"Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ's victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God "with all their hearts" (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord....Lent is a favourable season for deepening our spiritual life through the means of sanctification offered us by the Church: fasting, prayer and almsgiving."  ~ Pope Francis, 2017

Begin each day during Lent with a scripture reflection written by St. Bonaventure parishioner Mary Franceschini.  Click HERE for the reflections, updated weekly (coming soon).  To receive the reflections in a daily email during Lent, click the box in your Faith Connections email or sign up here:

Thursdays, 3:30 pm (new for Lent)
Saturdays, 2:30 pm
Classrooms A3 & B4

Receive the great Sacrament of God's forgiveness and grace during Lent!  

Join us on YouTube each Friday of Lent for the Stations of the Cross. 

6pm:  Spanish Mass & Stations of the Cross 
     (in the Church & livestreamed on Facebook)

7pm: English Stations of the Cross
Join us for a new Stations of the Cross premiering on our YouTube channel each Friday at 7pm.  We encourage you to pray with us as a community at 7 if possible, but the stations will remain available on YouTube so you may return to pray them repeatedly during Lent.

Feb. 19:      Traditional
                     YouTube Link
                     Download Worship Aid
Feb. 26:      Children’s Stations (English and Spanish)
                     You Tube Link for English Stations
                      Download English Worship Aid
                      YouTube Link for Spanish Stations
                      Download Spanish Worship Aid
Mar.  5:      Social Justice
Mar. 13:     In Time of Pandemic
Mar. 19:     Teens/Young Adult
Mar. 26:     Pro-Life Scriptural Stations of the Cross
 

Join us on Facebook Live Mondays at 7pm for our Lenten mission series.  Take time with prayer, music, scripture and reflection to ask how God is speaking to us in these unusual times through the familiar themes of Lent. 

Feb. 22     Come Back to Me: An Invitation for Lent
                  (Deacon Peter Nixon)
                   Watch the video HERE
Mar. 1       Repentance
                  (Jacob Perry, Director of Youth Ministry)
Mar. 8       Prayer
                  (Fr. David Lawrence)
Mar. 15     Fasting
                  (Deacon Peter Nixon)
Mar. 22     Almsgiving
                  (Deacon Dominic Tarantino)

The Women’s Christian Fellowship invites you to celebrate the “Year of St. Joseph” this Lent by participating in a special 33-Day preparation for Consecration to St. Joseph.  Begin with an opening Mass on Saturday, February 13 at 8am, continue with weekly small group preparation sessions on Zoom, and conclude with the Consecration Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph, Friday, March 19 at 9 am.  Small group space is limited, so please register early.

You may also attend the Masses and prepare for the Consecration on your own, using the book Consecration to St. Joseph, The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC.  For more details and to register, please click HERE.     

Is God inviting you to draw closer this Lent?  Alpha explores the basics of the Christian faith with conversation, films and laughter.  It's designed for anyone who wants to explore the big questions of faith and life, no matter where you are on your faith journey, and is especially accessible to those with little formal experience of faith traditions.

With the pandemic raising questions and increasing isolation, Alpha proides a safe place to ask any question without judgment and build community.  Invite a friend to join the journey.  

Alpha begins Monday, March 4.  Click here for more information and to sign up to join us.  Come join the fun!

Catholic Relief Service "Rice Bowl" donations are an easy way to put Lenten almsgiving into action.  Your donations have provided livegiving support to over 159 million people in more than 100 countries.  Seventy-five percent of Rice Bowl donations support CRS work around the world and twenty-five percent support efforts right here in the Oakland Diocese.

This year, you can make your own Rice Bowl at home by printing out the label HERE and attaching it to a container which you can fill over Lent.  The week after Easter,drop off your check in the St. Bonaventure collection with “CRS Rice Bowl” on the memo line.  For more Rice Bowl family activities, please click HERE.

What exactly is Lent, anyway?  Why are there 40 days of Lent?  Why do we abstain from meat on some days and fast on others?  What should I be doing to prepare?

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers a wonderful resource page with history, traditions, English and Spanish calendars, and much more.  Click HERE for the resources.