25 things you can do for Lent

25 Great Things You Can Do For Lent
…besides giving up chocolate
Compiled by Renée LaReau

http://www.bustedhalo.com/25ThingsYouCanDoForLent.htm

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of preparation for the Easter season when Christians are called to renew their commitments to spiritual practices like prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Lent is an annual opportunity to grow in our faith, which means it’s about much more than giving up unhealthy foods or treats, as you may have done when you were a kid. It is about abstaining from whatever is unhealthy in our lives—gossip, laziness, lack of social conscience—and, most importantly, taking concrete steps to do something more. Challenge yourself this year, and go beyond the clichés of “giving up” something. Now is a great time to take stock of your spiritual life, and to grow in it. Not sure where to start? Check out these 25 ideas:
Want to hear more on what Lent’s all about? Listen to/read “What is Lent” by Fr. Greg Friedman, OFM

1) Make a commitment to reading the Sunday readings before you go to Mass. In the same way that reading up on football players, opposing teams, and coaching strategies will help you experience a game more fully, familiarizing yourself with the readings ahead of time can allow you to experience them in a deeper way on Sunday. (Find the Sunday readings here).

2) Don’t have time to read all three readings? Then just read the Gospel.

3) Make a commitment to trying something new spiritually. Never tried an hour of Eucharistic adoration? Find a parish where you can try it. Never attended Mass at a parish of an ethnic group that’s different than yours? Give it a try.

4) Think about what you usually spend your money on. Do you buy a few too many clothes? Spend a few too many bucks on iTunes? Eating out? Pick one type of expenditure that you’ll “fast” from during Lent, and give the money you would usually spend to a great local charity.
Challenge yourself this year, and go beyond the clichés of “giving up” something. Now
is a great time to take stock of your spiritual life, and to grow in it.

5)When you first sit down in front of your computer at work, or at the very end of your work day, try a great 10-minute prayer, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, at Sacred Space brought to you by the Irish Province Jesuits.

6) Go to a weekday Mass one day during the week. Many parishes offer them early in the morning, at noon, or after work. Daily Masses are often more intimate and informal than Sunday Mass.

7) If you don’t have a cross in your apartment or house, buy a simple one and put it in your bedroom.

8) Read the entire Gospel of Mark in one sitting. As the shortest Gospel, it is the most concise story of Jesus’ life, and the cross, a central Lenten symbol, plays an even more prominent role than in the other Gospels.

9) Attend the Stations of the Cross somewhere—lots of parishes offer these during Lent, and often on Fridays.

10) Get some friends together and attend a Friday fish fry at a parish. Yes, an actual fish fry—not the healthiest thing in the world, but a fun Catholic tradition that’s kind of charming in a throwback sort of way.

11) Turn off your iPod or your car radio on your commute. The silence may be jarring at first, but you may find that you are able to concentrate better and will be more observant of your surroundings.

12) Buy a book of daily reflections and keep it by your bed. Local parishes often offer these for purchase during Lent, and there are some good ones available online. Try the Little Black Books from the Diocese of Saginaw, or reflection books by Edward Hays, sold by Ave Maria Press.

13) Think about a habit that has kept you from being whom God is calling you to be. Consciously give up that habit for Lent.

14) During Lent, we’re called to fast not only from food but from other things as well. Read a great reflection on fasting here.

15) Make a commitment to “fast” from cruel comments about others.

16) As a part of your Lenten almsgiving, make a point to learn as much about a particular social issue (immigration, human trafficking, racism, AIDS victims, child poverty) as possible. Give money to an organization, related to your chosen issue that supports the dignity of the human person.

17) Pray for somebody. As you’re walking the streets, driving the highways, sitting in your cubicle at work, or going to a movie, pick out a person who appears to be in need, and pray for that person. Be mindful of the words of Philo of Alexandria, who said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”

18) Read these Lent FAQ’s from St. Anthony Messenger.

19) Lent originated as a time of preparation for people who were preparing for baptism. Those of us who are baptized use Lent as a time of preparation to renew our baptismal promises at Easter. One of the things we promised (or our parents promised for us) at baptism was to renounce sin.

20) As you are waiting to fall asleep at night, pray the Jesus Prayer silently as a mantra: “Lord Jesus, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me.”

21) Test your awareness of global poverty with Catholic Relief Services’ World Awareness Quiz. During Lent, take the money you would have spend on dinners out, clothes or iTunes, and donate to CRS’s Lenten Program, Operation Rice Bowl.

22) While Lent is traditionally 40 days long, there are really 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Wonder why? Research it. [Swallowed Scroll note: I edited this section, because it provided a link to a dissenting Catholic publication that is not worth wasting your time with... see my links for sites that you can use to research the answer]

23) Read the Works of Mercy as Jesus describes them in Matthew 25. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink…in prison and you visited me.” There are plenty of opportunities available in your own community to put this teaching into practice. Choose an act of service you can perform throughout Lent.

24) Make a list of all the excesses in your life. Think about which ones you could do without.

25) Celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation. Can’t remember how? Simply tell the priest it has been a while, and ask him to guide you through it.

Renée LaReau is a Contributing Editor for BustedHalo.com. She writes from Columbus, Ohio.
Comments to: editor@bustedhalo.com

Spend 40 Days with the Fathers

I found this little nugget on www.churchyear.net . It is a Church Fathers Lenten reading plan (texts included). It is a long pdf document, but well worth printing out. This would provide a good introduction to the early Church fathers for the neophyte... and good sound spiritual reading for the ones who have read these before...

http://www.churchyear.net/lentfatherscomplete.pdf

St. Cyril of Alexandria on spiritual warfare

I am currently reading St. Cyril of Alexandria's (376?-444) Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. His words on the parable of the sower and the seed (Lk 8:5-8)--especially as he treats of the seed that falls on rock (I thought this was apropriate given our most recent men's group discussion on spiritual warfare):

"And next, let us consider those others of whom Christ said, And those upon the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and they have no root; these for a while believe, and in time of temptation depart away. For there are verily [truly] men whose faith has not been proved, depending on words simply, and not applying their mind to the examining of the mysteries; of such the piety is sapless and without root. For when they enter the churches, they feel pleasure often in seeing so many assembled, and joyfully receive instruction in the mysteries from him whose business it is to teach, and laud him with praises; but this they do with no discretion or judgment, but with unpurified wills; and when have gone out of the churches, at once they forget the sacred doctrines, and proceed their customary course; not having stored up within them any thing for their future benefit. And if the affairs of Christians go on peacefully, and no trial disturb them, they even then scarcely maintain in them the faith, and that, so to speak, in a confused and tottering state. But if persecution trouble them, and the enemies of the truth attack the churches of the Savior, their heart loves not the battle, and their mind throws away the shield and flees being devoid of zeal, and destitute of love towards God, and ready for desertion. But O ye fearful and infirm, one may well say, why do ye flee from that which would be your glory? And escape from conflicts to which ye have been trained? For hereby those who wish may win for themselves the trophy of victory. Do ye also struggle; twine the chaplet of manliness, thirst for the rewards of perseverance, for the honors of patience.

"…Therefore, as the prophet Jeremiah has said, Take up arms and shields (Jer 46:3). Especially as the right hand of God our savior is invincible in battle, and as most wise Paul has said, He does not permit men to be tried more than they can bear, but with the trial will also come the way of egress [return], that they may be able to endure patiently. (1 Cor 10:13)

"…He [Christ] laid down his life for us, and with His blood purchased the world. We are, therefore, not our own, but His Who bought and redeemed us, and to whom we owe our lives. For as the divine Paul said, For this reason Christ died and lived, that He might be Lord of the dead and the living. (Rom 14:9) We ought, therefore, to possess a mind incapable of being shaken, that especially whenever temptation arrive, we may show ourselves approved and victorious in the power of patience; and ready with joy to undergo conflicts, and seize the opportunity of suffering for piety’s sake towards Christ."

More on St. Cyril, the "doctor of the Incarnation":

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=616

http://www.doctorsofthecatholicchurch.com/CA.html

Poetry Break (The Victor Lives in Me)

It has been a while since our last one...

