As we enter this beautiful season of Lent, our prayer is that your walk with Christ will be strengthened and renewed. As followers of Christ, we must continue to be more like him and allow his light to shine through us. During this time, let us also continue to pray that He will bring peace to this world, and the hearts of so many who need to feel his unconditional love.

Lenten is a season of celebration, it’s a season of love, and it’s a season of new beginning. It is a blessing to gather together for another year with our St. Anastasia church family to welcome the Lenten season!

ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPCOMING EVENTS

Mass and Stations of the Cross will be offered on Wednesdays and Fridays during the Lenten season with a simple meal to follow.

On Wednesdays, Into His Likeness will be offered and on Fridays, Seven Deadly Sins/Seven Lively Virtues will be offered for an Adult Education opportunity after Mass. Descriptions are found below.

Into His Likeness

In the ancient disciple-rabbi relationship, the disciple would follow the rabbi so closely that he would be covered in the dust kicked up from his rabbi’s feet. Thousands of years later, though we walk on roads of pavement and not dust, we are still called to be disciples—to follow our Rabbi, Jesus Christ, so closely that we are covered with his life, changed, and made new.

But this transformation in Christ doesn’t happen overnight. In this series, Edward Sri reminds us of two basic truths: First, (A) The truth of our human condition: we are full of many weaknesses, wounds, and sins. And second, (B) The truth of our high calling—we are called to be perfected in God’s love and transformed in Christ. Living as a disciple is all about the process of getting from A to B.

Seven Deadly Sins

Join Bishop Robert Barron for this engaging presentation concerning the seven deadly sins, those great spiritual blocks that inhibit our flourishing in relationship with God and one another. Based on Dante’s writings, the seven deadly sins correspond to the seven stories of Dante’s Mt. Purgatory. Pride, envy, anger, sloth, gluttony, avarice and lust are all presented as patterns of dysfunction within us that lead to unhappiness.

However, Bishop Barron shows us how to counteract these seven sinful patterns through a conscious process of opposition, which are the “seven lively virtues.” The seven lively virtues offer antidotes to each sin and help set us on the right path to healing and happiness.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22

 

Please join us Friday, February 25th for the 35TH Annual Knights of Columbus Fish Fry! This event will be held at the McLeod County Fair Grounds from 11:30 am to 6:00 pm, or until all the fish is gone! Meals are $13 (Cash or Check only) and include a delicious Alaskan Pollock, coleslaw, bread, a baked potato, baked beans, and a cookie! This is a DRIVE-UP and DELIVERY ONLY event! We hope that you will come out and support the Knights of Columbus and enjoy a good meal! Thank you! 

Details

Where: McLeod County Fair Grounds (DRIVE-THRU & DELIVERY ONLY): 840 Century Avenue SW – Hutchinson, MN (Enter fairgrounds north gate and follow signs.) 

For deliveries, please call: 320-583-8086 or 320-894-5352 (2/25 only)

When: Friday, February 25th, 2022 from 11:30am-6:00pm

Cost: $13 (Cash or Check only) 

Please join us for Christmas Masses and the Feast of the Holy Family! Let’s gather together to glorify and celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Just as Christ has shown us love, let us continue to spread that love into the world this Christmas. We have added a number of additional Mass times and hope that they will help you as you plan this time with loved ones. We look forward to worshipping together with you this Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ, and his gift of love into the world. All are welcome to attend!

Mass Times:

Christmas Eve
Friday December 24th
4pm at St. Anastasia
6pm at St. Anastasia
8pm at St. Boniface
10pm at St. Anastasia

Christmas Day
Saturday December 25th
7am at St. Anastasia
9am at St. Anastasia
11am at St. Anastasia

Feast of the Holy Family
Sunday December 26th
7:30am at St. Anastasia
9:00am at St. Boniface
10:30am at St. Anastasia
7:30pm at St. Anastasia

Note, there will be no 4:30pm Mass on Christmas Day.

“For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. And leadership is placed upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called: wonderful Counselor, mighty God, father of the future age, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

As we enter the holiday season, our greatest wish for you is to experience the joy of giving. But we know sometimes all of the tasks that come at this time of year can pile up – making our gift wrapping and check writing less joyful and more arduous. Instead of waiting, consider tackling one to-do on your long holiday prep list early. Here are four helpful facts about holiday giving:

• Nonprofits need your donations before year-end, but they don’t necessarily need them at the end of the year. A gift in November is no less effective than one in late December. In fact, with the busyness of processing last-minute donations, an early gift might be the best gift.

• You get the same tax benefits for the year whether you make a gift in now or December 31. Why not ease the burden your financial advisors and stockbrokers feel at the end of the year by giving before the rush? You’ll be less stressed, too.

• The market doesn’t perform according to calendar dates. Why should your giving? For appreciated assets, the best time to give them is when you believe they’ve appreciated and can maximize your charitable giving. Don’t let December 31st make that decision.

• There’s no need to wait until you receive your year-end bonus or sell appreciated stock to get the ball rolling on a donor advised fund. You can start the paperwork to establish a fund now. Then, transfer your gift into the fund when you’re ready, and start recommending grants!

As we move forward into this season of giving, please consider a gift to St. Anastasia in your Estate. We understand that the holidays are a very busy time for everyone, which is why we encourage you to use our online giving system as a safe and convenient way to continue your giving. Online Giving is a secure way to give to the parish. You can also manage your account and donations by computer, tablet, or smart phone. St. Anastasia thanks you for your continued support and contribution to our community. May you be blessed with the joy of this holiday season!

To learn more about Online Giving please visit: https://www.osvhub.com/st-anastasia-hutchinson/funds

You can download the free App in the App Store, Google Play Store, or go to OLGapp.com. Register by entering our church ID of 78.

We invite you to join us Saturday December 11^th for our 8^th annual St. Anastasia Christmas Market Fundraiser! This year we are excited to once again be hosting this wonderful event that brings our community together in support of a good cause! This event is filled with fun and festive activities for the entire family! Bring the kiddos along for a complementary photo with Santa, and enjoy an assortment of yummy holiday treats and unique gifts from our vendors, including a wide-variety Christmas bake sale! Enter our quilt raffle, and maybe even get a little last minute Christmas shopping done! There’s something that everyone will love, including our delicious breakfast that will have your taste buds feeling like it’s Christmas morning in the North Pole! Santa definitely approves! (The breakfast includes eggs, sausage, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and fruit, with your choice of coffee, milk, or juice. Plates are $8 per person, $20 for a family, and if your little ones are 5 years & under, they can eat free!)

One of the most beautiful things about this time of year is the love we share with one another, and how that love reaches to different communities all across the world, which is why we are excited to announce that all of the proceeds of this event will go to the LEAST Project! (Loving the Elderly And Satiating His Thirst) This project works to feed weekly meals to 150 elderly Guatemalans for a year, which is something that is very dear to our hearts here at St. Anastasia Catholic Church. Bringing communities together with the love of Christ is what this season is all about, and our Christmas Market is something that we look forward to sharing with you!

We hope that you will join us Saturday, December 11^th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at St. Anastasia Catholic School for our Christmas Market Fundraiser! Let’s open our hearts and spread the joy of giving this season and be a blessing to those who need it most. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Details

When: Saturday, December 11^th 9AM-1PM

Where: St. Anastasia Catholic School (400 Lake St. SW Hutchinson, MN)

*Parking available in the North Lot