Church of the Madalene » Lent & Easter

Our Baptismal Promises

Eric — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:53:19 +0000

Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s children?

Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin?

Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?

We renew our baptismal promises every Easter. I thought it might be a good idea to keep them handy for the rest of the year. After all, we are surrounded by the “glamour of evil” throughout the yearâ€¦

Lenten Prayer

Eric — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 16:46:41 +0000

Heavenly Father, we pray for the grace to recognize your presence with us as we begin our Lenten journey. When we are faced with temptation and want to take the easy way out, may we turn to you and pray, “Be with me, Lord, for I am in trouble.”

Meatless

Eric — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:24:03 +0000

We can have the surf but not the turf on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during lent. Okay. Why? I believe it was St. Jerome who said that ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ. I’m going to be so bold as to add to that by saying ignorance of our Catholic faith is ignorance of Christ’s Church. Nothing diminishes our faith quite like ignorance does. To the outside world it makes us look like unreasoning robots and to our children we lose respect, all because we claim a faith but don’t seem to know why.

So why do we eat fish but not “meat”?

This practice goes all the way back to First Century Christians who chose not to spill warm blood on the ground in recognition of the blood that Christ spilled on the cross. With modern conveniences like meat packing plants, grocery stores, and refrigeration, it is easy for us to forget that in ancient times if you wanted meat, it more often than not had to be slaughtered just prior to preparation. So revered was the respect for Christ’s sacrifice, early Christians would not casually spill blood from a slaughter upon the ground since it might be seen as diminishing His sacrifice. That my friends is why we can have the surf but not the turf.

Let’s not keep this fact to ourselves. As our non-Catholic friends look at us making this small sacrifice in commemoration of Christ’s Great Sacrifice, let’s tell them why, and by following this practice show them how much that Great Sacrifice means to us.

What is a Lenten Mission?

beckyw — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:42:41 +0000

What is a mission?

A mission is a three or four day retreat for a parish community. During this time, we focus on how much God loves us. The image of the crucified is the definitive statement of that love. By means of preaching, music, prayer, and ritual, the community is invited to share more deeply their life in Christ, crucified and risen. The role of the preacher is that of a cheerleader, affirming the faith that is already present and enthusing people to live out that faith.

Preparing the heart through prayer

Christians are a people of prayer, praying always for God’s will to be done. God wills for us to have a communion and oneness with him. The individual heart can best be prepared to receive the power of Jesus through prayer. At the heart of preparations for the mission is an active prayer ministry. This expresses the previous goal of awakening an expectation in Jesus’ power.

Reaching out to the most needy

A mission is a special time of Grace for all. This includes the people who worship the Lord each Sunday, as well as those who don’t. In fact, the mission is really geared towards religious conversion; the giving of our hearts to Jesus in a deeper way. All can benefit from this; we all need on-going conversion. Of special interest, however, are those who for whatever reason are not attending the Eucharist each Sunday. A mission is a splendid time to speak to the people who may not be coming to church. I pray that a concerted effort will be made to reach out to these people on the days prior to the mission.

Why Do Catholics Give Something up for Lent?

Eric — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:05:28 +0000

Giving something up during Lent can take us in 1 of 2 directions. It can eliminate the desire for what we have sacrificed, making more room for God. Or, it can create a stronger desire for what we gave up so that when we return to it, we appreciate it all the more and thank God for the blessing. Either option can bring us closer to God which is the real point of Lent.

Lenten Traditions

Eric — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:52:05 +0000

Even though Lent comes every year, we aren’t always ready for it. We don’t plan months, even weeks in advance for this season, as we do Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Even Independence Day carries with it some needed preparation. In fact, Ash Wednesday sometimes catches us off our guard. This year let’s make Ash Wednesday (Feb. 21st) our spiritual wake-up call! It can be a time when we identify and eliminate whatever is making us spiritually sleepy.

Â Try these:

Get a check-up. Through prayer and reflection identify the areas in your life or your relationships that lead you away from God. Make a plan to remove those distractions. Write it down. Follow it!
Simplify. Lent is when we demonstrate our detachment from the world by eliminating luxury or comfort. Try eating less than you normally eat at meals during Lent, or cut out spices and sauces so that the food is simpler and possibly less appealing to our taste.
Add something back. Once we remove the “static” between us and God, we need to do something new that will bring us closer to him. If you don’t pray a daily Rosary, start now. If you can’t get to daily
Mass, follow the readings from wherever you are. Find time for more prayer.
Demonstrate a change of heart. This is the season to turn away from the world and back to God. Show more charity. Refuse to complain, gossip or lose your temper. Act only with love.