Lent 2023
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weekly prayer and action
1st Week: Feb. 26-Mar. 4 kindnessPrayer: Father of mercies and God of all consolation, give me the grace to love my enemies so that it might help me to love you and my neighbor better.
action: Do something kind for someone who doesn’t like you
2nd week: Mar. 5-11 couragePrayer: Father, give us courageous hearts to hear your Word. May we allow ourselves to be changed by daily encounters with you in your Word and sacrament and in our brothers and sisters.
action: Give alms to a needy person or cause
3rd week: Mar. 12-18 COMPASSIOnPrayer: Most merciful Father, we come before you in need of your compassion. Please open our hearts to receive your love and give us the eyes to see how you lavish your mercy upon us.
action: Give comfort to someone who is grieving, afflicted or struggling in some way.
4th week: Mar. 19-25 GratitudePrayer: Father, give me the grace this week to be a credible witness to your love, that through my words, works, and prayers, you may be better known and loved.
action: Send a thank you note to someone to whom you owe a debt of gratitude
5th week: Mar.26-Apr. 1 ForgivenessPrayer: Father, in this Lenten season of prayer and penance, help us to practice the greatest penance of all, loving and forgiving those who have hurt us. Jesus has shown the way. Helps us imitate him.
action: Pray a decade of the rosary for a person you find hard to forgive
6th week: Apr. 2-8 humilityPrayer: Father, give me the strength and humility to come to you and ask for forgiveness for my sins so that I may be in union with you and those you put in my life.
action: Go to confession. Ask forgiveness from a family member.
Prepared by Blessed Sacrament Marriage and Family Life
Prayers and Actions adapted from “The Magnificat Lenten Companion” and from “Family Prayers for Lent – A Journey with Jesus” by Gwen Costello
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Annual hunger Mass and Food drive CLICK HERE- Feb 24 – Hunger Mass – Friday (5:30 pm) Offertory collection for food pantries. Bring your bags to the altar Feb 25-26.
lenten series and annual corbett lecture CLICK HERE
From Saint Francis to Pope Francis… Our Common Home: Who’s in Charge?
A Series of Talks Exploring Enduring Issues. Join us on Thursdays (7:00 p.m.) at the Parish Center main level meeting room:- Feb 23 – From St. Francis’ Canticle of the Sun to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’: A Reflection, with Fr. Regis Armstrong, OFM Cap
- Mar 9 – Buzzkill: A Wild Wander Through the Weird and Threatening World of Bugs, with author Brenna Maloney
- Mar 23– Rekindling Wonder: Touching Heaven in a Screen-Saturated World, with Fr. Chris Seith
- Apr 20– Ecology, Liturgy, and the Sacraments, Msgr. Kevin Irwin
LENTEN video SERIES: SORROWFUl mysteries of the rosary CLICK HERE
Filmed in the Holy Land, this video series helps us enter more deeply into our Lord’s Passion and Death through the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary. This is not a recitation of the rosary. Join us in the Parish Center main level meeting room:- Mar 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 – Thursdays (12:30 p.m.) video series & discussion
- Mar 3 – Friday (after 6:30 a.m. Mass) introductory video presentation.
That man is you lent program CLICK HERE
We are presenting a special pilot program this Lent for men in the parish, the community, at home and at work who want to learn more.- Mar 11 & 18 – Saturday (6:30-8:00 a.m.) Join us in the auditorium.
centering prayer CLICK HERE
Are you looking for a new Lenten prayer practice? Try silence.- Mar 8, 12, 22, 29 – You are invited to the Manning Center on Wednesday to experience a meditation practice rooted in the Christian tradition, which can be integrated in your daily lives.
empty bowls 26th annual supper CLICK HERE
- Mar 14 – Tuesday (after 5:30 p.m. Mass) Everyone is welcome in the auditorium for a simple meal of soup and fellowship. Proceeds benefit So Others Might Eat.
THIS WEEK
Ash Wednesday, February 22
This week we celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The period derives its name from an Old English term for “lengthen” – the daylight hours are getting longer as spring approaches.
“Lent is marked by two themes, the. By recalling or preparing for baptism and by repentance, this season disposes the faithful, as they more diligently listen to the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery. The baptism and penitential aspects of Lent are to be given greater prominence in both the liturgy and liturgical catechesis” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 109).
Our focus is baptismal because this has traditionally been a period of intense spiritual preparation for our catechumens. We walk with our “elect” who are preparing for the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. In so doing we recall our own baptism, the graces it bestowed, and the duties it demands.
Our focus is also penitential. We recall our failures to live as followers of Christ. Since ancient times, the Church has encouraged us to do penance in three ways – more fervent prayer, more purposeful fasting, and almsgiving.
