2023_04_02 - TASTE Program

Dear Ladies and Friends of TASTE,

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
- This week, we begin our two week Easter break.
- Since we are not meeting, there will be NO small group discussions in person. However the Tuesday Zoom meeting (ZOOM) will meet on Tuesday, April 4. Reflection Questions and other material found HERE.

THE TRIDUUM —The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ's Paschal Mystery. The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil. The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are: 1) Thursday's Mass of the Lord's Supper, 2) Good Friday of the Lord's Passion, and 3) Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord.

NEXT FEW WEEKS — Easter break. We will not be meeting either Holy Thursday (April 6th) or the following Thursday (April 13th). After that, we will return for our last two sessions of this seasons: On April 20th, Marian Frentz' sister (Michelle Laque Johnson) will present a talk called "The Caregiver's Way of the Cross" based on her book by the same title and she will have copies to sign and sell. On April 27th, Susan Brinkmann will return to share a talk called "How to Save the World in One Hour: Eucharistic Adoration in the 21st Century." Finally on May 4th, we will have our End-of-Year Potluck Brunch immediately after the 9:00 Mass, downstairs in the Breen Room. We ask that if you are attending that you bring a brunch food to share. Beverages and all paper products will be provided. Please sign up using this LINK.

LAST WEEK — We welcomed back Deacon Jim Munno as he concluded our Lenten series "Draw Close to God and He Will Draw Close to You" (James 4:8), with a talk entitled "Embracing the Cross." In this final talk of our Lenten series, Deacon Jim brought together all the central ideas we have been exploring these last six weeks, culminating in the Cross of Christ, and our need to embrace it out of love. Once again, citations can be found HERE and on the talk web page. We began with an opening prayer based on Exodus 32, concluding with Moses telling God "Now if you would only forgive their sin! But if you will not, then blot me out of the book that you have written" (Exodus 32:32). Deacon Jim believes this is the first incidence of vicarious suffering in the Bible, with many more to follow, reaching their pinnacle in our Lord Jesus Christ's Passion, because everything prior pointed to what He would do for us. Deacon Jim stated that Satan must hate what we are doing here, but if there is one talk he would most especially like us to miss out on, it is this last talk! Our fear of suffering and death are some of Satan's greatest weapons. The Cross nullifies these weapons and, in fact, inverts them by turning suffering and death into avenues for love and grace. Jesus does not command us to pick up our cross, rather He invites us to do so if we are to be His disciples. Since the cross is one of the most potent channels of grace, why would we not fully embrace it? MORE

THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION — Only Tuesday Zoom Small Group will be meeting this week as we discuss Deacon Jim Munno's talk entitled "Embracing the Cross." The audio, video, reflection questions, and other related material can be found HERE.

PRAYER REQUESTS — Please continue to pray for our TASTE program, our speakers, and our ability to offer child care if needed. This week, please pray for: 1) Fr. Swink for resolution of his back problems, 2) Susan Conroy as she continues to have medical issues, 3) Katylee McInerney as she continues treatment for cancer, 4) eradication of Kate Christianson's cancer, 5) healing for Jennifer Dougherty's mother Kay for the pain in both of her hips, 6) God's complete physical and spiritual healing for Helen Griffith's brother-in-law Rod, 7) Kara Helfenbein's daughter Ellie Carter for healing from complications of a bone marrow treatment for AML, and 8) peace and comfort to the families of each of the people mentioned above. New prayer requests can be sent to Joy Parker at joyparker73@gmail.com.

Blessings,

Joy, Michele, Karen, and Helen

Jesus, I trust in You!

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CARRY-OVERS - The below information is carried over from the last email.

PRIEST VIEW OF CONFESSION — A couple of weeks ago we mentioned an article that Fr. Mike Schmitz wrote that describes what Confession is like for a Priest. During our session last week some women asked us to share it again. For those who may have missed it the first time here is the ARTICLE.

SPECIAL ACCESS — Exciting News! Bill Keimig has provided the TASTE Program with our very own membership to the Catechetical Institute's "Franciscan At Home" completely free of charge to you! With this membership, we have workshops available to us on our computer given by excellent instructors such as Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Bob Rice, and our very dear friend, Dr. Bill Keimig! You can go as deep as you like in your study or just explore various topics involving catechizing all age groups, parenting, holy families, the Eucharist, discipleship, and many more. The link to set up your account under TASTE's membership is HERE. Questions? Feel free to email Karen Giermek at karen.giermek@gmail.com.

PILGRIMAGE — Fr. Larry Swink and Fr. Tim Daniel will be the Spiritual Directors for a pilgrimage to France May 21-30, 2023. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, see this LINK

THE EUCHARIST - This year's TASTE theme "ABIDE IN ME" aligns with our Church's 3-year Eucharistic Revival (Additional LINK). As mentioned earlier, Blessed Carlo Acutis (Additional LINK) catalogued the Eucharistic Miracles of the World.

CHILD CARE - If you are in need of child care to attend TASTE, please contact Joy Parker joyparker73@gmail.com directly. Likewise, if you know of any young mothers who you think would like to come to TASTE, but would need babysitting to do so, please contact Joy about this as well.

REGISTRATION - We want to say thank you to all of the women who have already registered as it helps us significantly with our planning. If you haven't registered yet or if you know someone who is interested in attending, please sign up and/or encourage them to do the same. REGISTRATION LINK.

INVITE A FRIEND - We encourage you to invite a friend regardless of where they are on their faith journey. If they are interested, please also encourage them to register. Attached is a POSTCARD that you can text, email, or print as an invitation to others.

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