The Victor Lives in Me

What confidence we have

in laying claim to the Blood of the Lamb
A foolish boldness
A wreckless audacity
Almost a holy arrogance
That is born of abandoning myself
To the one who humbled himself

To call it confidence is far too little
Hope can sound too much like a concept
To a simple man
Exhausted
Left face down in the muck
Body bruised and barely breathing
Yet gasping in joy and exaltation
To hear the accuser finally cast out!

Choir of angels and saints in awe of this upset
The triumph of the Victor who fought for me!

A mercenary of light
Hired by the Father
His wage the Father’s Glory
And the hearts of those the Father gives Him
Dumb and hard-hearted I hardly know Him
Though he comes to me often

He won not only this cosmic battle
He won my life as well
And so I live no longer I
But the Victor lives in me!

Meeting the Monk Within

An article from America Magazine [ www.americamagazine.org ] passed on to me...

Like a Cedar of Lebanon
Meeting the monk within
By Michael G. Rizk OCTOBER 29, 2007

E lias’s room contains not much more than old prayer books with frayed pages, statues, bread wrappers and a hat—remnants of his simple life here. I’m sitting at Brother Elias’s desk in his damp, abandoned hermitage. It’s a 15-minute walk through the woods to the monastery where he lived as a Trappist monk for 16 years. Elias was given permission to move here, where he lived as a hermit for the next 15 years until his death in 1985. I prayed upon my arrival, read some, and with the wind blowing gently, dozed a few minutes on the floor. A summer breeze cools me from the warm noonday sun.

This hermitage is where my spiritual journey began. In the summer of 1973, I had just been made promotion director for United Artists Records and was living life in the fast lane of rock ’n’ roll. Music, drugs and free love were everywhere. I stopped going to church and was running spiritually on empty. I felt independent, important and successful, yet inwardly aching.

One day, after working a late evening rock concert the day before, it occurred to me that the monk in my family was only an hour’s drive away. I took out a map and headed south, the radio blasting. Pulling off the exit toward the monastery, I suddenly turned off the radio and absorbed the silence—as I do now in this abandoned hermitage.

Just who was this monk? Born in 1922 to Lebanese immigrants, George Morad grew up on the west side of Cleveland and attended St. Elias Church. In his large family, George was the most popular of all the cousins. After finishing high school he held many different jobs, including a stint as an amateur prizefighter. Well respected and known to be a gentleman, he was also a very worldly man about town. If there was a party, George would be at the center of it, drinking the whiskey he could consume in huge quantities and charming the women who gravitated toward his warm personality.

When World War II erupted, George became a marine. Though his cousin, my uncle, lost a leg to shrapnel, George returned from the war unscathed, ready to resume his life of whiskey and women. George and his cousin were swimming at the Y.M.C.A., when George, complaining of chest pain, was rushed to the V.A. hospital. The doctors didn’t expect him to survive his heart attack, so a priest was called to give George the last rites. He was 29 years old.

Years later, George told me that the priest would not give him absolution because he was not truly sorry for his sins. That’s when George received his wake-up call from God. Though not fully recovered, he was released from the hospital. Armed with heart pills and a newfound fear of the Lord, he promptly broke off his engagement with a woman, left his job and family and traveled to Lebanon. For six months he traversed the country on foot, visiting the villages outside Beirut, where his parents were born. He returned from this odyssey to Cleveland and, telling no one but his priest and his mother, boarded a bus early one morning for the Abbey of the Genesee in western New York State.

At the monastery George immersed himself in the simple, austere life of a novice monk. While he worked as a cook and a carpenter and prayed regularly, his soul was reborn and his spirit renewed. His heart was strengthened. George threw away the pills and grew in the knowledge of God. He also took the religious name of Elias, the fiery prophet in the Old Testament. For many years only his mother came to see him. The rest of the family felt he had abandoned them. As the years passed, however, more and more people from Cleveland joined his mother in her yearly three-day visit. George had shown by his perseverance that he was serious about this monk business.

I pulled into the abbey drive, parked the car and walked slowly up to the reception area, where a man in black-and-white robes greeted me. When I asked where I could find Brother Elias, he promptly told me that he was a hermit and was allowed no visitors. But I explained that I hadn’t seen George since I was six years old and that my father and he were cousins. I had driven here out of my way and might not have this time again. That was enough for this monk, who motioned me closer and whispered to me while looking over his shoulder. “Don’t tell the abbot I told you, but go up this dirt road to a path that will lead you into the woods; at the crest of the hill turn right; when you see a green bench keep walking till you see a small hermitage; there you’ll find Brother Elias.” I smiled and chuckled to myself as I slowly proceeded up the road, “Don’t tell the abbot....” I wouldn’t know one if I saw one.

My mind started to race as I proceeded deeper into the woods. What should I say? How should I act? What am I doing in these woods? Then I grew quiet. At a distance there appeared what seemed to be a hut set back on a hilltop. I slowed down, taking it all in. But everywhere I turned, no monk.

I began rustling the leaves, making noise just in case he was around. I did not want to startle a hermit. I finally made it to the crest of the hill, my heart pumping faster, and walked around behind the dwelling. I stopped short; 12 feet ahead I saw the back of a man in long black-and-white robes. The sun reflected off his shaved head. He stood erect with his arms and hands apparently moving. I assumed he was praying.

The image of a monk in continual prayer—was I hallucinating? I stood and stared, frozen in my tracks for what seemed an eternity. Finally, he turned and spat. So much for visions. He had been eating an orange! Our eyes locked in silence. I spoke, introducing myself, and saying my father’s name. When his bearded face broke into a wide grin, he called my name, “Michael, Michael,” as he came toward me, arms outstretched for a magnificent bear hug.
He said we must say a prayer so that the Holy Spirit would join us in this reunion feast. I had never prayed spontaneously with another person; my prayer had always been ritualized with formulas and books. But this was as natural as talking.

I found Elias, at 50 years of age, to be the happiest of men, his face radiating youth and timelessness. Compared with all the rock stars I had been around, Elias, with his great black forest of a beard, shaved head, flowing robes and sparkling eyes, was authentic, the real thing! I was struck. Many of the people I had been working with appeared to be happy and full of joy, but most of the time that energy was drug-induced. By contrast, this monk’s joy came from a place deep within. It was contagious.

Brother Elias showed me his home. I followed him down a short path filled with the summer’s wildflowers and came to a small front porch with a chair and table with books and a writing pad on it. He opened a screen door, and I entered one large room partitioned into three sections. His prayer room had a small altar with a crucifix and icons on either side of the Blessed Mother and Jesus. He showed me his sleeping room. Because of his back trouble, the abbot had supplied him with a small mattress to soften the flat board on which he had grown accustomed to sleeping. There was a statue of the Virgin above a mat he used for yoga and exercise. His garden produced vegetables; his water came from the rain gathered into a barrel from the roof. His toilet was a pit outside.

We sat and talked. His warmth and receptivity made me feel safe. I opened my heart and shared with him my love of music and the spirit of freedom it now gave me. In conversing with this heart-centered monk, I found myself speaking and retelling my story from a new perspective, an honesty about my life that had been missing. I felt good. When I told him about the Beatles and their effect on my generation, a quizzical look came upon his face. He was unaware of them. I explained that these four young men from Liverpool, England, were even bigger than Elvis. He stopped me—Elvis? Wondering how far back I had to go, I mentioned the sensation Frank Sinatra had caused in the ’40s. That struck a chord and Elias understood my idol worship.

Then it was time for lunch: tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers from Elias’s garden, with bread, cheese and a tasty peach for dessert. I had not realized how famished I was. After a lifetime of striving to have more, how satisfied I was now with less.

After lunch, we walked. Elias paused many times to praise God and his abundant creation. He invited me to stay at the guesthouse. I told him with regret that I could not. Something deep inside me knew I would be coming back here. Soon it was time to leave. The spirit of hospitality and welcoming that Elias had shared enveloped me, and I knew I had found something new and deep within myself that I didn’t have to let go of ever again.

As I sit now in Elias’s hermitage, this memory has become my strength. Silence and quiet times in prayer help me to stop talking and start listening to God instead.

