Lent is a beautiful time to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us, and is a perfect time for these services, as they prepare our souls for the coming feast of Easter.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a most natural way to celebrate His forgiveness and love, and is the opportunity to grow closer to God.

Reconciliation is what God does. Receiving it and celebrating it is what we do.

Penance Services are a form of sacramental confession that mixes public prayer and individual confession to a priest, followed by absolution. This special service is when the priests of a local area gather together in one church to hear individual confessions, providing a time where it may be easier for all of us to go to confession.

The following is a list of upcoming Penance Services in the Diocese:

• Sacred Heart Cathedral—Tuesday, March 19, 7pm
• Immaculate Conception — Wednesday, March 20, 6pm - 8pm
• St. Raphael— Thursday, March 21, 7pm

Catholics may attend a Penance Service at any church, regardless of which parish they attend. -Beth

We will not have EDGE or RE classes on March 10th & 17th for Spring Break.

Class will resume on Sunday, March 24th.

Click the link below the image to open the PDF file for a printable schedule.

Last week we had 15 Youth & Teens come together for another wonderful FIRST FRIDAY!

The Youth & Teens chose to attend Simple Supper and complete an act of service this month by reading for the Stations of the Cross. Many parishioners came to me to give compliments and appreciation for the wonderful surprise of the Youth & Teens as readers!

We then moved to the Youth Room where we were delighted to have Deacon Ron & Ms. Betsy join us for their LAST First Friday. I asked each Youth & Teen to share how they met or their favorite memory with Deacon Ron and Ms. Betsy. This turned into a lovely walk down memory lane of lots of good times and laughs.

Deacon joked that he didn't know he was coming to the Ron Roast, but we saw the twinkle in both of their eyes as the Youth & Teens of St. Nick's created another precious memory with them that they will all cherish forever.

We are so grateful to Deacon Ron and Ms. Betsy for joining us and will miss them both dearly!

See highlights from First Friday, Stations, and the Ron Roast in the videos below.

Shout out to Magda for the extra fun First Friday photos!

This past Sunday was my first time back in the EDGE class since my trip, and the kids had soooooo much news to share! I had missed them all so very much and it was wonderful to catch up on all that they had experienced in the past couple of weeks. We talked for so long that we were late starting our session and some of us were exhausted! (see video of photos below)

We briefly recapped their last session, and began the first half of our 7th session, The Paschal Mystery. We took turns reading Psalms chapter 22, and discussed the similarities between it's story and Jesus' crucifixion. We talked about God fulfilling the new convenant with sacrificial love, and then the Youth shared examples of people who have shown sacrificial love in their lives. Please click the links below to view the video and discussion slides.

We used up every minute of our class time with visiting and learning, but it was worth every second to see and hear the knowledge, understanding, and love that these kids have for our Lord.

No class for Spring Break.

This past Sunday the Teens got to have extra time together before HSYG! We opened the Youth Room because the Social Hall was packed with well-wishers at Deacon Ron & Ms. Betsy's farewell. It was a wonderful occasion with a huge turnout & lots of love for both of them, but it was a little overwhelming for some. Nick soon followed and a game of Exploding Kittens commenced. We quickly lost track of time having fun, so we all pitched in for a super fast clean-up and began welcoming more friends for HSYG. (see video below)

We then took our time visiting and letting the Teens share their news from the past week, then began the 3rd session of their Lent Study, Cleansing the Temple.

First, they divided into teams for a Balloon & Cup Relay Race, but they were not impressed at all. Each session includes a provided activity, but the Teens felt this one was not much fun, mostly because the instructions were not clear. Thankfully everyone was ok after a head thumping collision, and there were still lots of laughs, but in the end we were all unanimous in deciding this is not an activity we will repeat. (see video below)

We returned to the Youth Room to learn more about the message of Jesus' actions in the Temple from chapter 2 of the Gospel According to John. We discussed what our priorities are, why we cannot put others before God, and how we can make changes in our lives to prioritize God.

Please click the link below to view the discussion slides.

Because we had spent so much time being together at the start of class, our session ran long and we could not have free time before parents began arriving, so we ended with 2 reminders:

• we still need 3 more Teens for Feet Washing on Holy Thursday
• we will have HSYG during Spring Break! (March 10th & 17th)

And, just before they all left the Teens received a very special compliment from Bill who said, "Being here and listening to all of you gives me hope for the future of our Church."

Special thanks to Father Dominik, Ms. Tiffany, & Bill (from Good Shepherd on Fort Wainwright) for joining us!

We will continue Transformed by Grace (a Lent Study), with Session 4, Born of the Spirit.

During the mass, the holy oils used for sacraments and rituals are blessed or consecrated, and priests renew their promises of ordination to serve God and his people.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Come see a Hitchcock movie in the Great Room!

Bring a dessert to share.

All families and ages are invited to attend!

Please bring a dessert to share.

No class this week.

Next class will be on Sunday, March 24th.

For all Children and Youth (ages 5-17) from all parishes.

Every Saturday at Sacred Heart Cathedral from 1pm-2:45pm.

There will be no Oratory on:

• March 30th for Holy Saturday
• April 6th for Easter Saturday

Registration due May 5th.

To Register:

-click this link to register online https://dioceseoffairbanks.org/summer-oratory

-click the PDF link below to print a form

-pick up a form from the tables outside the Chapel

Completed forms with payment can be given to Beth or the Servidoras Sisters.

Per the Diocese policy for the safety of everyone, a minimum of 2 adults are required to be present for all Youth Ministry activities.

Ideally we would have at least 4-6 volunteers (preferably more), allowing for at least 1 assistant present for the HSYG one Sunday per month. We are also still in need of at least 1 more assistant for the EDGE class.

While the search to locate others who have current certification with the Diocese is ongoing, we have reached a point where we need to request that parents assist on a rotating basis so that we can continue to safely offer HSYG.

Please consider completing your certification, and/ or asking individuals who you think would be a willing volunteer. Or, you can submit suggestions for me to contact.

All youth ministry volunteers must have current certification for the course of Serving Vulnerable Populations and a Criminal History Record Check on file with the Diocese. More information can be found by visiting Adult Training on the Diocese of Fairbanks website. Diocese of Fairbanks - Adult Training - Fairbanks, AK

Call or Text 907-978-4786

Email stnicksym@cbna.org

Office hours are as follows:

Sunday 10am-7pm

Wednesday 3:30pm-5:30pm

It is a privilege to work with St. Nick's Youth!

As always, please never hesitate to contact me for any reason.

I pray you are having a blessed week.

In Christ's love, Beth