PASTOR S MEANDERINGS 13 14 FEBRUARY 2016 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT C STEWARDSHIP: Today s first reading describes the offering of first fruits the people of Israel were to present to the Lord in thanksgiving for their deliverance from Egypt and the gift of the promised land. Is my offering at today s Mass an appropriate response to the many blessings the Lord has given me? Thomas a Kempis No man is so perfect and holy as not to have sometimes temptations; and we cannot be wholly without them. READINGS SECOND SUNDAY LENT 21 FEB 16 Gen. 15:5-12, 17-18: The first readings of Lent provide a resume of salvation history. This week we meet Abraham, our father in faith. God s covenant with him is the first of a series of covenants which will culminate in the New Covenant sealed by Christ s death and resurrection. Phil. 3:17-4:1: This reading emphasizes the need to make heaven the end of all our strivings especially those of Lent. For Paul, Roman citizenship, so highly prized by his contemporaries, was of no value set against having our homeland, our citizenship in heaven. Christ s transfiguration is a pledge of the transformation that will take place in us when we reach that homeland. Lk. 9:28-36: Each year the gospel for the second Sunday of Lent focuses on the transfiguration of Jesus. This year we have St. Luke s account which highlights the link between this even and the Paschal mystery. Second Vatican Council The Church Today The intellectual nature of the human person is perfected by wisdom and needs to be. For wisdom gently attracts the mind of man to a quest and a love for what is true and good. Steeped in wisdom, man passes through visible realities to those which are unseen. It is finally, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, that man comes by faith to the contemplation and appreciation of the divine plan. DEFINING MARKS OF LENT Prayer: Say the Our Father each day, conscious that you are praying with hope and confidence for the final triumph of Christ. Fasting: For one week, give up something you don t need, just to express consciously your belief that because of the triumph of Jesus you really don t need it. Almsgiving: Make a special contribution to your parish or to some other work of the Church, as an explicit affirmation of your belief that Christ will triumph through the efforts of His body on earth. STATIONS OF THE CROSS: Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. This Lenten devotion is held each Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. and
This is one of the more familiar Catholic devotional exercises, even though in recent years it is beginning to be picked up by other denominations, especially associated with the Lenten Season. In this prayer sequence the participants focus their prayer and meditation on 14 scenes or event associated with Christ s Passion and death. Its origins are ultimately traceable to pilgrims visiting the various sites in Jerusalem that associated with Christ s suffering and death, a practice that began in the early centuries of the Church s history and continued throughout the Middle Ages. Since not all could make such a journey: by the 12 th cent. the fervor of the Crusades and a heightened devotion to the Passion created a heavy demand in Europe for pictorial representations of the last events in Jesus life. When the Franciscans took over the custody of the shrines in the Holy Land in 1342, they saw it as part of their mission to propagate devotion to these places; soon in Western Europe a series of shrines of either images or small crosses erected to commemorate Christ s Passion became commonplace on church walls. There was for many years a considerable variety in both the number and the title of these stations the current number of 14 first appeared in the Low Countries in the 16 th cent., becoming standardized in the 18 th cent. with a series of papal pronouncements. The chief promoter of this devotion was the Franciscan Leonard of Port Maurice (d. 1751), who set up more than 500 sets of stations, the best known being the one in the Coliseum of Rome. Modern liturgists have emphasized that devotion to the Passion is incomplete without reference to the Resurrection and have therefore fostered the addition of a 15 th station. Devotional practices such as the Stations of the Cross are sometimes brushed off as being outdated practices with little or no relevance and meaning. What needs to be remembered is that with so much in life, what we gain for an activity such as prayer, the Mass, devotional practices is commensurate with the effort that we ourselves invest in full participation and openness to God s Spirit who utilizes these moments to inspire and challenge even slap us upside the head. When was the last time we honestly prayed the Stations, the Rosary, the Mass? Here at St. Stephen the Martyr a different version of the Stations, ranging from the very traditional to the modern, is prayed each time we gather for this devotion, purely with the intent of fostering reflection on these last moments of Jesus life, the intensity of the love that shows forth and the challenge to consider how does this touch me, the individual Christian. Friday, 19 Feb. The Stations will be ICON: THE SAN DAMIANO CROSS (Located on the wall separating the sacristy from the Commons) This cross is a reproduction of the one St. Francis was praying before when he received the commission from the Lord to rebuild the Church. The original cross presently hangs in Santa Chiarra (St. Claire) Church in Assisi, Italy. Over the following weeks of this Lenten season we will be discussing various aspects of the cross itself as well as concepts associated with it. The Devotion: In the early days after his conversion, Francis was living a penitential life alone in the countryside outside of the walls of Assisi. One day, while passing the rundown church known as San Damiano (St. Damian), Francis heard an internal voice from his spirit tell him to go in and pray. He entered and knelt before the cross. There followed a time of contemplation and ecstasy. While gazing at the cross, Francis saw the lips of Jesus move and he heard the words, Francis, go repair my house which as you see is falling completely to ruin. Francis