During my last visit with Elias, he told me that he, a man who had turned away from the world to be with God alone, living a good and simple life, was now facing death. He was suffering from lung cancer. As my tears welled up, I tried to be light, saying that since he would soon be in the cemetery I would not have to come back to the monastery to visit him. He smiled, but pierced me with his eyes, “You’ve not been coming here to visit me; you know why you come to the monastery.”

I have concluded that a potential monk lives inside each of us, inspiring and listening and praying with us to God. Brother Elias, a hermit of the Genesee, enlightened me to the monk within, and I encountered the deepest part of myself—the self that wants to love unconditionally, the self that wants to forgive and show compassion to all people, the self that is aware that every person is a mysterious part of God, that we all form the mystical body of Christ. To meet that self, one inevitably must meet many false selves; like an onion, the person we think we are now will be peeled away, sometimes with tears of pain and other times with tears of joy.

If silence and solitude take you deeper into yourself, if a monastery is the place that will allow this…then go…do it. But if you cannot get to a monastery, then “go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. And your Father who sees what you do in private, will reward you…” (Mt 6:6).

Michael G. Rizk, a lector and eucharistic minister at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Boca Grande, Fla., makes yearly retreats at the Abbey of the Genesee, in Piffard, N.Y.

Faith and Hard Work

Fr. Thomas Loya has a radio show entitled "Light of the East" which addresses issues surrounding the Eastern rite of the Catholic Church (I listen via podcast) [http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/radio.htm ]. These broadcasts also feature a regular segment entitled "Words of Wisdom, Faith, and Mystery from the Monk's Cell". The following is my written transcript from broadcast 152, dated 8/26/07 (I also took the editorial liberty of adding relevant Scripture citations to many of Father Maximus' points--these appear in brackets [ ]):

Matins this morning was hard work. It was hot last night, humid. So much for the dry heat in the desert. I did not sleep well. Four a.m. came very early. 'Oh God,' I said, does it have to be so hot?

Well, the Fathers have something to say about this. "Perseverance" they called that virtue. Work, putting in effort. This is how we invest ourselves in what is important. It is not about earning [Eph 2:8], it is about valuing what we receive. It is not about earning, it is about owning [1 Tim 6:12]. By work, taking risks, risking perhaps that what we are doing will not bear fruit [Mt 25:24-25], at least not immediately [Mk 4:26-29]. By putting in effort we come to value what God has given us. One of the fathers of the desert described the monks' life as nothing but toil. But the same can be said for any life in this world--husband, wife, parent, employee, anyone who labors to build up the Kingdom--it's all toil [Mt 11:28-30; Eph 5:22-27; etc.]. St. Isaac the Syrian said 'toil for God's sake and sweat in his husbandry precede hope in him.' It is not enough to believe in God [James 2:19; 1 Cor 13:2; Mt 7:21]. Faith has need of labors also [James 2:14-26; Gal 5:6]. And confidence in God is the good witness of the conscience born of undergoing hardships for the virtues.
-Fr. Maximus
Holy Resurrection Monastery - Newbury, California
http://www.hrmonline.org/

Does Angel Ministries Distort Catholic Teaching? (part 2: The Rosary)

TO: AVA ZETTEL, AnGel Ministries – I am sending you (via email) 3 letters regarding theological questions that stem from reading your website. Someone came to our parish requesting to leave fliers for the “Just Give Me Jesus” women’s rally on April 18 and 19 at Wells Fargo in Des Moines, Iowa. After reading information on your website I would like to comment on how a knowledgable, practicing Catholic would likely respond to your ministry. God bless-Chris
__________________________________________________
my original email:

Hello. I was reading your statement of faith and the section about being certain of going to heaven and I had a question. What did you mean when you said 'you don't have to count beads'?Thank you.

reply:

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your email and for your question regarding this section repeated below in the Know You Will Go To Heaven portion of our Statement of Faith. As Christians we believe that our advocate is Christ Himself and that we need no other go-between, method or practice to speak to our Heavenly Father.
Chris, I pray this answers your question satisfactorily. Please let us know if you require further information.
Trusting Jesus for every provision for you,
Ava Zettel AnGeL Ministries 5115 Hollyridge Drive Raleigh, NC 27612-3111
Tel: 919.787-6606 Fax: 919.782-3669 www.annegrahamlotz.com
________________________________________________

My second email:

Ava,
Thank you for your reply. However, you did not quite answer my question about what "counting beads" refers to.
You did write that "as Christians we believe that our advocate is Christ Himself and that we need no other go-between, method or practice to speak to our Heavenly Father."

1. What is the rosary?
By "method" in relation to "counting beads" I might guess that you are referring to praying the rosary, perhaps? Or am I off-base here? If this is the case, I would respectfully suggest that you learn a little more about this particular Catholic devotion.

For one thing, the rosary does not involve "counting beads." There are 5 "decades" of 10 beads on a rosary, to correspond to the 10 Hail Mary prayers and 1 bead for the Our Father. There are a total of 20 mysteries that trace the life of Christ. The one who prays does not "count" the beads. Originally, the 150 hail mary beads (the original 15 mysteries x 10 hail mary beads per mystery) was a number taken from the original monastic tradition of praying the 150 psalms in the desert.

However, the number of beads is more or less arbitrary. The objective is not to pray the Hail Mary 10 times as if the number really mattered… or as if it was some rigid formula or rite that was necessary to communicate with the Father (like a secret password). There are 10 beads simply to allow the one praying to enter into a rhythm of prayer and maintain focus, without the mind falling into distraction (like saying, "I am going to set the timer and pray for 30 minutes, and then once the timer goes off, I can finish my conversation with the Lord if I need to).

I must also point out that the Church does not anywhere teach that the rosary is a "method to speak to our Heavenly Father" that is necessary for salvation. Indeed, the Church teaches that the Rosary is one of the many ways of praying to God, in addition to Prayers such as the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"), and lectio divina ("sacred reading")--the use of imagination and contemplation in order to encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Scriptures. In fact, although the Church recommends the rosary as a time-honored and fruitful devoion, technically, one could be a faithful Catholic “in good standing” even if they do not pray the rosary or if they do not even value it as a devotion. The rosary is simply a devotional prayer and not some go-between for talking to God.

Through repeating the prayers of the Hail Mary (which, for the most part, is taken right out of Luke Ch. 1), the Hail Mary prayers become a background rhythm that allows the prayer to meditate upon the individual mysteries of Jesus Christ:

• 
  The Joyful Mysteries [traditionally prayed on Monday, and Saturday]: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple
• The Luminous Mysteries [traditionally prayed on Thursday]: the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the proclamation of the kingdom and call to conversion, the transfiguration, and the Institution of the Eucharist (Last Supper)
• The Sorrowful Mysteries [traditionally prayed on Tuesday and Friday]: The agony in the garden, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross, the crucifixion and death of our Lord
• The Glorious Mysteries [traditionally prayed on Wednesday and Sunday]: The resurrection, the ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), the Assumption of Mary, and the Coronation of Mary

Many people also pray “scriptural rosaries” that include short sentences from Scripture read between each Hail Mary to more deeply enter into contemplation. [see my article: http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2006/10/
want-to-add-some-power-to-your-rosary.html

The Bible talks of how Mary witnessed the actions of Jesus and heard his words and “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19; 51). The rosary is a prayer form whereby we meditate and reflect upon the actions of deeds of Christ in our heart.

When I pray the rosary, I try to meditate on the mysteries from Mary’s perspective, I use my imagination and visualize the mystery from what her vantage point would have been. As Mary reflects upon the mysteries of Christ eternally in heaven (as do all of the other saints), when we meditate on the life of Jesus we do this in the company of all the other saints. There is only one body of Christ—not two—the holy ones who have passed away are not “dead”, in deed, they are more fully alive than we are here on earth because they are in communion with God (though not complete yet, as they await the return of their glorified bodies at the final judgment).

The following is an article on the rosary that I wrote for my personal website. It might help you understand why many Christians pray the rosary, in addition to reading Holy Scripture, etc., as a way to keep the mysteries of Christ in their mind and heart and continually reflect upon them:

http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2006/10/
how-rosary-draws-us-closer-to-jesus.html

Does AnGel Ministries Distort Catholic Teaching? (part 3: Communion of the Saints vs. Jesus 'the One Mediator'?

