40 Hours; Lenten Renewal- Father Kevin Louis's Bulletin Column - March 11, 2007
Thank you to all those who made our celebration of 40 Hours Adoration such a prayerful experience! Thanks go out to: Father Sakowski for his excellent homilies, those who photocopied and folded the programs for Evening Prayer and Night Prayer, those who arranged the flowers at the high altar, those who changed candles and candelabra at the high altar, those who locked and unlocked the doors of church, those who drew up the public relations materials, those who acted as altar servers, those who organized the schedule of and materials for the adorers, those who shoveled the snow (!!), those who arranged for and led the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and, above all, to each of you for your participation at Evening and Night Prayer and your own personal time before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. May we – as individuals, as families, and as a parish – reap many benefits from the abundant graces God has showered upon us through the hours spent in adoration of Christ present in the Holy Eucharist and the reconciliation experienced by so many who went to Confession!
In recent times it has become customary for the Pope to release a brief message at the beginning of Lent. Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, centers his Message for Lent 2007 on the passage from John’s Gospel: “They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (19:37). The Holy Father writes: “Let us look with trust at the pierced side of Jesus from which flow ‘blood and water’ (John 19:34)! The Fathers of the Church considered these elements as symbols of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Through the water of Baptism, thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit, we are given access to the intimacy of Trinitarian love. In the Lenten journey, memorial of our Baptism, we are exhorted to come out of ourselves in order to open ourselves in trustful abandonment to the merciful embrace of the Father (cf. St John Chrysostom, Catecheses, 3, 14ff.). Blood, symbol of the love of the Good Shepherd, flows into us especially in the Eucharistic mystery: ‘The Eucharist draws us into Jesus’ act of self-oblation . . . we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving’ (Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, 13). Let us live Lent, then, as a ‘Eucharistic’ time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus, we learn to spread it around us with every word and deed. Contemplating ‘him whom they have pierced’ moves us in this way to open our hearts to others, recognizing the wounds inflicted upon the dignity of the human person; it moves us in particular to fight every form of contempt for life and human exploitation and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so many people. May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God’s love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must ‘re-give’ to our neighbor, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this way will we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter.”
Please continue to pray for Mike, Krista, Ivy Cecilia, and Cedric James – along with little ones Owen Thomas and Silas – who are preparing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil here at Saint Peter. Pray, too, for Paula, Myles, Heidi, Ryan, and Meredith who are readying themselves to be received into the full communion of the Catholic faith on Holy Saturday. Remember in your prayers Nicole, Arturo, and Nancy who will complete their initiation into the Catholic faith by the reception of Holy Communion and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil. And I echo the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI that you make your Lent a “Eucharistic time.” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered twice every day (Monday through Saturday at 8:00 am and Monday through Friday at 5:15 pm). Also, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for your adoration continuously from 5:45 pm Tuesday through 7:45 pm Wednesday and again each Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
This Saturday, March 17, is the Memorial of Saint Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. Already a bishop, Patrick arrived in Ireland in 432. He converted some of the native heads of clans and brilliantly used various elements of Celtic culture to proclaim the Gospel. It is interesting to note that Ireland is the only country in western Europe in which the Church was established without the blood of martyrs. Patrick died on March 17, 461. “Father in heaven, you sent the great bishop Patrick to the people of Ireland to share his faith and to spend his life in loving service. May our lives bear witness to the faith we profess and our love bring others to the peace and joy of your Gospel” (from the Sacramentary).
Saint Peter, pray for us! Saint Patrick, pray for us!
Father Kevin Louis
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