March 28, 2021

Ladies of TASTE,
  • For some of us, this past year may have felt like one long Lent. This pandemic began shutting down society just a couple weeks after Ash Wednesday last year.  Since then, it seemed like a long spiritual desert where many of our religious practices and community gatherings were disrupted.  While we may have felt isolated and lonely, there is hope! On one level, we may see hope as a result of more and more people getting vaccinated and therefore opening up opportunities for us to more safely gather with family members and friends.  But on another level, St. John Paul II reminds us that “We are an Easter people and alleluia is our song!” The hardships and sacrifices endured during every Lent give way to the celebration and joy of Easter.  And what can be better than this?
  • To that end, we are quickly approaching the “Triduum” — a word which comes from the Latin word meaning “three days,” and encompasses the three most sacred days in the Church year. The liturgical celebrations during the Triduum on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday are rich with symbolism and flow from one to another in a seamless way. While it may appear as if these liturgies are separate & distinct, they are intended to be one continuous celebration commemorating the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.  For this reason, we are encouraged to observe the entire Triduum by participating in all of the liturgies.

THIS WEEK AT TASTE: 

  • In celebration of Easter, we will NOT be having our Thursday sessions this week or next and will return on April 15th.  However, this week we will still be having our small group meetings.

TASTE SMALL GROUPS: 

  • THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION — We will reflect on Mike Tenney's final talk of his six-part Lenten series — Be Not Afraid - In Forgiveness, The audio and video of his talk, Reflection Questions, and his slides are included HERE.  
  • SMALL GROUP SCHEDULE FOR EASTER SEASON — MEET the week of 3/23/21; OFF the weeks of 4/4/21 and 4/11/21.  RESUME small groups the week of 4/18/21 to discuss the lecture given on Thursday 4/15/21.
  • GENERAL INFORMATION
    • For those planning to attend small group, you can use this LINK to always access materials to prepare for small group each week.
    • If you have not yet participated, but would like to, please make sure you have the Zoom app installed on your phone, tablet or computer.  LINK  See attached notes.
  • Please feel free to drop in to any of the virtual small groups (Zoom) that best meet your schedule.  Zoom small groups will last for 30 minutes:
    • MONDAYs from 10:00 - 10:30 facilitated by Maria Montgomery and Karen Schembari
    • TUESDAYs from 3:00 - 3:30 facilitated by Jennifer Dougherty and Debbie Schmidt
    • WEDNESDAYs from 11:00 - 11:30 facilitated by Mary Giesey and Lori Putman
  • Access the meeting via this LINK with the password: TASTE2020   The Zoom meeting invitation is attached for further options and complete instructions.

SPECIAL REMINDERS

  • PRAYER REQUESTS —  Several of our TASTE sisters need our prayers.  Please pray for:
    • All our TASTE sisters and all priests, especially our spiritual director Fr. Larry Swink as well as all of the priests in the Baltimore and Washington Archdioceses.
    • Linda Johnson’s great nephew Dylan who had heart transplant surgery and is not doing well.
    • Donna DeLorenzo who had emergency surgery several weeks ago.
    • Please pray for the repose of the soul of James Adams, father of Rachael Dallesandro, and for Patsy Curro, mother of Ellen Curro.
    • Laura Chighizola's family members recovering from Covid-19
    • Sarah Strauser, 17 year old daughter of a friend of Theresa Williamson, who is suffering greatly from scoliosis and is unable to tolerate pain medications.
    • Helen Martin, Kate Christianson, Laura Chighizola, Evelyn Dunne, Katylee McInerney, Cristl Spicer (daughter of Cathy Homens), and Linda Marcus (mother of Alyssa Andrews).
    • Sr. Mary Michael's sister Chris who needs a medical miracle from St. Joseph to cure stage 4 cancer in her lungs.
    • New prayer requests can be made to Joy Parker at joyparker73@gmail.com.
  • LENTEN JOURNEY — Fr. Dan Leary and Kevin Wells are offering a free/virtual Lenten series at One 2 One podcasts. Talks will be posted weekly on Fridays during Lent. Through the process, they will teach you about a selfless person, Venerable Fr. Al Schwartz. This future saint was instrumental in bringing Christ to the poor and transforming their communities.  LINK 
  • CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH —  Sacred Heart Church in Bowie is having a Consecration to Saint Joseph. The retreat is 5 consecutive Tuesday evenings.  It begins on March 30 and ends on Saturday, May 1st, Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker.  LINK
  • ST. JOSEPH GEMS — As we celebrate this special Year of St. Joseph, transform your routine with a daily meditation from Fr. Donald Calloway's book St. Joseph Gems: Daily Wisdom on our Spiritual Father.  Meditations will begin arriving in your email on Feb. 1 and end on Dec. 8.  LINK
Donations - The "donate" option through the TASTE website is currently not working. But you can mail a check made out to "TASTE" to:
Joy Parker
12649 W Oak Drive
Mount Airy, MD  21771
Thank you so much for your generosity, especially this year!
Blessings
Joy, Michele, Carolyn, and Karen
Jesus, I trust in You!

ATTACHMENTS:

Archive Versions of This Week Emails

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