walton Hering, Jr.
Charles Moeller
Calvin Wilder
Craig Ordner
Johnny Polach
Charles Moeller
Extr. Min. of HC Doris Wright Cindy Moeller Kerri Meier Geraldine Kahlig
Rosary Leaders Patricia Simecek Bradley & Marilyn Rudloff Geraldine Hoelscher Edna Spivey
Dorothy Dewey Smith
Voc.Cross Family Ken & Jenette Driska Walton, Jr. & Belinda Hering
Money Counters Chris & Peggy Hrabal, & Paula Niemeyer Louis & Jerlene Vrana & Horest & Bernice Weaver
Church Cleaners 02/24 & 03/03 : Greneta Ordner, Tammie Frenzel, Cheryl Wilde, Debbie Ordner, Shayne Wilde
Weekday Mass
Intentions
Tue, 2/27 -8:00am Wed,-02/28- 7:20am Thu,03/01-8:00am First Fri, 03/02 – 6:00pm
+Larry R. Hoelscher +Anita Book
+Gilbert Lehman
+Ronnie Ranly
+Charlotte Ann Thornton +Alois Ketterman
Building and Maintenance Fund second collection next weekend. Thank you for your generous support!
Adult Faith Formation Classes continue this Thursday, March 1st. We meet every Thursday from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm
through May 17th. Come at 6.00pm for snacks and social time. The third session on “Promise and Fulfillment” titled
“THE FAMILY PRAYER”: Understanding our Father will be presented by Dr. Scott Hahn, a very powerful international
speaker, a popular writer and best-selling author, a theologian and a Biblical Scholar, a former Presbyterian pastor and
currently a professor at the Franciscan Catholic University of Steubenville, Founder and President of St. Paul center for
Biblical Theology. (Sign-up sheet is in the narthex). Even if you are not yet motivated to sign up for this most interesting
and rewarding study sessions, try to attend this one session and see what difference it makes for you. Bring a friend or
family with you. If you missed last week’s class, come at 5pm for a make-up session. Blessings!
Family Film & Pop-Corn Sunday @ 3 pm on the Third Sunday of every month at the Centennial Room will commence
from the month of March. It is a free event for the entire family to come together as a parish family, to spend time with
others sharing a good movie and pop-corn. There is no fee! All are welcome!
“From Ashes to Easter” Boxes are available in the narthex for your Lenten sacrifice to aid the local and American
missions. Please take one home! Bring back the boxes with your alms by Easter! Thank you!
Rest in Peace! FR. KEVIN WADE RUSSEL of Austin diocese, aged 54 yrs, and ordained in 2011 (+02/17/2018) and the
Westphalia natives: HELEN BERTHA (FREI) SIEBOLD of San Antonio, aged 99 yrs. (+02/10/2018) & CATHERINE
DIDNER of Belton, aged 96 yrs. (+02/21/2018). May eternal light shine upon them!
Sanctuary Candle in memoriam: Alfred &Edna Voltin & Cecelia V. Reiger (Feb) Otto & Dorothy Wilde Family (Mar).
The Sick and the Suffering requesting our prayers: JoeAnn Kalmbach, Eldora Janacek, Terry Frenzel, Louise
Engram, Warren Martin, Jeff Bernsen, Josie Kleypas, Dennis Fuchs, Beatrice Arnold, Pattie Pletzke, Mike Meyer, Bobby
Bulls, Sister Benedict Zimmer, Charles Ordner, Don Drake, Al Buckholt, Gene Kreger, Edwin Green, Craig Thornton,
Grace Hoelscher, Kathy Klock, Nancy Blanca, Philip Gaspar. THANK YOU for your spiritual work of mercy!
H.S. Rel. Edu & RCIA Sun. 02/25 after Mass Regular $2,421.00
Adult Choir Wed. 02/28 @ 7:00pm Children’s $22.00
Adult Faith Formation Class Thu.03/01 @ 6.00pm at the Centennial Room Home Missions $289.00
Lenten Special Mass followed by the Stations of the Cross Fri, 03/02 @6.00 pm THANKS & BLESSINGS!
KC Fish and Shrimp Fry Fri, 03/02 from 3.30 pm. Altar Society Meeting for March on 03/04 after Mass.
Parish of the Visitation
Westphalia, Texas Diocese of Austin
144 County Road 3000, Lott, Texas 76656
254-584-4983
Rev. Edwin Kagoo, Pastor Deacon Bill Smetana
Deacon Charlie Wright Deacon Julian Tyboroski
MASSES: Saturday – 6:00pm & Sunday – 8:00am Tuesday- Friday- 8:00am (Wed. 7:20am on school days)
RECONCILIATION: Sat. 5:30pm & Sun. 7:30am
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT February 25, 2018
Encountering Christ in His Ministers
Our Mission is to:
SEE Jesus in Life and Liturgy & BE Jesus in family and Community
LISTEN TO CATHOLIC RADIO LOCALLY @ 98.3 FM
When was the last time you invited someone to be a priest or a religious? Do it today!
*************************************************************************