| Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Sundays are not included when counting the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. This Year, Lent begins on February 17, 2010, and continues through March 31, 2010. In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on April 9th (Holy Thursday), with the beginning of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Lent is a season of being invited by God in a deeply personal way. “Come back to me, with all of your heart,” our Lord beckons. "We will," we respond, but we aren’t quite ready yet, our hearts are not prepared. We want to squirm, evade, avoid. Our souls not yet perfect. We are not ready for God to love us. Lent offers us all a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and to deepen our commitment to a way of life, rooted in our baptism. In our busy world, Lent provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon our patterns, to pray more deeply, experience sorrow for what we've done and failed to do, and to be generous to those in need. |
| Praying Lent is the time to start new patterns of prayer. Perhaps you haven't been praying at all. This is a great time to choose to begin. It is important to begin realistically. You can start by simply pausing when you get up and taking a slow, deep breath, and recalling what you have to do this day, and ask for grace to do it as a child of God. You may want to go to bed a half an hour earlier, and get up a half an hour earlier and give yourself some time alone to read the readings for the day, and just talk with the Lord about those readings or about the stuff of the day. You may choose to go to Mass each day during Lent. You may choose to get to church on Sunday, just 15 minutes earlier, so you can reflect a bit. Lent may be a time you will want to choose to start to journal the day to day reflections that are coming, the desires you're naming and asking for, the graces you are being given. |
| Lenten Links |
During Lent
- Celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation. Can’t remember how? Simply tell the priest it has been
a while, and ask him to guide you through it. - Make a commitment to reading the Sunday readings before you go to Mass. In the same way that
reading up on football players, opposing teams, and coaching strategies will help you experience a
game more fully, familiarizing yourself with the readings ahead of time can allow you to experience
them in a deeper way on Sunday.Practice humility during Lent in all your actions. - Look for ways to be helpful throughout each day during Lent.
- Think about what you usually spend your money on. Do you buy a few too many clothes? Spend a
few too many bucks on iTunes? Eating out? Pick one type of expenditure that you’ll “fast” from
during Lent, and give the money you would usually spend to a great local charity. - Do a job that needs being done without being asked.
- Be courageous; walk away from any impure situations .
- Don't be at all idle during Lent. Always be doing something for others or for your own spiritual
growth. - Go out of your way during Lent to help or talk to someone who is usually difficult.
- Volunteer with your Church or do an extra job during Lent.
- If you don’t have a cross in your apartment or house, buy a simple one and put it in your bedroom
- Say an extra Rosary during Lent for the conversion of a sinner.
- Make a commitment to “fast” from cruel comments about others.
- Pray for somebody. As you’re walking the streets, driving the highways, sitting in your cubicle at
work, or going to a movie, pick out a person who appears to be in need, and pray for that person.
Be mindful of the words of Philo of Alexandria, who said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting
a great battle.” - Visit someone who is sick or lonesome during Lent. Offer to say the Rosary with them.
- Read the Works of Mercy as Jesus describes them in Matthew 25. “For I was hungry and you gave
me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…in prison and you visited me.” There are plenty of
opportunities available in your own community to put this teaching into practice. Choose an act of
service you can perform throughout Lent.
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| The Way of the Cross Lead by Pope Benedict XVI CLICK HERE |
| Feel the Power & Share the Glory LENT 2010 CLICK HERE for St. Brigid Holy Week Schedule |
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| - Confessions -- During Lent Wednesdays - 3:00 PM (in Chapel) Saturdays @ 3:00PM (In Church) (or as arranged w/Pastor) - Stations of the Cross - 1:00 PM Friday's During Lent (Church) |