2. Are the saints mediators independent of Christ, the one true mediator between God and man?

It might help if I also explain some points about the communion of the saints.

In the Nicene Creed dating back to the 4th century we pray “I believe in the communion of the saints”. How would you define the communion of saints? Is it simply those living in this world that believe in Christ? Where are all those holy souls who have died? Are they somehow cut off from the Body of Christ that they once inhabited?

The Catholic understanding of the communion of saints is that the Church is the family of God. The saints are our “older brothers and sisters” who have gone before us. They are living examples of the Gospel and the “New Law” of Christ, they were so animated by the Holy Spirit and supernatural grace, they allowed Christ to live in them to such an extent that they become shining examples of Christian discipleship.

From the earliest times of the Church has honored (venerated—NOT worshipped!) the holy martyrs that lived out the grace of God to the extreme—dying for their faith. We see in graffiti on the ancient catacomb tombs through which Christians ask for these martyrs to pray for their brothers and sisters fighting the good fight here in this world. If you knew that your brother in Christ had died defending the Faith, and you know that Jesus has destroyed death and that your brother is somehow far more immediately in the presence of God then yourself, what would your attitude be? Would you forget about him? Would you think he was sleeping? Or, would you ask him to pray for the communion of saints that are still in this world.


Of course, asking for the saints' intercession does not mean that you are by-passing Jesus (“the one mediator between God and man”—1 Tim 2:5), or using another mediator. This is clear by the very fact that practically all Christians ask fellow Christians to pray for them (Rom 15:30; Col 4:3; 1 Thess 5:25; Eph 6:18-19; 2 Thess 3:1). Why do we do this if we could go “straight to Jesus”?

Why do we have this impulse to ask other Christians to pray for us when, at the same time, we have a very personal relationship with Christ and intercede to him directly all the time.

I think that the reason might be that God made us a communal people. We are meant to live in the Church as a communion of those who have one identity in Jesus Christ and preserve this bond in charity. In other words, being a Christian is not exclusively about “me and Jesus”. Being a Christian means being part of the Body of Christ—a communion, a family. Just as we do here in this life, it is natural to call upon our brothers and sisters. We are meant to be a tight family as Christians, so, of course we call upon the Lord directly,… but we also ask the saints to join us in our prayer (not because Jesus would not heed our prayer, otherwise, but simply because love impels us to call upon our brothers and sister).

It is true, however, that “the fervent prayer of a righteous man is very powerful.” James letter cites the power of Elijah’s prayer, and one could also give the unique power of Moses’ intercession, as well. Certainly, I will ask for the prayers of my brother and sister Christians in this world, but I will not neglect to ask for the prayers of my brothers and sisters who are fully perfected in charity (completely righteous and transformed by the grace of God), free from all sin, fully employed in the constant worship of God, with an immediate vision of the Lord (the beatific vision) and immediately in the presence of His heavenly throne. In other words, they are “expert prayers” at this point because they are oriented completely toward interceding and adoring the Lord (see Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4; etc.). Flooded with God’s love, they care more about us now than they did while on earth (they are concerned with events in this world—see Rev. 6:9-11). St. Paul asked his fellow Christians to pray for his ministry… do you think that he would disapprove of us asking him to now pray for us while we remain in the race? We only ask him to pray FOR US and WITH US to the Holy Trinity.

Some points to keep in mind:

1. 
   All Christians are members of Christ’s body and one another (Rom 12:5 and many others).
2. Jesus has only one body (Eph 4:4; Col 3;15)
3. Death cannot separate Christians from Christ or from one another (Rom 8:35-39). Death cannot cut us off from one another. In fact, the saints are not “dead” but, rather, are more fully alive than we are! God is the God of the living not the dead (see Mk 12:26-27).
4. Christians are bound in mutual love (Rom 12:10; 1 Thess 5:11; Gal 6:2).
   We are members of Christ’s body, united in His divine life even beyond the grave, and concerned with each other’s salvation and growth in God’s family. There are no 2 bodies of Christ—those “alive” and those who are “dead”.

Does “praying to the saints” mean that we are treating the saints as if they were gods? No, the term “praying to the saints” stems from the old meaning of the English word “to pray”—which used to also mean, “to ask”, i.e. “pray thee bring the letters here”… eventually shortened to “prithy”). We ask the saints to pray for us. We ask the Virgin Mary to pray for us because she is the highest of saints. Of course she is a creature (so it is false when non-Catholics charge Catholics with “worshipping” Mary), and as the most beautiful masterpiece of God’s grace (the one closest to Jesus—his own Mother) she is given the highest honor (veneration) among all the saints. However, we can ask for the prayers of Mary just as we do for any other saint.

Does asking for the prayers of the saints violate 1 Tim 2:5—the fact that there is one mediator between God and man? The answer is no. Jesus is our one mediator with regards to our salvation. However, Jesus employed the apostles and disciples to be his authorized mediators by preaching the Gospel and baptizing (Mt 28), working miracles (see Acts), forgiving sins (Jn 20:23), binding and loosing with the power of the keys (Mt 16:19), celebrating the Eucharist (1 Cor 11:23-24), being “ambassadors of Christ” exercising the “ministry of reconciliation”, laborers and co-workers in the vineyard, working in the “ministry of the Spirit “and the “ministry of righteousness” (2 Cor 3:8-9).

Jesus shared his many unique roles with the members of his Church: creator—parents are co-creators; Shepherd—Peter is chief shepherd (Jn 10:11-16 +Jn 21:15-16; and Eph 4:11); his one priesthood and mediation (see below).

All of these examples of ministry were commanded and commissioned by Jesus to the authority of his Church. They are all ways that he graciously allows his sinful human disciples to mediate his grace to the world. This does not mean that Jesus or the Holy Spirit does not, at the same time, work directly in the hearts of people. Of course He does. But Jesus also intended that the large body of Christ together mediate His truth and grace both before and especially after His ascension to the right hand of the Father.

Lastly, all of the saints are baptized into the very person of Christ. Jesus Christ is the only high priest (Heb 3:1; 7:24; 9:12; 10:12), the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). However, with baptism, we are baptized into the one priesthood of Christ. We can offer sacrifices, sufferings, prayers of intercession, praises, etc. to God the Father by exercising our common baptismal priesthood of all believers. We exercise our priesthood in and through the one priesthood of Jesus. This is why we are not seeking out other mediators when we ask for the prayers of Mary and the other saints. We are simply exercising the priesthood of Christ together as His unified body bound in charity.

You must read 1 Tim 2:5 in the context of 1 Pet 2:5:

“let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’

To share in Christ’s priesthood is to share in his one unique mediatorship, both in heaven and on earth. This is a wonderful grace of God and speaks the amazing dignity that he gives us through baptism.

In fact, if you read the wider context of 1 Tim 2:1-7, you see that Paul is asking Christians to offer prayers and intercession for all men—in other words, to participate in Christ’s unique mediation.

Jesus said, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’, and it is true that, apart from Jesus, the saints would never be able to exercise any of these roles to any effect. It is only in virtue of Jesus that we can ask the saints for prayers and that they can intercede to the Triune God.

bite-size wisdom: St. Therese, "the Little Flower"

Since Our Lord is in heaven

I can only follow him by the traces of light and fragrance

which he has left behind him.

But as soon as I open the Holy Gospels, I breathe the perfume

exhaled by the life of Jesus,

and I know which way to run.

It is not to the highest place

but to the lowest that I hasten.

-St. Therese of Lisieux, Manuscript B, Story of a Soul

quoted in Therese of Lisieux: In My Own Words (Liguori Press)

Feast Day: October 1st

"When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

(Luke 14:8-11)

A brief catechism on eucharistic adoration (part 1)

A Brief Catechism on Eucharistic Adoration (including website resources).
By Chris DiTomo

1. What should children and young people be taught about Jesus’ presence among us—in other words, where IS Jesus now… today?

