Gaze of Christ Series Announced - Fr. Louis Bulletin Letter - March 5, 2006
This week marks the first full week of our Lenten observance. We join our Catholic brothers and sisters around the world in the ancient penitential discipline of the Church by abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent for those 14 years of age and older, and by fasting (one full meal, two smaller meals) on Good Friday for those who are 18 but not yet 59. Receiving the Sacrament of Penance is an essential component of our preparation for Easter. Numerous opportunities to celebrate the Lord’s merciful love are available this Lent: Wednesday through Saturday 7:30-7:45 am; Monday through Friday 4:45-5:00 pm; Wednesday 7:45-8:45 pm; Saturday 3:00 - 3:45 pm; and Sunday 7:00 -7:45pm. More frequent reception of Holy Communion is another means of spiritual renewal. You are invited to participate in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered weekdays (Monday through Saturday 8:00 am and Monday through Friday at 5:15 pm), and to participate more fully, actively and consciously in our observance of the Lord’s Day (Saturday 4:00 pm; Sunday 8:00 am and 10:00 am). Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent afford us the opportunity to spend time with the Lord present in the Most Holy Eucharist. On Wednesdays of Lent the Blessed Sacrament is exposed following the 5:15 pm Mass until 8:45 pm. At 7:00pm, we pray the Stations of the Cross and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Exposition concludes with Night Prayer at 8:45 PM. On Fridays of Lent the Blessed Sacrament is exposed following the 8:00 am Mass until 5:00 pm. At 12:10 pm we pray the Stations of the Cross after which a soup lunch is served in Kolbe Hall. Exposition concludes with the Litany of the Sacred Heart and Benediction at 5:00 pm. Each week of Lent, we dedicate the period of Exposition to prayer for a special intention. The prayer intention for the First Week of Lent is God’s blessings on our parish – our family of families – and for a strengthening of family life and marriage, especially at Saint Peter’s. Please, remember that intention in your personal and family prayer as well.
It has become customary for the Pope to issue a brief message at the beginning of Lent. Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in his Message for Lent 2006 reminds us that “Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. Even in the ‘valley of darkness’ of which the Psalmist speaks (Psalm 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us.” The particular theme that the Pope chose for his Lenten mediation is taken from Matthew 9:36: “Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity.” Benedict XVI writes: “Even now, the compassionate ‘gaze’ of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine ‘plan’ includes their call to salvation. Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and He brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation.” This Monday, March 6, we begin a series of presentations exploring the “gaze of Christ,” as Pope Benedict puts it. These sessions (7:00-8:00 pm) are independent of one another, so you are welcome to attend any or all of them. To facilitate your participation, childcare is provided. I am leading the first session that will explore just who this Jesus is who casts His gaze upon us.
Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.