It’s official! The Disciple Maker Index Survey is open until April 4 and we need your help.
Dear Beloved Parishioners,
So a few things:
I am away with my priest support group, returning just in time for the Men’s ACTS retreat. Please continue to pray for our brothers in the days before and the days of the retreat. (Feb. 24-27)
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All Things New – here is a link to a little video about the upcoming Disciple Maker Index.
https://stlosp.flocknote.com/note/15538718/video/499563507
In addition, you will find some prayer resources for your reflection.
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Though, in my less redeemed moments, I am a little fearful of what happens down the road, let me say just two things. 1) Down the road has not happened yet. Nor is it predetermined. At the moment all that exists with All Things New is a plan to make a plan. I ask that you trust that. And that you trust the Spirit’s guidance at this moment in our lives as church. And 2) The best thing we can do at the moment in our common discernment is to “pray ourselves free.” Free from any pre-conceived notions of how this will turn out, and free to want only what God wants for us at this time in our lives as individuals, a parish and an Archdiocese. “Take Lord, receive, all is yours now. Dispose of it, wholly according to your will”, is a simple phrase to pray (or sing, if you remember these words from the Jesuit Hymn) in those moments of doubt and fear. All is always God’s. We are mere servants and stewards…
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A Lenten Resource… HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS – from the Ignatian Spirituality Network.
Harden not your hearts, we will be told on Ash Wednesday, as Lent begins.
And how difficult it is.
In addition to the injustices that have deepened during this ongoing pandemic, we are trying to live through the day to day. So many of us feel numb, our hearts hardened simply as a means of survival. Some of us are exhausted, some angry, some worn down…we are all deeply frustrated in some way with the reality of the world.
But what if we can transform our frustration into holy frustration?
A frustration that gives voice to our weariness in the face of injustice, uncertainty, and crisis after crisis, but also allows us to tap into the inner wells of strength that God provides. One that keeps us, even in our numbness, open to hear God’s voice, to harden not our hearts.
Walk with writers from across the Ignatian network each day throughout Lent as we strive to turn our frustration into holy frustration in a way that keeps our hearts open and our action oriented to God’s voice and to one another as we seek connection and justice in our world.
Click HERE to register for this daily email during Lent from the Ignatian Network.
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ARCHDIOCESAN LENTEN REGULATIONS
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
The Church has always helped us fulfill these words of Jesus by prescribing very definite penance for all Catholics, so that we too might have Eternal life. Accordingly, the Pope and the American Bishops have outlined obligatory fast and abstinence as follows:
Ash Wednesday (March 2, 2022), all Fridays of Lent and Good Friday (April 15, 2022) are days of abstinence (refraining from meat) for all Catholics from age 14 onwards. On these two days, fast, as well as abstinence, is also obligatory for those from the ages of 18-59. Abstinence means refraining from meat. Fast means one full meal a day, with two smaller meals and nothing between meals (liquids are permitted). No Catholic will lightly excuse himself or herself from this obligation.
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The Deeper Dive into our Sunday Scripture
Comes to us once more, from the good people at LPi –
The Courage to Forgive…
It does not take courage to exact revenge; rather, it takes courage to forgive and seek true justice.
In today’s gospel, Jesus compels us to fight evil through the power of good. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Our society tends to view evil as strong and goodness as weak. Hollywood films depict the strong woman or man as the one who refuses to forgive and who violently seeks revenge on all who harmed them. However, nothing could be further from the truth. It is easy to hold a grudge. Even children are capable of doing that. On the contrary, it is difficult to forgive. It is hard to love those who want to harm us. Despite what Hollywood tells us, it does not take courage to seek vengeance on someone. Rather, it takes courage to forgive. Only a strong person has the power to forgive, to turn the other cheek, and to choose love over hate.
Forgiveness and love are powerful forces for change in society. Sometimes change can happen through violence. People will sometimes behave differently because they are afraid. However, that type of change is short-lived. Eventually people become resentful of having to live in fear and find ways of striking back. In the end, violence only leads to more violence. The history of the world is rife with many examples of just how futile violence can be.
In contrast, love can bring healing, justice, and peace to our world. Just ask the countless Christian witnesses who have chosen the path of love — Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Saint Pope John Paul II, and Dorothy Day. When we choose to forgive, it unleashes the hope of reconciliation. Our enemies come to understand that we are not a threat to them. We begin to see each other not as competitors but as brothers and sisters. By God’s grace, history is full of examples of how forgiveness can change society for the better.
Many of us carry bitterness in our hearts toward someone who has hurt us. We may even dream of the day when we can get revenge on them. It is natural for us to want those who have hurt us to feel for themselves the pain they have inflicted on us. But revenge never gives us satisfaction. It only strengthens the hate and resentment within us. Our inability to forgive only gives those who hurt us more power over us. When we choose to forgive, we set ourselves free from the power of those who have hurt us. For that reason, forgiveness is really the ultimate revenge.
It is up to us, the baptized followers of Jesus, to change the world through the power of forgiveness and love. Jesus himself gives us his example of merciful love that turns an act of unspeakable violence — the cross — into the moment of the world’s salvation. That is what we celebrate today — a merciful God who saves us through love. That is the commitment we made at our baptism — to follow Jesus’ example until the whole world knows the merciful love of God. To make that happen, we are even willing to love our enemies.
Douglas Sousa
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Finally, the song of the day:
I have had this on my play list for a long time – a Simon and Garfunkel classic, sung by Pentatonix: The Sounds of Silence. Enjoy. (It one of those songs where you can just close your eyes, and let the music flow over you. And then when you realize it is just 5 voices creating the sound… just amazing…)
Blessings,
Fr. Bill