Posted on February 21, 2016 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
We are now well within our observance of Lent. I pray that everyone’s pursuit of penance, almsgiving, and prayer has remained steadfast. I pray that we have all identified some virtue that we need to grow in, and that each day we are asking God to assist us in that growth and practice.
One of the three things recommended directly by Our Lord, that we heard in our Ash Wednesday Gospel, is prayer. Without prayer, there is no chance of salvation because prayer is our communication with the Divine. Each and everyday we must pray, even if just for 15 or 30 minutes. The Church has provided us many opportunities for prayer, and we have many paths. We could all easily meditate upon the mysteries of the Rosary, upon the mysteries of Sacred Scripture. Hopefully we all have prayer books at home that we are able to use as a guide.
The various saints have developed for us different methods of meditation for our assistance. The Ignatian Model of meditating upon scripture, by placing ourselves within the particular verses we are reading and trying to imagine ourselves as one of the characters, is one way. Another s the method recommended by St. Teresa of Avila, in which we make use of the Scriptures or some other spiritual book and use that as the basis to start a conversation with God. In whatever method of mental prayer one uses, its purpose is for us to grow deeper in our love for God. In this way, we are able to become more like Him.
One must never forget to give thanks to God for all that He has offered to us. We must also never forget to pray for those who need our prayers, or who asked for them. Finally, we must always be sure every night to examine our consciences. That is to look over our day and see where we have offended God or our neighbor, or failed them in some way.
Old St. Mary’s is here to fortify you all with the teachings of the Church and the Sacraments. We do this not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our salvation, and the salvation of our children and their children. In addition, we offer Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the week. I pray that as many people as possible take advantage of this, to grow in their relationship with the Lord. We are in particular in need of someone to assist another adorer in our 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. hour on Tuesday mornings. If you feel that you can make this commitment, please contact the parish office.
The clergy of Old St. Mary’s pray everyone has a fruitful and blessed Lent. Next week I will meditate upon almsgiving. Have a blessed week ahead.
