Easter.  Make this Easter special and attend as many of the Triduum and Easter events as you can:

Perpetual Adoration.  Our Lady of Fatima is one of only eighteen parishes in Colorado with a Perpetual Adoration Chapel. You have been hearing testimonials about the power of Adoration and hopefully you have been able to pay a visit this Lent.  If not, try to do so this week.  If you would like to become a scheduled or substitute Adorer or would like more information about Adoration, please take a look at the Perpetual Adoration Chapel webpage at www.FatimaLakewood.com/Adoration. We can't be perpetual without lots of help.

.

Exciting news!  The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will canonize Bl Francisco and Bl Jacinta while on his trip to Fatima, Portugal in May.  Francisco and Jacinta Marto were the two younger shepherd children to whom Our Lady appeared in 1917.  As part of the Centennial Celebration, we obtained coffin relics of Francisco and Jacinta.  These relics are on permanent display to the right of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the church.

Announcing two exciting activities for the youth of our parish during the final six months of our Celebration!  There will be a trivia contest and an art contest for our youth divided by age groups.  The trivia questions will run in the first bulletin of the months May - October.  The art contest will run until October 13.  We have very special prizes for all top winners!  Details were in the bulletin this past weekend and available in the parish office.

On May 1, 2015, we began a campaign to say one million rosaries by October 13, 2017.  The Centennial Committee is very proud to announce that as of April 1, that goal has been reached and surpassed.  The tally is now at 1,024,752.  Thank you to all our parishioners and Catholics from around the world who have made this a reality.  We honor Our Lady of Fatima by keeping her wishes of saying the rosary for the conversion of Russia, world peace and our own special intentions.  Please join us as we continue this campaign to now reach two million by the closing date of this pilgrimage year, October 29, 2017. 

Our next big event will be the 5:00 PM Mass on Saturday, May 13.  This is the Sunday anticipatory Mass dedicated to Our Lady on her feast day.  This is also the 100th anniversary of Our Lady's first apparition to the three shepherd children.  The Mass will be followed by a pot luck in the Hall. The entrée will be provided. Please bring a dish suitable for eight. All are welcome!

Would you like to become a Greeter for weekend Mass? We invite you to sign up and try it out! We especially need Greeters for Saturday 5 pm and Sunday 5 pm Masses. Being a Greeter is simple! We arrive 15-20 min. early to Mass and station ourselves at an exterior door of the church. As people arrive, we offer a friendly hello and open the door. If you are feeling a nudge from the Holy Spirit, email Elisa Foster or signup today online at SignUpGenius. To see a greeter in action, click here. Thank you for prayerfully considering to help welcome the Lord’s flock to the Supper of the Lamb!

Encounter Prayer Group – Tuesdays at 5:30 pm in the Church.

Adult/Parent Sunday Morning RE at 9:45 am in the School Music Room on April 2nd, 9th, 23rd and 30th.

Thanks to Father Henri, we have access to the best Catholic content all in one place: http://www.formed.org/, available on any device. Simply go to the web site and enter this parishioner code: d9b220. From there, you will see free online Catholic DVDs, CDs, books, and series such as Symbolon, Beloved, 33 Days to Morning Glory, Bishop Barron’s Catholicism series, and many more. For a flyer on Formed, click here: Formed Flyer. Enjoy!

Breaking Open the Word after Liturgy of the Word at 11:30 am Mass in the Fireside Room on April 2nd and 9th.

4/5/17 - 6:00 pm Adoration, Praise and Prayer in Church and 7:00-8:30 pm, The Our Father and preparation for 1st Communion.

4/12/17 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm Elect and candidate will practice for the Easter Vigil in the church while the rest of the group meets in the Parish Hall.

4/19/17 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm Discussion of the Easter Vigil, Divine Mercy Sunday and our spiritual gifts in the Parish Hall.

4/26/17 - 6:30 - 8:30 pm Preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Religious Education Calendar:

April 6 - Lesson #11 for Thursday Option, 7:00 pm in OLF School.

April 16 - Easter Sunday -  No RE classes.

April 22 - Day of Reflection and First Reconciliation Celebration, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at Christ the King parish in Evergreen.

April 25 & 26 - Last Day for CGS afternoon classes

April 30 - Last Day for Sunday RE classes.

Please pray that our second graders, who will be making their first confession on April 22, have a blessed retreat experience and come to know the loving mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in this beautiful sacrament.