Of course we need to teach our children that God is present everywhere (Psalm 139:1-12)… and therefore that we can invoke God’s presence in prayer at any time whether we are with our brothers and sisters in Christ (Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13), in a church, in the privacy of our room (Matthew 6:6), or in the beauty of nature (Psalm 97:6; Daniel 3:29-68). God is also present in His Word—the Holy Scriptures.

However, we must also teach them that we meet the Holy Trinity in a special way through the sacraments—and most especially in the Holy Eucharist. During the Mass, the priest extends his hands and calls down the Holy Spirit to transform the gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Son of God Jesus, re-presenting that one offering of sacrifice to the Father that happened at Calvary nearly 2,000 years ago!

Of course, Jesus Christ is substantially present during the Holy Mass. As the priest—acting in the person of Jesus Christ—speaks the words of consecrations (“This is my body… this is my blood…”) the bread and wine are transformed into the most precious Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The technical term for this great wonder is “transubstantiation.” This is a complex philosophical term that simply states that while the outward appearance and qualities of the bread and wine remain (for example, the appearance, color, shape, smell, taste of the bread and wine, including the chemical properties of the alcohol, etc.) the inward SUBSTANCE (what the thing most truly is in its essence or nature) has changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. So that when we receive what seems like mere bread and wine during Holy Communion at Mass—we are actually taking into our bodies God himself—the Creator of the world—Jesus Christ the Redeemer of the world—crucified, risen, glorified, ascended into Heaven—the undivided Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Too amazing for words!!!

But, the wonder does not end there! Jesus remains present in the consecrated “species” (the transformed bread and wine). We reserve the Holy Eucharist, or “the Blessed Sacrament”, in the form of the hosts in a beautifully crafted and adorned cabinet called the tabernacle. Before the time of Jesus, the Israelites kept the signs of God’s presence—the 10 Commandment tablets, the “manna” bread that came down from heaven to miraculously feed them while in the desert, and the staff of the high priest Aaron—in a beautifully constructed box called the Ark of the Covenant (see Exodus 25-27, etc.). The Ark was kept in a tent (“tabernacle”) and carried by the Israelites wherever they went as the most sacred resting place of God’s presence among His people (they even took it with them into battle!). Eventually, King Solomon built a temple to house the Ark.

You might want to point out the tabernacle in the Church to the children. You should remind the children that they should always genuflect and can make the sign of the cross while entering a church or when passing in front of the tabernacle. This is a sign of respect for Jesus’ presence. The tabernacle can always be identified by the red sanctuary candle which is always kept burning night and day as a symbol of Jesus’ abiding presence (Scripture also recounts how God showed his presence to the Israelites in the form of a column of fire as He led them out during the Exodus from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 14:24, etc.).

Therefore, while we can pray to God anywhere… we can pray to God and sit in the presence of Jesus in a special way when we spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle of any Catholic Church.

When we want to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in an even more special way, a priest places a sacred Host in what is called a monstrance. [Word comes from a Latin term. Think of the word “de-monstrate” meaning to display or show.] We have monstrances in display cases both at St. Patrick and St. Joseph’s churches. We have regular “holy hours” of Eucharistic adoration at St. Patrick’s (every Friday from 11 until noon) and at St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s during the first week of the month.

The Blessed Sacrament is placed in a little glass window so that people can gaze directly upon Jesus as they adore Him. The monstrance is another precious vessel made of gold that is often in the shape of a sun with rays extending out. Before the time of Jesus pagans used to worship the sun (some pagans still do this today). Now we recognize that Jesus is the only God—he is the Son of God and also the “Sun” of God because just as the sun returns each day—overcoming the dark night by rising in the East, Jesus Christ our Lord and messiah will one day return at the end of the world (Daniel 7:13-14; Mark 14:61-64). He will then completely be “the light of the World” (John 1:9; 8:1), so that we can truly be the “children of light” that we are called to be (Ephesians 5:8). Eucharistic adoration, like the Mass, is a foretaste of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). When we look upon our Lord, we are practicing for our life in Heaven: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). J

2. How else can we describe the ways that Jesus is present?

“[Children and young people] are to be taught and trained to realize that Jesus Christ is indeed at the right hand of His heavenly Father. But Jesus Christ is also:
physically
geographically
really
completely now on earth, present in the Blessed Sacrament, offering Himself in the Sacrifice of the Mass and received by us-His Body in our bodies in Holy Communion.” --Fr. John Hardon, S.J., 2000 address The Greatest Need in the World Today—Forming the Eucharistic Faith and Love of Children, full text available on http://www.therealpresence.org/ .

3. How can Jesus be present in the tabernacle at St. Patrick’s and, at the same time, present in the tabernacles of other churches throughout the world?

This is the power of the sacraments. God is not bound by space and time like we are. He can be in many places at once—in deed, God is present anywhere. Jesus instituted the sacraments so that his priests could make him present in this mysterious way to people all over the world at all times.

4. What if it feels weird to kneel in front of a tabernacle or monstrance… it feels like I am worshipping bread?

That might be a natural human reaction. However, just think what you would do if you saw Jesus walking by you… or if Jesus was present in a room? I know that I would sure get on my knees and adore him! That is exactly what people did in the Bible. Now we have to remember, that what looks like bread is no longer truly bread—but is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divnity of Jesus Christ. God Himself is present on that altar during Mass and in that tabernacle or monstrance after Mass. So, we should adore God just like we hope to do for all eternity in heaven. You can also think about what we do at the Mass. Remember that we kneel down as the priest holds us the transformed host—the lamb of God broken for our sins—and says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…” At that very moment, we are doing “Eucharistic adoration.” When we kneel before the tabernacle or the monstrance, we are simply extending this wonderful moment for a longer time period.

A brief catechism on eucharistic adoration (part 2)

A Brief Catechism on Eucharistic Adoration. CPDT

(Part 2 of 2)
5. Why does Jesus Christ remain with us in the humble form of bread and wine?

Who knows? We know that it is the nature of Jesus to be humble—“who, though he was in the form of God, did not equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7).

Of course, Jesus identified himself as the Bread of Life: ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst… I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh….Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him’ (6:35, 51, 53-56).

Remember that in the Old Testament, one could not even look upon the infinite glory of God lest one die! A child was once asked why God resides in the form of bread and wine—she very wisely said, ‘so that we would not be afraid of Him.’

6. What have the Popes had to say about the importance of Eucharistic adoration?

“On August 12 of [1999] speaking to half a million young people in Denver, Colorado, Pope John II told them:
‘Your pilgrimage will lead you to Christ present in the Holy Eucharist. Praying before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, you can open your hearts to Him, but you should especially listen to what he says to each of you. Christ’s special words to young people are the following:
Do not be afraid. (Mt. 10:31) and Come, follow me. (Mt. 19:21). Who knows what the Lord will ask of you young people of America, sons and daughters of Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania?...’ ” –Fr. John Hardon, S.J., 2000 address The Greatest Need in the World Today—Forming the Eucharistic Faith and Love of Children, full text available on
http://www.therealpresence.org/ .

Pope Benedict XVI has continued John Paul II’s desire to highlight the importance of adoring the Eucharist in his recent apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis:

As Saint Augustine put it: "nemo autem illam carnem manducat, nisi prius adoraverit; peccemus non adorando – no one eats that flesh without first adoring it; we should sin were we not to adore it." (191) In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural consequence of the eucharistic celebration, which is itself the Church's supreme act of adoration. (192) Receiving the Eucharist means adoring him whom we receive. Only in this way do we become one with him, and are given, as it were, a foretaste of the beauty of the heavenly liturgy. The act of adoration outside Mass prolongs and intensifies all that takes place during the liturgical celebration itself. Indeed, "only in adoration can a profound and genuine reception mature. And it is precisely this personal encounter with the Lord that then strengthens the social mission contained in the Eucharist, which seeks to break down not only the walls that separate the Lord and ourselves, but also and especially the walls that separate us from one another."

7. How can Eucharistic adoration help encourage a growth in vocations?

If we teach children to place the Eucharist and prayer at the center of their lives then we will no longer have to see parishes closing and Clusters expanding due to a shortage of vocations to the priesthood. We might once again have enough nuns, monks, and brothers to minister at parishes and Catholic schools. We might once again have an increase in fruitful Catholic marriages and churches packed with families for Sunday Mass. In places where parishes foster Eucharistic adoration, young men begin to discern vocations to the priesthood and young women think about the religious life. I have seen this for myself. It really happens!

