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Feb. 25th, 2018 | The 23rd Times

By February 21, 2018 May 4th, 2018 No Comments

Re-LENT-ing

by: Rich Byrne and Steve Zeder – Parishioners

As Roman Catholics, we have entered what is for many of us the most prayerful time of the year, the Lenten Season.

The term, Lent, refers to Spring, to a time of new life, of re-LENT-ing, of forgiving, of intensely praying. Through whichever of these terms the Lord is speaking to you, please listen and perhaps let it be a Lenten Practice for you.

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NEW LIFE:
This can be a season for rethinking the Sacrament of Baptism. At that moment, we were blessed with a new life, as a grace-filled member of the Christian Community! We were called into the abundance of life in Christ. Yes, in Christ! He is “the way, the truth and the life”. Let’s strive to live life to the fullest.

RELENTING:
Many of us can be unduly hard on ourselves. We all make mistakes, even, occasionally, sin. During these weeks, the Church is asking us to be more LEN-ient, to ease up, to accept ourselves as God’s beloved children, a community known by how we love one another.

FORGIVING:
For many, this is a season for experiencing the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for especially attending to the many times during Mass we pray, “Lord, have mercy!”. These are days during which we can repeatedly recall through prayer that God is primarily Loving and Merciful, that we are unconditionally loved.

INTENSELY PRAYER:
Hopefully, we pray every day of the year. However, during this Holy Season, our Church is challenging us to pray more attentively, more deeply, more lovingly. These are wonderful weeks for deepening your personal, prayerful relationship with Jesus, the One who suffered and died for us, who now dwells among us as the Risen Christ.

As we enter into the season of Lent and through the coming year, do you wish you could share the thoughts and times with those closest to the events of Lent? When you read the Bible, do you hear their voices? We often look at the Apostles, Disciples and those surrounding Jesus as saints but they were ordinary people in extraordinary times. Join with the Faith Alive Team for “On the Way to the Cross – Conversations with the Disciples”. On Tuesdays nights we will listen to, and stand by as witnesses to those thoughts and times.

On Tuesday, February 20th, we kicked off the Lent Season as we gathered to the River Jordan and listened to John the Baptist and Simon Peter talk about The Plan and the emotions drawn from them in response. Please join us for these remaining Tuesday nights:

February 27th: You’ll be able to stand with the crowd on Palm Sunday and hear from one disciple of the triumphal entry. You’ll hear the story of a young widow as she goes to the Temple and sees Jesus clearing the money changers.

March 6th: We will be witnesses at the Last Supper and at the Garden of Gethsemane. Close out the three weeks with a powerful conversation between Jesus and Peter which shows us the amazing Grace of God.

March 20th: Then as the Lenten cycle moves to its conclusion, join us again for a final week as we listen to Peter painfully recount his denial of the Lord. And walk with and hear from Simon of Cyrene as the Roman Centurion forces him to help the fallen Jesus. Then as we close the program and prepare for the events of Holy Week, stand at Golgotha with the Roman executioner and Barabbas.

Each week (6:30-8:00pm in the Community Room) during the videos and the discussions, you will feel the emotions generated by stories told by the people who experienced them. Hear from those who were close to Jesus through his death on the cross on Good Friday. Listen as Peter, Thomas, John and others recount the events of Jesus’ last days. Hear their stories and wonder with them as they touch you with their experiences. You will be transported to another time, another place and another sense of wonder as you are witness to the events of the Gospels. Walk away with a new appreciation of all these events of four weeks and be prepared to be transformed and draw closer to Jesus.

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