Pastors Notes from February 12, 2024
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February 12, 2024With such a brief interlude from the ending of Christmas season (with Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday this week, we’ve had little to consider our efforts of renewal these upcoming forty days. Guiding our efforts to renew our faith these forty days are the standards of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Pope Francis, in a past homily said as much: “Lent is also a privileged time for prayer,” and quoting St. Augustine, “fasting and almsgiving are ‘the two wings of prayer,’ because they are signs of humility and charity.” Ash Wednesday calls us to abstain from meat and fast between meals with one full meal. On the Fridays during Lent we are to abstain from meat.
Approaching the Lenten Season some thoughts on prayer:
"God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer." (Mother Teresa). "Prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." (St. Therese of Lisieux)
"And so I urge you: carry on an ongoing conversation with God about the daily stuff of life, a little like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. For now, do not worry about 'proper' praying, just talk to God." (Richard J. Foster)
Entering into the forty days of Lent some insights on fasting:
“Fasting cleanses the soul, raised the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble.” (St. Augustine)
“Start the practice of self-control with some penance; begin with fasting. (Mahavira)
“Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in Him a source of sustenance beyond food.” (Dallas Willard)
Aspiring to renew our personal faith during Lent some reflections on almsgiving: “The bread you do not use is the bread of the hungry. The garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of the person who is naked. The shoes you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot. The money you keep locked away is the money of the poor. The acts of charity you do not perform are the injustices you commit.” (St. Basil the Great) “Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy; rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave his entire self for us.” (Pope Benedict XVI) “Not what we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare.” (James Russell Lowell)
Officially the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops inform us of our Lenten responsibilities and opportunities: Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. . . .Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents.”
As for a renewal of personal prayer during these forty days some individuals make a commitment to attend a daily Mass; some participate in the unique prayer, Stations of the Cross. (Offered Friday mornings following the 8:00am Mass and following the noon School Mass at Sacred Heart. Likewise, the Stations of the Cross will be offered Thursday evenings at St. Malachy Church following the 5:30pm Mass, with the soup and sandwich meal afterwards. At St. John Church the Stations will be offered on the first and third Fridays of February and March during Lent, following the 9:15am Mass.) Individuals take the time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent and sometimes more than once.
Many individuals extend the Friday fasts to abstaining from certain foods or sweets or drinks during Lent. Some fast from personal practices that can provide a healthier lifestyle, ie., television, use of games or time on the smart phone or computers, certain words.
During Lent individuals participate in the the “Rice Bowl” project that supports Catholic Extension’s outreach to the struggling overseas; some give time by visiting care centers or certain individuals or relatives on a frequent basis. Whatever steps one takes as an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with God, and entering more freely into the Sacramental life of the Church, be creative and reflective of what you can do consciously, freely and willingly.
Finally, allow this Lenten Season become a charitable time rather than sacrificial, naturally sharing our time with God through prayer, Almsgiving and fasting.
“I imagine Lent for you and for me as a great departure from the greedy, anxious antineighborliness of our economy, a great departure from our exclusionary politics that fears the other, a great departure from self-indulgent consumerism that devours creation. And then an arrival in a new neighborhood, because it is a gift to be simple, it is a gift to be free; it is a gift to come down where we ought to be.” (Walter Brueggemann, Scripture Scholar)
God Bless, Fr. Tim
FYI: What a gift to welcome back Fr, Craig Collison for our School Mass last week. As a native son he reflects the grace of our parish and this community of Boone.