Related websites:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3W.HTM

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/
archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The%20sacraments
%20of%20Christian%20initiation
(See especially questions 271-294)

Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, paragraphs #66-69 on “Adoration and Eucharistic Devotion”:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_
exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_
sacramentum-caritatis_en.html#Adoration_and_eucharistic_devotion

* The Real Presence Association: http://www.therealpresence.org/
Real Presence Communications: http://www.realpresence.org/
Eucharistic Miracles: http://www.therealpresence.org/
eucharst/mir/a3.html

* Singles of the Eucharist: http://www.singlesoftheeucharist.org/
Swallowed Scroll: http://www.swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/

bite-size wisdom (the gift of triumphing over ourselves)

I was just watching Roberto Rossellini's 1950 film "The Flowers of St. Francis." This film has a simple beauty. ... a simplicity that I think St. Francis would approve of. Apparently, Roberto Rossellini was an avowed atheist (according to one review on Netflix), but his family (including daughter actress Isabella) were great friends to the friars and the town south of Naples where this film was shot. It truly was a stroke of genius that Roberto had real Franciscan friars--and not professional actors--portray Francis' band of friars. How could an actor portray the joy of the religious life that is so counfounding to the outside worlds? How could an actor portray the impression that this amazing saint had on his followers?

At any rate, I have a great quote from the movie. I am not sure if St. Francis actually said this, but it is a great line. St. Francis and another friar are talking about true happiness. Francis says that even if those men were used to convert all the infidels in the world, even if they fed all of the poor, etc. ... even then they would not have true happiness. They then stumble upon a house and they boldly begged for alms from the man who lived there ("come, serve Christ with us" they joyfully pleaded). The man verbally assaulted them ("thieves", "vagrants") and then chased them out of his home with a club, even beating them a little. Picking themselves up out of the mud, St. Francis said:

"Brother Leone, lamb of our good Lord, now that we've borne all this for the love of our blessed Christ, know that in tihs resides perfect happiness. Because, above all the gifts Christ bestows on his servants is that of triumphing over ourselves and bearing every evil deed and tribulation out of love for him. In this alone lies perfect happiness. [they then begin joyfully singing in Latin the Magnificat:] Magnificat anima mea dominum... ["My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,... (Lk 1:46-55)]

The lives of the saints are the Gospel incarnate. This of course reminiscent of the thankfulness of the apostles after they were flogged by the Sanhedrin court for preaching the Gospel of Christ: "So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Messiah, Jesus" (Acts 5:41-42).

A Good Friday Prayer

This is a prayer that was handed down to my mother... and she, in turn, handed it down to me. I was in highschool when she first gave it to me and I prayed it every year as she reminded me. Even when my life was not very centered on God, I was spiritually grounded again every Good Friday by this prayer:

This prayer is to be said 33 times between 12 and 3pm [in rememberance of the 33 years of our Lord's earthly life]

O My Lord Jesus Christ, I humbly beg of Thee, by the merits of Thy precious blood, by Thy Divine Heart, and by the intercession of Thy most cruel death, to assist me in this my most pressing necessity. Amen

Pray the following after 3pm--33 times [3pm--the hour of mercy]

O My Lord Jesus Christ by the Agony in the Garden, by the Scourging at the Pillar, by the Crowning of Thorns, and by Thy cruel death have mercy on me and grant my petition.

O Lord Jesus, I implore that I may love Thee more and more.

Good Friday Fare

Spiritual Readings for Good Friday:

The Cross of Christ, The Cosmic Tree from early church writer known as “Pseudo Chrysostom”:
www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article
/916/Cosmic_Tree_Pseudo_Chrysostom.html

________________________________

The Pope's Via Crucis [Way of the Cross]:

For recent years [I really liked the text for the 2006 Stations last year...]

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/
liturgy/documents/index_via-crucis_en.html

Pope's Via Crucis for today [have not prayed these yet]:

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/
liturgy/2007/documents/ns_lit_doc_
20070406_via-crucis_en.html

Homily:

"God Manifests His Love for Us", by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., Preacher to the Papal Household [4/14/2006, St. Peter's Basilica]

http://www.cantalamessa.org/en/
predicheView.php?id=76

or, his homily from 2005: http://www.zenit.org/english/
visualizza.phtml?sid=68364

______________________________________

A scritural reflection by Orthodox priest Henry Patrick Reardon [posted on Touchstone Magazine's www.toucstonemag.com ]:

"Good Friday, April 6

Zechariah 13: Maintaining his emphasis on the Lord's Passion and Death, the prophet goes on to speak of the striking of the Shepherd and the consequent dispersal of His disciples (verse 7), a text interpreted for us in Matthew 26:31 (cf. Mark 14:27; John 16:31).

This is the event by which the false gods are defeated (verse 1). These are the demonic forces brought to naught by the death of the First Born. Questioned about the marks of the wounds in His flesh, the Lord responds, “These wounds I received in the house of My friends” (verse 6).

Cyril of Alexandria wrote in the early fifth century, “when the Only Begotten Word of God ascended into the heavens in the flesh to which He was united, there was something new to be seen in the heavens. The multitude of holy angels was astounded, seeing the King of glory and the Lord of hosts being made in a form like ourselves. . . . Then the angels asked this, 'What are these wounds in Your hands?' And He said to them, 'These wounds I received in the house of My friends.'” These are the wounds that He will show to His disciples after His resurrection. He bears these wounds in his glorified flesh forever, as He stands before the Father, “as though slain,” being the one Mediator between God and man (Revelation 5:6)."

[ http://www.touchstonemag.com/frpat.html ]

Holy Week and Lent recap

UPDATE: News & Current Events:
Holy Week amidst war and car bombings--an interesting post from Amy Welborn's blog:
http://amywelborn.typepad.com/
openbook/2007/04/holy_week.html

Audiences and Sermons of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI during Lent:
http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/lent/
ndex-lent2007-hf_en.htm

Music for Lent:
http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/lent/
index-lent2007-music_en.htm

Holy See's page for Holy Week:

http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/
holy-week/2007/index_en.htm

The Pope always has excellent Stations of the Cross texts (2006's was wonderful). This year, the meditations that Pope Benedict XVI will lead were composed by Msgr. Gianfranco Ravasi, the Prefect of the Ambrosian Library and Gallery of Milan:

Presentation:

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2007/
documents/ns_lit_doc_20070406_
via-crucis-present_en.html

and the Meditations:

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2007/
documents/ns_lit_doc_20070406_via-crucis_en.html



[famous 19th century Catholic convert scholar John Henry Newman's Stations of the Cross meditations (longer version):

http://www.newmanreader.org/works/
meditations/meditations5.html


(shorter version):
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/
meditations/meditations5.html#stations ]
(in handy PDF format):
http://www.doxaweb.com/assets/stations.pdf





[Podcast alley has a March 3 2007 posting of an audio mp3 file of the Stations of the Cross based on the film "The Passion of the Christ":
http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast
_details.php?pod_id=10006 ]




[PhatCatholic Apologetics posts a lot of info on the Stations of the Cross:
http://phatcatholic.blogspot.com
/2007/03/on-stations-of-cross.html ]
_____________
Lent from a historical Christian perspective

Church historian Mike Aquilina talks about Holy Week [audio file]
http://www.kvss.com/programming/
program_aquilina.html

1917 Catholic Encyclopedia article on Holy Week:
www.newadvent.org/cathen/07435a.htm

and an article on the Sacred Triduum:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15041c.htm

History of Passiontide and Holy Week:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/LITURGY/HISTHW.TXT

Practice during Passiontide and Holy Week:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/LITURGY/PRACHW.TXT

Intro to prayer/fasting/almsgiving from the early church fathers:

