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February 15, 2018What are you doing for Lent this year?
Ask most practicing Catholics what they're doing for Lent this year, and they'll probably tell you that they are giving up a favorite food, a favorite pastime or anything else they really love but isn't essential in their lives. Giving up something for Lent fosters self-discipline and tempers our desires. It is a form of fasting. It is a form of penance. It promotes spiritual growth.
If you're giving up something for Lent, that's great. But think also about the possibility of doing something positive to bolster your spiritual life and make the world a better place. Look for ways that you can increase your knowledge of your faith, strengthen your spiritual life or perform special acts of mercy and kindness at home, at work, in our parish or in your community. I’d love to see more folks coming to daily Mass for Lent.
10 tips for making the season more meaningful- Slow Down - Set aside 10 minutes a day for silent prayer or meditation. It will revitalize your body and your spirit.
- Read a good book - You could choose the life of a saint, a spiritual how-to, an
Vogt.- Be kind - Go out of your way to do something nice for someone else every day.
5. Volunteer – We always need more help with the liturgical ministries. There is no age
limit on altar serving or cleaning the church linens or help at the Social Apostolate.
6. Reach out - Invite an inactive Catholic to come to Church with you.
7. Pray - Especially for people you don't like and for people who don't like you.
8. Tune out - Turn off the television and spend quality time talking with family members
or friends.
9. Clean out a closet - Donate gently used items to a charity.
10. Donate — Make sure you contribute to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal to help the mission
of the Church in South Georgia, but then also be mindful of the Church Universal by
contributing to Rice Bowl.
Stations of the Cross - Telling the story of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus was an important part of the early Christian's experience. It still is. In the late fourth century, people began making pilgrimages to the Holy Land, where they would follow the path that Jesus took to Calvary. During the Middle Ages, when outbreaks of war made it impossible for people to travel to the Holy Land, people created a Via Dolorosa, or "Sorrowful Way," in their towns and villages. They erected paintings or sculptures depicting the Passion of Christ along a processional route or inside a church. By the mid-18th century, the number of stations was fixed at 14 and the devotion known as the Stations of the Cross, also called the Way of the Cross, became widespread. I am grateful to Ken Douberly for leading the stations this Wednesday at 12:15 while I am attending a meeting for the Jesus Caritas Fraternity of Priests.
This Monday Fr. Dick Rossman (Archdiocese of Portland), Fr. Alex Trejo (Diocese of Yakima) and I will be traveling to Santo Domingo for the Second Pan American Assembly. Fr. Mark Mertes (Archdiocese of Kansas) who serves on the International Council will also be attending the Assembly with us. There will be priests from Quebec, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic attending the Assembly. Jesus Caritas is an international association or “fraternity” of diocesan priests engaged in a spirituality that is rooted in the Gospel, Eucharistic adoration and contemplative prayer, simplicity of life and love for the poor, and a sense of being what Blessed Charles de Foucauld called a “universal brother.” During the Assembly the priests will relate how they are living this spirituality in their own country. I am grateful that an old friend, Father Francois Pellissier, a Glenmary priest who is involved in prison ministry will be filling in for me during the week and to Fr. Pat O’Brien who will be hearing confessions and celebrating Mass next Saturday. Hopefully, Delta will have me back in time for Masses next Sunday.
Days of Abstinence: No meat should be eaten on all of the Fridays during Lent. This applies to all Catholics 14 and older.
Fr. Jerry Ragan