responded, Gladly will I do so, Lord. At first Francis concentrated on repairing the church buildings of San Damiano and nearby churches. Then when the Lord sent him many followers, he understood his commission to build up the lives of God s people. His commission was confirmed by Pope Innocent III who had a dream of the Church in the form of the Basilica of St. John Lateran leaning over as if to fall and one little man holding it from falling. When the Pope recognized Francis as the little man in his dream, he approved the Franciscan order and its rule of life. Throughout the centuries the cross has symbolized for Franciscans a mission to bring renewal to the Church. A Guide for Confession The basic requirement for a good confession is to have the intention of returning to God like the "prodigal son" and to acknowledge our sins with true sorrow before the priest. Sin in my Life Modern society has lost a sense of sin. As a Catholic follower of Christ, I must make an effort to recognize sin in my daily actions, words and omissions. The Gospels show how important is the forgiveness of our sins. Lives of saints prove that the person who grows in holiness has a stronger sense of sin, sorrow for sins, and a need for the Sacrament of Penance or Confession. The Differences in Sins As a result of Original Sin, human nature is weakened. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, takes away Original Sin, and turns us back toward God. The consequences of this weakness and the inclination to evil persist, and we often commit personal or actual sin. Actual sin is sin which people commit. There are two kinds of actual sin, mortal and venial. Mortal sin is a deadly offense against God, so horrible that it destroys the life of grace in the soul. Three simultaneous conditions must be fulfilled for a mortal sin: 1) the act must be something very serious; 2) the person must have sufficient understanding of what is being done; 3) the person must have sufficient freedom of the will. Remember If you need help-especially if you have been away for some time-simply ask the priest and he will help you by "walking" you through the steps to make a good confession. Before Confession Be truly sorry for your sins. The essential act of Penance, on the part of the penitent, is contrition, a clear and decisive rejection of the sin committed, together with a resolution not to commit it again, out of the love one has for God and which is reborn with repentance. The resolution to avoid committing these sins in the future (amendment) is a sure sign that your sorrow is genuine and authentic. This does not mean that a promise never to fall again into sin
is necessary. A resolution to try to avoid the near occasions of sin suffices for true repentance. God's grace in cooperation with the intention to rectify your life will give you the strength to resist and overcome temptation in the future. Examination of Conscience Before going to Confession you should make a review of mortal and venial sins since your last sacramental confession, and should express sorrow for sins, hatred for sins and a firm resolution not to sin again. A helpful pattern for examination of conscience is to review the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church: 1. Have God and the pursuit of sanctity in Christ been the goal of my life? Have I denied my faith? Have I placed my trust in false teachings or substitutes for God? Did I despair of God's mercy? 2. Have I avoided the profane use of God's name in my speech? Have I broken a solemn vow or promise? 3. Have I honored every Sunday by avoiding unnecessary work, celebrating the Mass (also holydays)? Was I inattentive at, or unnecessarily late for Mass, or did I leave early? Have I neglected prayer for a long time? 4. Have I shown Christlike respect to parents, spouse, and family members, legitimate authorities? Have I been attentive to the religious education and formation of my children? 5. Have I cared for the bodily health and safety of myself and all others? Did I abuse drugs or alcohol? Have I supported in any way abortion, "mercy killing," or suicide? 6. Was I impatient, angry, envious, proud, jealous, revengeful, lazy? Have I forgiven others? 7. Have I been just in my responsibilities to employer and employees? Have I discriminated against others because of race or other reasons? 8. Have I been chaste in thought and word? Have I used sex only within marriage and while open to procreating life? Have I given myself sexual gratification? Did I deliberately look at impure TV, pictures, reading? 9. Have I stolen anything from another, from my employer, from government? If so, am I ready to repay it? Did I fulfill my contracts? Did I rashly gamble, depriving my family of necessities?
10. Have I spoken ill of any other person? Have I always told the truth? Have I kept secrets and confidences? 11. Have I permitted sexual thoughts about someone to whom I am not married? 12. Have I desired what belongs to other people? Have I wished ill on another? 13. Have I been faithful to sacramental living (Holy Communion and Penance)? 14. Have I helped make my parish community stronger and holier? Have I contributed to the support of the Church? 15. Have I done penance by abstaining and fasting on obligatory days? Have I fasted before receiving communion? 16. Have I been mindful of the poor? Do I accept God's will for me? During Confession After examining your conscience and telling God of your sorrow, go into the confessional. You may kneel at the screen or sit to talk face-to-face with the priest. Begin your confession with the sign of the cross, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My last confession was weeks (months, years) ago." The priest may read a passage from holy Scripture. Say the sins that you remember. Start with the one(s) that is most difficult to say. (In order to make a good confession the faithful must confess all mortal sins, according to kind and number.) After confessing all the sins you remember since your last good confession, you may conclude by saying, "I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life." Listen to the words of the priest. He will assign you some penance. Doing the penance will diminish the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. When invited, express some prayer of sorrow or Act of Contrition such as: An Act of Contrition O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen. At the End of Confession Listen to the words of absolution, the sacramental forgiveness of the Church through the ordained priest.
As you listen to the words of forgiveness you may make the sign of the cross with the priest. If he closes by saying, "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good," answer, "For His mercy endures forever." After Confession Give thanks to God for forgiving you again. If you recall some serious sin you forgot to tell, rest assured that it has been forgiven with the others, but be sure to confess it in your next Confession. Do your assigned Penance. Resolve to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation often. We Catholics are fortunate to have the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is the ordinary way for us to have our sins forgiven. This sacrament is a powerful help to get rid of our weaknesses, grow in holiness, and lead a balanced and virtuous life.