While we routinely speak of the forty days of Lent, there are actually 44 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday afternoon. The Church offers us some preparatory days before the First Sunday of Lent –Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Friday after Ash Wednesday, and Saturday after Ash Wednesday. Some scholars call this “The Porch of Lent.” Listen carefully to the readings assigned to these days – they invite us into the season and teach us how to pray, to fast, and give alms.
First Sunday of Lent, February 26
Today at the 10:30 Mass, we celebrate the Rite of Sending for our two catechumens. After
hearing testimony from their sponsors and godparents, the community affirms their readiness, prays over them, then lovingly “send” them off to the Basilica. At 3:00, they join with hundreds of other catechumens and candidates from around the Archdiocese at a special “combined” liturgy presided over by Cardinal Gregory.
The Rite of Election is an ancient rite of the Church. It is traditionally celebrated on the First Sunday of Lent. Based upon the testimony of godparents and sponsors, the Bishop “chooses” or “elects” the catechumens to receive the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) at Easter Vigil. As in ancient times, their names are recorded in a special book, “The Book of the Elect.” Hereafter, the catechumens are known as the “elect” or the “enlightened.”
Moments later, the Cardinal will celebrate a separate rite entitled The Call to Continuing Conversion. Similarly, he heard the testimony of the sponsors of all the candidates. Since these candidates are already baptized Christians, he recognized their “desire to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit and to have a place at Christ’s Eucharistic table” (RCIA 454) in full communion with the Catholic Church.
“...In the liturgy and liturgical catechesis of Lent the reminder of baptism already received or the preparation for its reception, as well as the theme of repentance, renew the entire community along with those who being prepared to celebrate the paschal mystery” (RCIA 138). It’s a special time of repentance and reflection for all of us! Let us pray, daily, for our elect as we accompany them toward Easter.
Second Sunday of Lent, March 5
Did you know that before the Second Vatican Council we only heard a small portion of the New Testament and we only read from the Old Testament twelve times a year? The Council fathers mandated that the liturgy “open up the treasures of the Bible more lavishly” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 51) and scholars worked diligently to assign readings for the entire liturgical year. Sunday readings were so rich that they divided them into three-year cycles – A, B, and C. Weekday readings (six days per week) were arranged in two year cycles (Year I and Year II); the first reading changed, but the gospel of the day remained the same.
Lenten Sundays are particularly meaningful. Indeed, during Year A, we draw on passages which the Church has used for over 1800 years!
On the first two Sundays of Lent, the Church is consistent in all three years. On the First Sunday of Lent, we hear the gospel of Christ’s temptation in the desert. On the Second Sunday of Lent, we hear the accounts of the Transfiguration. On the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent we hear the gospel of the Samaritan woman at the well, the Man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus, respectively. Particularly for the elect (catechumens), these gospel reading anticipate baptism – water, light, and new life! On Palm Sunday, we will read the Passion account from each of the synoptic gospels – Matthew (in Year A), Mark (in Year B), and Luke (in Year C). We will always use the Passion account of John on Good Friday.
The Sundays of Lent hold special meaning for all of us on our Lenten journey and the prayers and readings we use at Mass reflect that.
Third Sunday of Lent, March 12
During Lent we celebrate three “scrutinies” with those who are approaching the Easter sacraments. The title of the rite sounds more intimidating than it is; in these rites, we pray for our Elect, calling down God’s protection upon them. “The Scrutinies are rites for self-searching and repentance and have, above all, a spiritual purpose. The scrutinies are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is weak, defective, or sinful in the hearts of the Elect; to bring out then strengthen all that is upright, strong, and good. For scrutinies are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan, to protect them against temptation, and to give them strength in Christ who is the way, the truth and the life. These rites, therefore, should complete the conversion of the elect and deepen their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decisions to
love God above all” (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, 141).
As early as the fourth century, we find evidence that these scrutinies had been celebrated on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent and that three famous gospel readings had been assigned to those Sundays -- the Samaritan woman at the well, the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus (respectively). In our current Lectionary, these are prescribed for Year A; but they have such significance, especially for our elect, that they may also be used in Years B and C.
“… By this means, first of all, the elect are instructed gradually about the mystery of sin, from which the whole world and every person longs to be delivered and thus saved from its present and future consequences. Second, their spirit is filled with Christ the Redeemer (Samaritan woman), the light of the world (the man born blind) the resurrection and the life (raising of Lazarus). From the first to the final scrutiny, the elect should progress in their perception of sin and their desire for salvation” (RCIA 143).
The presider “should carry out the rite in such a way that that the faithful in the assembly will also derive benefit from the liturgy of the scrutinies and join in the intercessions for the Elect” (RCIA 145).
THE STRUCTURE OF THE RITE- Homily
- Invitation to Silent Prayer
- Intercessions for the Elect
- Exorcism
- Prayer [addressed to the Father]
- Laying on of Hands [with silent prayer to the Holy Spirit]
- Concluding Prayer [addressed to Jesus]
- Dismissal or Conclusion
- Liturgy of the Eucharist
Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 19