1. Prayer: http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2007/02/21/
intro-to-lent-i-prayer/


2. Fasting: http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2007/02/22/
intro-to-lent-ii-fasting/


3. Almsgiving: http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/2007/02/23/
intro-to-lent-iii-almsgiving/

Passion Sunday from the perspective of early Church father St. Andrew of Crete:
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_
article/97/Palm_Sunday
____St._Andrew_of_Crete.html
_______________
Spiritual reading for Lent

http://www.spiritdaily.com/bookslent.htm
________________

Personal Prayer suggestions for Holy Week:

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/
library_article/410/Triduum___
Suggestions_for_Personal_Prayer.html

Meditate and instruct on the 7 last words of Christ:
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/
library_article/43/Seven_Last_Words_of_Christ.html

Virtual Retreats
at Loyola Press' FindingGod.org
http://www.findinggod.org/m_frmwork.asp?id=118455

Sacred Space's Lent page:
http://www.sacredspace.ie/lent/

OTHER STUFF
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (blog: "What does the prayer really say") examines the liturgical text of the prayer over the gifts:
http://wdtprs.com/blog/quadragesima-lent/

Amy Welborn's April 1 post has some great pictures of how Palm Sunday was celebrated around the world:
http://amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook/
2007/04/the_palmpassion.html

More reviews of "Into the Great Silence"

Here are two other review of the unique new film on monastic life "Into the Great Silence"
[I posted a review earlier: http://swallowedscroll.blogspot.com/2007/02/
instead-of-other-garbage-see-this-film.html ] This film is REALLY making an impression. It is an artistic achievement in the sense that it genuinely moves people.

Review
The Silent Treatment
A Meditative Journey Into a Monastery's World of the Spirit
By Desson Thomson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 30, 2007; Page C05

At first, the silence feels imposing -- practically deafening -- as we watch the documentary "Into Great Silence" and the monks of the Grand Chartreuse monastery praying, reading the Bible or simply sitting in quiet contemplation.

But as we become acclimated to this muted atmosphere (we have plenty of time, as the film is nearly three hours long), something extraordinary happens: Our senses sharpen. The whispering of snow outside, the occasional clearing of a throat and -- sweet mercy! -- the clanging of a bell that summons these befrocked Carthusians to prayer reach our ears with a resounding purity. We may not experience their inner glories, but when we hear the monks' Gregorian chants, it's as though we have slipped from our seats into the back pews of Chartreuse.

All movies are about transformation, in a sense, as we focus -- almost reverently -- on the glowing screen before us. But we are accustomed to our emotions being marshaled along with music, snappy editing, special effects. "Into Great Silence" subjects us, instead, to a sort of sensory deprivation -- echoing the ascetic lifestyle of these monks, who are bound to a life of near-silent contemplation aside from weekly conversational breaks.

More poetic meditation than documentary, it doesn't serenade us with music or offer helpful explanations about this 900-year-old charterhouse or the centuries of tradition that inform its rigorous rules. It doesn't even reveal the monastery's geographic location (in the French Alps, somewhere between Grenoble and Chambery).

By luring us into their hushed world, filmmaker Philip Groening -- who produced, directed, shot and edited the movie -- subtly provokes us into an active state of observation. We experience the rituals of these men's lives, our heads craned forward and our breath held so we don't disturb their devotions. And as we vicariously participate in their daily rituals, we find ourselves, quite literally, at the ground level of spiritual worship. It's hard to recall a similar documentary that brings viewers so palpably close to that sacred experience. Even such religiously themed commercial successes as "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Chronicles of Narnia," which moved their audiences with special-effects technology and star power, seem brassy and superfluous by comparison.

With an editing scheme of rhythmic repetition, Groening helps us understand the flow of these monks' existence -- the cumulative power of ritual, repetition and reiteration -- as they seek perpetual communion with God. The monks kneel. And kneel again. Biblical quotations are presented, again and again, in intertitles ("Lord, you have seduced me, and I was seduced"). And chores such as washing dishes and shaving heads come in cycles, too. Over the course of the movie, snowy landscapes outside the monastery become sunlit, florid scenes, then misty vistas, before returning to snowscapes again. (It bears mentioning that when Groening requested permission to film the inhabitants of Chartreuse in 1984, they took 16 years to give him the go-ahead.)

"Into Great Silence," a 2005 German release that won a special jury prize at Sundance last year, is not all hair-shirt rigor. On weekends, the French-speaking monks take long walks through the alpine country, chattering away with an endearing fervor that brings us immense relief. And during winter, when they slither and slide down on the slopes using only their sandaled feet and behinds, we laugh with an almost spiritual release. These scenes are a poignant reminder that they're as human as we are. There is also comfort in the testimony of a blind monk who -- in the movie's only interview -- explains his faith and the easy channel to God he believes is available to everyone. His unequivocal contentment -- he's even grateful for the blindness that led him to this calling -- is an affecting message for audiences, no matter how secular. And we realize this movie has not been about zeal, devotion or faith at all, but simple happiness.

Into Great Silence (162 minutes, at Landmark's E Street Cinema), is not rated but contains nothing objectionable. In some French and Latin with subtitles.

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Into Great Silence
by Jim Emerson
Editor, RogerEbert.com

We get a lot of movies about noise these days: gunshots, screams, explosions, fist thunks, thunderous roars, revving engines, squealing tires and those deafening sonic swooshes that accompany nearly every corporate logo before the feature even gets started. But we don't experience many moments of silence at the movies (and I'm not just talking about the audiences). "Into Great Silence," though devoid of narration, musical score or much at all in the way of dialogue, encourages us to listen closely: to the sound of snow falling in the mountains, a nocturnal prayer whispered in a small wooden cell with a knocking tin stove, a bell rope pulled in a chapel. Nobody yells. Nothing detonates.

The images also open up to us gradually and quietly. We're not bombarded with fusillades of shots: "Look at this! Now this! Now this!" "Into Great Silence" unfolds with its own gentle, unforced rhythms, designed, as German filmmaker Philip Groning has said, to be less a "documentary" than a meditation.

Groning spent six months living with the monks of the eremitical Carthusian order at the Grand Chartreuse Charterhouse, or monastery, in the French Alps. He brought with him only a camera and basic sound equipment -- no crew, no lights -- to capture the daily lives, prayers and routines of this most ascetic of Catholic orders, which was founded by St. Bruno in 1084. The monks, who have taken a vow of poverty, subsist on very little. They pray aloud at times and sing solemn Gregorian chants, but they rarely speak, except on their Monday walks. If cinema had existed more than a thousand years ago, this is quite like what it may have recorded.

I must confess my fondness for contemplative movies of this sort. The less frenetic onscreen activity you are forced to endure, the more you're able to notice. And the form of "Into Great Silence" is ideally suited to its subject. The monks lead a regimented existence (you can see a typical weekday schedule, and learn about their history, at their official Web site, www.chartreux.org), but time is allotted for the introspection and reflection that are essential to their devotion. You're given the opportunity to contemplate details, including ones you may overlook in the rush and routine of your own everyday life.

The film is structured, appropriately, with attention to the ritualistic and cyclical nature of these lives -- and, perhaps to a less rigorous extent, all of our lives: work, meals, chores, time alone (with God), time with others. And then there are the rhythms dictated by the passage of time: the daily progression of darkness into light and back again; the passage of the seasons; the aging of the monks' own bodies. Intertitles with biblical quotations are repeated like chants, sometimes followed by three close-ups of monks looking into the camera. There's so much to watch and listen to.

In one of the few segments where anyone speaks, a monk says, "In God there is no past. There is only the present." Oddly, or not, watching this movie I was reminded of the final part of "2001: A Space Odyssey," where Keir Dullea silently grows old in a mysteriously sterile 18th century habitat. One day, while eating, he knocks over a glass, and it shatters on the floor. In the next moment, he is much older. How much time has passed in the interim? The monks' (and the film's) conception of time is similarly static. Groning approached the Carthusians for permission to shoot the film in 1984, and they said they weren't quite ready. Sixteen years later, they said they were.

So, what happens in the course of the picture? As you would expect, everything and nothing. You get the feeling that whatever you witness has probably happened countless times before. Novices are admitted. A clock is re-set, then straightened. On one sunny walk, there's a discussion about the moral implications of hand-washing: how it should be done, and how much. On another walk, the monks slide down a snowy slope. Those are among the action-packed highlights.

