on Ash Wednesday. Sundays are not included when we commemorate the Resurrection. This Year, Lent begins on March 9, 2011. 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 |
| The Way of the Cross Lead by Pope Benedict XVI CLICK HERE |
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| - Confessions -- During Lent Saturdays @ 3:00PM (In Church) (or as arranged w/Pastor) - Stations of the Cross - 1:00 PM Friday's During Lent (Church) |
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Lent -- 40 Days of Awakening -- Make the Most of Lent!!!
Plant a tree, a bush, or a prairie.. Make someone laugh… Say, "I’m sorry”
Mean it! Try not to waste anything for one whole day… Join neighbors in a
clean-up project. Send a crocus to someone from whom you are estranged.
Ask God to do what is best for the public person you dislike the most. Share
with someone how you pray. Cement a friendship. Read Mountains Beyond
Mountains or Half the Sky during Lent. Call someone who is lonely. Help
without being asked. Resist trying to be the center of attention. Be a shoulder
to cry on. Go to a lecture, hear a concern, see a play. Be patient with others.
Refuse to gossip. Refuse to whine. Readily forgive anyone who hurt you.
Surprise yourself. Make sure your financial investments are socially responsible.
If you love someone.. say so! Advocate on behalf of social issues such as
affordable housing. Thank God for the Gift of Life. Visit a shut-in. Give away all
your “extras.” Listen to understand others’ points of view. Visit a church you
pass regularly. Examine your conscience. Be a peacemaker at work and
home. Spend silent time alone. Affirm colleagues’ work . Refuse to judge or
categorize others. Be a sign of hope for someone who is depressed.
Recognize the truth about yourself – no matter how good it is. Imagine
peace. Talk with a person a generation older or younger.. Love a little more!
Plant a tree, a bush, or a prairie.. Make someone laugh… Say, "I’m sorry”
Mean it! Try not to waste anything for one whole day… Join neighbors in a
clean-up project. Send a crocus to someone from whom you are estranged.
Ask God to do what is best for the public person you dislike the most. Share
with someone how you pray. Cement a friendship. Read Mountains Beyond
Mountains or Half the Sky during Lent. Call someone who is lonely. Help
without being asked. Resist trying to be the center of attention. Be a shoulder
to cry on. Go to a lecture, hear a concern, see a play. Be patient with others.
Refuse to gossip. Refuse to whine. Readily forgive anyone who hurt you.
Surprise yourself. Make sure your financial investments are socially responsible.
If you love someone.. say so! Advocate on behalf of social issues such as
affordable housing. Thank God for the Gift of Life. Visit a shut-in. Give away all
your “extras.” Listen to understand others’ points of view. Visit a church you
pass regularly. Examine your conscience. Be a peacemaker at work and
home. Spend silent time alone. Affirm colleagues’ work . Refuse to judge or
categorize others. Be a sign of hope for someone who is depressed.
Recognize the truth about yourself – no matter how good it is. Imagine
peace. Talk with a person a generation older or younger.. Love a little more!
