Dear Parishioners,

As we continue in this Lenten season, I want to take this opportunity to call to mind the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Mercy, as it is contemplated here, is said to be a virtue that influences one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune.

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that although mercy is the spontaneous product of charity, it is also a special virtue distinct from charity. The Scholastics consider mercy preferable to justice because, like justice, it governs relations between distinct persons. Hence, both corporal and spiritual works of mercy are traditionally enumerated.

The Corporal Works of Mercy:

• To feed the hungry

• To give drink to the thirsty

• To clothe the naked

• To shelter the homeless

• To visit the sick

• To ransom the captive

• To bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy:

• To instruct the ignorant

• To counsel the doubtful

• To admonish sinners

• To bear wrongs patiently

• To forgive offenses willingly

• To comfort the afflicted

• To pray for the living and the dead

The performance of works of mercy is not merely a matter of exalted counsel; it is also a strict precept imposed by both natural and Divine law. The natural law enjoins works of mercy based on the principle of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Lenten Blessings!
Msgr. John Shamleffer

Annunziata Lenten Schedule

Stations of the Cross

• Held at 2:30 PM each Friday during Lent (except on Good Friday)

Confessions

• Saturdays at 3:30 PM

• Every Sunday during Lent after Masses

• Good Friday following Noon Stations & the 7 PM service

• Lenten Reconciliation Service: Tuesday, April 8 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Anointing of the Sick

• March 29-30 at all Masses

Triduum Services at Annunziata

Holy Thursday – April 17

• Chrism Mass: 10 AM at Cathedral Basilica

• Mass of the Last Supper: 7 PM (Followed by Adoration)

Good Friday – April 18

• Stations of the Cross: Noon (Confessions following service)

• Good Friday Service: 7 PM (Confessions following service)

Holy Saturday – April 19

• Easter Vigil: 8 PM (Held at Ste. Genevieve du Bois Church)

Easter Sunday – April 20

• Masses: 9:00 AM & 11:00 AM

May this Lenten season be a time of reflection, renewal, and growth in faith.