But they are not what "Into Great Silence" is about. A movie is always about what happens to you as you watch it, and Groning's stated intention was to entice the viewer to assemble his or her own experience of the film by asking questions and making discoveries as it unreels. Sometimes these questions are elemental: What am I looking at? Is it day or night? At other moments they are experiential: What task or ritual is this? Where are they going? And at others they are more existential: What does it take to find meaning in the physical and psychological discipline of such a life? Are the monks happy, or content? What does the concept of "happiness" mean in this context?

Each of us is left to discover the answers for ourselves.
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UPDATE: Yet one MORE review

'Into Great Silence': Why now?
By NANCY KLEIN MAGUIRE, National Catholic Reporter, April 4, 2007

In February 1999, I started to research An Infinity of Little Hours, a book about the life of Carthusian hermit monks. That same year, the reverend father of the Grande Chartreuse, the headquarters of the order in France, called Philip Gröning to ask him to film a documentary on the same subject. Mr. Gröning had proposed the project in 1984. In 2006, Mr. Gröning released "Into Great Silence," capturing the life of the Carthusian monks in images (NCR, March 23). I like to think that my book, An Infinity of Little Hours, provides the libretto for Mr. Gröning’s music of Carthusian life.

In 1084, St. Bruno initiated an order of hermits who lived in community. He was serious about the hermit part. While not exactly unfriendly, these hermits do not have hospitality or public relations on their agenda. Historically, the order is so protective of its privacy that it is even averse to canonizing its members. Their standard response to visitors is to momentarily slide back the grill in their entrance door, saying: "We do not allow visitors."

The Carthusian order has been so reclusive that few people, even the most devout Catholics, have heard of them.

Last February, Mr. Gröning and I had a chance to compare notes about these hermit monks. When Mr. Gröning started shooting in 2000, the reverend father looked at him and said, "We are starting a risky thing." Mr. Gröning felt intimidated when he first entered the cloistered charterhouse (monastery); he was afraid that he couldn’t possibly capture the Carthusian life. But, while making the film, he lived the life of a monk for five months, following the same regimen as any new recruit to the order. He went to church, took care of his garden, cleaned his clothes, went on the weekly walk and did all the other monk jobs.

Although the monks talk only twice a week, he became close friends with them. "They let me know they liked me by smiles and other nonverbal gestures." And, of course, on the weekly walk, he could talk to them. Several times in the film, Mr. Gröning’s camera zeros in for 20-second portraits of individual monks. The eyes of the monks tell the story. I was especially intrigued by the monk who didn’t blink. These portraits are so intimate that they seem to me an invasion of privacy of these reclusive men. Yet Mr. Gröning assured me, "There was complete trust between the monks and myself. I do not feel that their privacy was invaded. I would leave a note and ask if I could take a portrait at a specific time." In one shot, a monk conspiratorially glances toward the camera with a slight smile.

Mr. Gröning uses no narrative, no explanatory voiceover, and about two minutes of dialogue. Because Mr. Gröning decided not to comment during this film, the viewer hears the sounds of the cook chopping celery, the elderly gardener digging a spring garden groaning with the exertion, the monks sawing wood for their stoves, wooden spoons clanking against metal bowls, scissors cutting into new fabric, and the eternal rustling of pages. Underneath these sounds, the viewer senses a palpable silence.

Mr. Gröning was not allowed to use artificial lights, so the film alternates between barely-seen candlelight images and clear shots, such as pages of Gregorian chant scrolling across the screen or sharp images of the Grande Chartreuse itself. Scenes of normal human life, monks eating in their cells, getting their heads shaved, feeding cats, and even cows going through the cloister, are mixed with very arcane scenes: for example, an eerie shot of the monks praying Night Office in a dark church during the middle of the night.

To remind the viewer of the present time, Mr. Gröning twice shows an airplane flying above the charterhouse. By this time, I was so immersed in the film that I thought the plane could be a bird. In another scene, Mr. Gröning shows a noisy group of teenagers outside the charterhouse trying to see what goes on inside. When Mr. Gröning worried that he didn’t have enough scenes, "a shot would be right there in front of me."

Using captions and subtitles, Mr. Gröning repeats verses from the Bible throughout the film, particularly the verse, "Oh Lord, you have seduced me, and I was seduced." The repetition suggests the timelessness of the monks’ lives and the tranquility in their portraits. Only once, near the end of the film, does a monk address the camera directly. Mr. Gröning chose a very elderly, blind monk who wears a hearing aid. Mr. Gröning says he chose the monk, not because he was blind, but because his face looks so happy in spite of his handicaps. The monk says:
"One should have no fear of death. On the contrary, it is a great joy to find a Father once again. … And when God sees us he always sees our entire life. And because he is an infinitely good being he eternally seeks our well-being. Therefore, there is no cause for worry."

The blind monk epitomizes the meaning of the charterhouse.

Mr. Gröning’s film does not have a beginning, middle, or end. The monk lives outside of time, and "Into Great Silence" is timeless.

By the time I watched the film for the fifth time, I knew that "Into Great Silence" had become part of my life. Time cycles around the monks and the viewer: We see the heavy snows of the French Alps engulfing the monastery, a glorious image of crocuses emerging from the snow, the lush greenery of summer, then back to the scenes of falling snow.

The result is a stunning immersion in Carthusian life. Mr. Gröning refers to himself as a documentary filmmaker, but above all, he is an artist. "Into Great Silence," in a sense, is a series of stills skillfully placed, rather than a film. Mr. Gröning did not want to create a documentary about the monastery, he "wanted to create the monastery."
"I wanted the film to become a monastery." And it does.

Why now? In his splendid New York Times review, A.O. Scott comments that Mr. Gröning is not interested in the history of the order, nor in why men come or leave; he is not concerned with the biographies of the men.

Before the Reformation, Carthusians were well-known; since then, they have become nearly invisible. Outsiders are rarely allowed into the charterhouse and never inside the hermits’ cells, two-story individual dwellings.

Even consultants, such as theologians, psychiatrists, or doctors, are not allowed to live "in cell." This has been a sine qua non of the order -- no one but potential recruits can live in cell. Yet Mr. Gröning lived in cell. In a conversation with him, the reverend father referred to the Carthusian mission as that of a lighthouse. In a similar vein, Søren Kierkegaard, the 19th-century Danish philosopher, said:

Of this there is no doubt, our age and Protestants in general may need the monastery again, or wish it were there. The monastery is an essential dialectical element in Christianity. We therefore need it out there like a navigational buoy at sea in order to see where we are, even though I myself would not enter it. But if there really is true Christianity in every generation, there must also be individuals who have this need.

John Morrill, a Cambridge historian, commented on my book: "An Infinity of Little Hours will make most readers recognize the empty plenty with which we crowd our own lives." With sympathy, the film’s blind monk says, "It is a pity that the world has lost all sense of God."

Another way of looking at this question of "why now?" is St. Bruno’s reason for seeking solitude. Weary of the corruption in the Catholic church of his time, he decided to find a way to go directly to God. Perhaps we also want a less institutional, more direct way to God, some inner space, some quiet. After years of watching atrocities on television, we need a safe place.

When I left Parkminster, a charterhouse in England I visited, for the first time, I sensed that something was missing there. Then I realized that I had been missing anxiety. Mr. Gröning had the same experience at the Grande Chartreuse. The monks have no fear. Mr. Gröning hopes that his audience "will realize that this way of life exists and perhaps part of it can be applied outside the monastery."

Filming "Into Great Silence" gave Mr. Gröning more trust that things would go the right way. At the end of my interview, I asked, "What question haven’t I asked that you would like to answer?" He responded, "There is no question that I haven’t been asked about this film."
Mr. Scott in The New York Times hesitates to call "Into Great Silence" one of the best films of the year. "I prefer to think of it as an antidote to all of the others." I agree. The film is addictive -- each time I watch it, I know that I will need to watch it again, to return to life in the charterhouse.

Nancy Klein Maguire is the author of An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World’s Most Austere Monastic Order, reviewed by art historian Sr. Wendy Beckett in the July 28, 2006, issue of NCR.