Youth Group Calendar:

April 9th – OFF due to Palm Sunday

April 14th – Our Mother Cabrini Good Friday walk, led by Hannah (contact at OLFyouth15@gmail.com), will start at 9:30am or 6:30am to do the Stations of the Cross.  All youth are welcome, as well as anyone else from the parish who would like to join!

April 16th – OFF due to Easter

April 23rd – Both groups will meet for the Divine Mercy Service at the parish (the service begins at 3pm).

April 30th – Regular youth group meeting time. Mid school (3-4:30pm) High school (6:30-8pm) in the RE building

May 7th – Regular youth group meeting time, with a catch.  Mid school (3-4:30pm) High school (6:30-8pm) in the RE building.  BUT if you are a 5th grader who wants to check out middle school youth group, you can come to the 3-4:30pm time!  If you are an 8th grader who wants to check out high school youth group, you are welcome to come to the 6:30-8pm time!

May 12th – Youth Group End-of-the-Year cookout!  6:30-8:30pm in the Fatima parking lot.  There will be food, Spikeball, other yard games, and a video.  All are welcome!

***There will be other summer time activities planned for Youth Group.  They are not completely set in stone, but if you would like to be informed on what’s going on, please email Hannah at OLFyouth15@gmail.com and she will add you to the list

.

Join Magnificat Moms for a book study on Tuesday, April 4th and 18th in the Parish Hall from 6:30-8pm. Our book is "Imitating Mary: Ten Marian Virtues for the Modern Mom" by Marge Fenelon, which can be purchased through Amazon Smile or Ave Maria Press. All moms are welcome! Join our Flocknote list for updates - https://app.flocknote.com/fatima/MagnificatMoms.

This year our parish school has been blessed to receive three scholarships from the Alliance for Choice in Education (ACE) and one scholarship from the Schmitz Family Foundation.  These scholarships each pay up to $2,000 toward tuition in an ACE partner school. Once awarded, the scholarships can stay with a child as long as he/she remains in an ACE partner school.

These scholarships are needs based and can only be awarded to new students entering Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in grades 2-7. The website, www.acescholarships.org, can answer many of your questions about both scholarships.  Interested families must complete the Fatima registration packet prior to applying for these scholarships.  Please contact the school office with any questions.

White Fence Farm Fun-Raiser:  Join our Fatima family at White Fence Farm on April 20 from 4:00-8:00 p.m.  A portion of the receipts benefit our parish school.

Cheers to Life Ultrasound Dinner. This is your last chance to purchase your tickets for the annual KOC Cheers to Life dinner on April 29. Please speak to a Knight or stop by church or school offices to purchase. Tickets are only $45, and all proceeds go toward the purchase of an ultrasound machine to be placed in a local Colorado pro-life Pregnancy Center.

The Knights are always looking for quality men who wish to be better fathers, husbands, and Catholics to join our family-oriented council. Consider coming to a social meeting on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7 pm, or talk to a Knight at the prayer program, the pancake breakfast, or join the Knights' FlockNote group at Knights. They can also be reached at KofC9597@gmail.com or 1-844-COKofC.

We are looking to communicate better with the men of our parish. Men, please add yourselves to the Men of Our Lady of Fatima FlockNote group by clicking here FatimaMen. We will send you periodic information on things of interest to the men of the parish.

You can also add yourself to the Band of Brothers men's group FlockNote group by clicking here: Band of Brothers. All men are welcome. You can follow the BOB blog at www.FatimaBOB.blogspot.com

* * * * *

To read the Archdiocese's newspaper, Denver Catholic, online, click on the following link: www.denvercatholic.org

* * * * *

Our parish uses FlockNote as an email and text message delivery system. You are signed up with our parish FlockNote. We encourage you to go the parish FlockNote site and sign up for groups from which you would like to receive information. Go to www.FlockNote.com/Fatima to do so (or contact the leader of a ministry you are interested in). Your email is the email to which this note was sent, and you may need to create a password if you haven’t done so already. You can unsubscribe from any groups whenever you like. Check back periodically, as new groups are being added. For more information about FlockNote, go to the following link: FlockNote.

In addition to the ministries listed above, there are a number of other ministries that have set up (or are setting up) FlockNote groups. If you have an interest, please consider signing up to get ongoing information. You can go to www.FlockNote.com/Fatima and browse the groups of interest.