Three and a half weeks into this forty-day journey through Lent, we may have become lost. Perhaps we have returned to our normal habits, chafing under the disciplines of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Perhaps we have slipped and found ourselves rationalizing our failures. The story of the prodigal son, which we hear today, reminds us that no matter what we have done or failed to do, God stands always ready to welcome us back. No matter how far we have strayed, rejoice! for we are never too far gone to return to God. This weekend we hear that on the plains of Jericho, the Chosen People finally reach a fertile land that can produce food for them to eat. Paul extols God’s goodness, for God reconciled the world through Christ. In the Gospel story of the prodigal son, the father is so overjoyed at his wayward son’s return that he throws a huge feast, serving the choicest food and insisting his son wear the household’s finest clothes. From beginning to end, we can, as we sing in the responsorial psalm, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” Food is one of the most basic human needs. We would not last long without it. In the desert, lack of it drove some to rage and others to despair. Only after God provided manna were the Chosen People able to complete their journey to the promised land. There, as we hear in the first reading, they can eat of the produce of the land of Canaan. Whether directly or indirectly, God’s providence supplies a famished people with food. In sacrificing his body and blood, Jesus provides a spiritually famished people with sustenance. The prodigal son is starving just the same as the Chosen People in the desert. He is willing to eat as poorly as one of his father’s hired workers. Instead, his father spends his own wealth (for he had already given his son half his legacy) to provide a feast for him, a banquet of reconciliation. The prodigal son sinned in every way possible, spurning his father and living a dissolute life. Yet the father welcomes him back with open arms. We recall this feast as we approach the Eucharistic table as sinners today, which itself foreshadows the banquet of reconciliation we are promised when we at last are united with God. For us, we can likely relate to each of the characters in this parable in some way. At times we have sheepishly returned to someone we have wronged and asked forgiveness. Other times we have resented that someone unworthy was rewarded and we have refused to be placated. We may also recall celebrating a loved one’s apologetic return. Knowing that we have a heavenly Father who does this continually, let us adopt the attitude of the penitent son, who is rewarded with true reconciliation. Question of the Week How can I be merciful like the father in this parable? What resentments do I need to overcome? Can I be truly forgiving to someone who has hurt me or those I love?

It’s very easy to be judgmental, especially these days. Social media tends to encourage and reinforce that behavior. Before we know it, we’ve disparaged someone for what they said or did. Today’s Gospel is a warning to us. It has a lot to say about our eyes and our brother’s (or sister’s). But there is another pair of eyes to think about today: God’s eyes. Over the last few weeks, we have heard Jesus teaching His disciples how to see the world through God’s eyes. He told His disciples that God does not see poor people as unfortunate, but as the inheritors of the kingdom. Those who are hungry, grieving, or maligned will end up joyful. Notice that it offers an alternative. Refocus. When it comes to failings, look in the mirror, not out to the world. Especially as we enter Lent. We should practice examining our consciences. If we do so honestly, we can determine how to improve ourselves… and the way we see others. We should also note the way Jesus counsels us to handle faults in others. We’re not told to condemn our brother or accuse our sister. No, we’re called to kindly help them. Then both you and they will be better. This is because God foresees what we cannot. God calls us to love our enemies because God does not see enemies but fellow children of God. God sees us stumbling from the wooden beam in our eye and wants us to be healthy and whole. We need the grace of God to see our lives from God’s eyes. Saint Paul too leaves the Corinthians a farewell message: “Be . . . fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). This ties in so well with Jesus’ call to His disciples, here and elsewhere, to bear good fruit. We are called to put our faith into action, to make the world better, to give a glimpse of the kingdom through our actions. The question we ask ourselves here is, are we known by the fruit we produce? What fruit have we produced or are we producing? As we approach the penitential season of Lent, we hear a warning from Jesus about sin. Don’t focus on the sins of your brother, your sister, or your neighbor; look at your own sins. Every year, Lent gives us the opportunity to recognize our sinfulness and our need for God’s forgiveness, which Jesus offers us most dramatically on the cross. As we gather for Mass this weekend on the eve of Lent, let us commit ourselves to recognizing our own faults and failures, repenting for our sins, and resolving to follow the Lord more faithfully.

On February 20, 2025, Most Reverend James T. Ruggieri, Bishop of the Diocese of Portland, met with members of the Pastoral and Finance Councils and Parish representatives at Holy Rosary’s Parish Center. The purpose of this meeting was to respond to our submitted Parish profile and offer thoughts about ways that our Parish and the Christian faithful in the Caribou, Presque Isle, and surrounding areas can move forward to create an increasingly more vibrant Catholic community. After consultation with the Priest Personnel Board, his response is to present us with the following recommendations. In our profile, we stated that we have one of the largest territories in the Diocese and that having 10 worship sites prevents us from creating the vibrant Parish we would like it to be. So, in thinking about current and future needs, the Bishop stated, “It is clear that there is a need for a greater priest presence in the communities served by the Parish of the Precious Blood. Greater attention needs to be paid to those priorities we have laid out in our profile. We have many families in the Parish; focusing on them and developing ministries to walk with them will be essential. Identifying the most helpful locations to make these ministries flourish will also be necessary.” The Bishop would like us to consider that beginning on July 1, 2025, there would be a priest living in the following towns: Van Buren, Caribou, and Presque Isle. Over the next year, we need to identify, recommend, and agree upon the most appropriate and manageable boundaries for the new parishes which includes the current Parish of the Precious Blood and St. Peter Chanel in Van Buren. Each Parish at that moment will consist of four church sites that will be served by one priest. The Bishop continued to say that he believes it would greatly benefit us as people of God and the priests assigned. We need to create two separate parishes from the current Parish of the Precious Blood, one whose base is in Caribou and the other with a base in Presque Isle. In all this, he is asking that Fr. Tony be the designated Moderator with two other priests assigned in solidum in accord with CIC c. 517 §1. Fr. Tony’s role as Moderator would be facilitating the team ministry for the Parish of the Precious Blood during the planning phase to transition to two separate parishes. Each of the priests in solidum has the same rights and duties as the Moderator. However, it will be Fr. Tony’s charge to direct the joint action and report to the Bishop. Over the next year, or sooner, Bishop Ruggieri will be asking Fr. Tony, the two other priests in solidum, and, with input from parishioners, to make a recommendation for the appropriate boundaries of these three new parishes. Fr. Tony will also ensure that the number of Masses for each priest assigned to the current and/or possible future configuration of St. Peter Chanel Parish and the successor parishes to the Parish of the Precious Blood conforms to four. Four Masses can mean that there are two vigil Masses on Saturday and two on Sunday, or one vigil Mass on Saturday and three on Sunday. Four Masses for each priest would be the maximum possible beginning July 1, 2025.