Q. Why do we say that there are forty days of Lent? When you count all the days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, there are 46.

A. It might be more accurate to say that there is the "forty day fast within Lent." Historically, Lent has varied from a week to three weeks to the present configuration of 46 days. The forty day fast, however, has been more stable. The Sundays of Lent are certainly part of the Time of Lent, but they are not prescribed days of fast and abstinence.

Q. So does that mean that when we give something up for Lent, such as candy, we can have it on Sundays?

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My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The peace and love of Christ be with you! For the past week we have been hearing of the news about the highly contagious Novel Coronavirus nCoV, and how it has spread and infected thousands, the great number of which are in main land China, but have spread to many other countries. Since then I have received so many inquiries and suggestions of taking precautionary measure, plus, with the flu season still around. For this reason, St. Rose will be implementing the following:

Based on the Flu Policy of the Diocese of Phoenix, Level I:

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One of the highest attributes in the Messianic expectation is that the Messiah will be the ultimate interpreter of the Law, the Torah. Jesus saying that: “He has come to fulfill them”, drawing some parallel with Moses, goes beyond their expectations by putting Himself in the level of the giver of the Law, God. He is above the Law, what He teaches is the true value of the Law as His Father intended it for the people of God through Moses. He perfects it by giving a definitive interpretation of the Law, His divinity gives Him the authority to do it. He even added His own teaching to it, in v.18 Jesus did not come to abolish the precepts of the Law but demonstrate its significance to our life and how to bring the Law to its perfection. St. Augustine says, Jesus words and interpretation are the perfect expression of the Christian Life.

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The theme that precedes the Gospel this Sunday is the famous: The Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:1-12). Immediately after Jesus started His ministry, He made clear His mission: Mt. 4:17 “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand…” His Sermon, called the Beatitudes, is the major discourse in the Gospel of Matthew where He outlined what it means to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus laid out the fundamental attitude His disciples must develop in their relationship with God as their Father, Him as their Lord and savior, with one another as children of God, and extended to everyone, much like an ethical principle for being disciples.

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