The Holy Season of Lent Daily Reflections and Prayers

EWTN.com ^ | 02-24-04 | EWTN

[Salvation]

Oops.
**Thanks you.**

Thank you.

[Salvation]

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
Station—St. George

Just a short distance from St. Sabina stands our second stational church, St. George in Velabro. The church dates back to the year 500, but was reconstructed under Leo II (682-683). This church is one of the original 25 diaconal seats of the Roman church. The head of this warrior Saint is preserved under the high altar.
The purpose of Holy Lent is to bring about a spiritual renovation. This work of renovation is accomplished by both God and man; by God, principally through the holy Eucharist; by man, mainly by fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
May our stational patron, St. George, helps us to overcome the dragon of inertia in our prayer life and to cast again with new fervor our cares upon the Lord.
Let us pray: O God, who by sin art offended and by penance appeased, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy suppliant people, and turn away the scourges of Thy wrath, which we deserve for our sins. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
Station—Sts. John and Paul

The third Lenten Station takes us up to a high hill of ancient Rome—the Celian Hill, which stands in front of the Palatine and which dominates the valley of the Circus Maximus. The church was built upon the house where Saints John and Paul were martyred and buried. Martyred in the year 361, by Julian the Apostate, they were two imperial officers in Constantine's court.
We celebrate the divine mysteries today in the light of the "two candelabras shining before the Lord," as the Church calls the two brothers John and Paul. There can be no fruitful lent without practical charity. Practical charity means that we must come to our brother's rescue sincerely, unselfishly and supernaturally.
As children of the God of charity, let us so approach today's Eucharist that it may enkindle in us the spirit of true Christian charity, and thus to "be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect."
Let us pray: Regard with Thy loving care, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the fast which we have begun; that the abstinence, which we keep with our body may be exercised with sincerity of mind. We ask this Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY
Station—St. Augustine/St. Tryphon

Pope Pasquale II (1099-1118) laid the relics of St. Tryphon to rest under the present church of St. Augustine.
Health of body and, above all, health of soul are precious gifts from God—gifts for which we must be grateful. The Church is particularly concerned about the health of our soul, the well being in us of the life of Christ. She knows our spiritual shortsightedness, she knows, the unsteadiness of our will, she knows the power of our passions, all of them—infirmities caused by Original Sin, as well as by our personal sins. She sees her children make resolutions and break them. She knows how often the fuller unfolding of the sacramental life is impeded because her sons and daughters are lacking in purity of intention and proper appreciation of God's gifts.
For that very reason she instituted this holy season as a time of great healing. Lent is God's hospital. Serious operations are to be performed during this time. And blessed are they who gladly submit to them. Vitia comprimis, mentem elevas—vices are to be curbed, spiritual cancers to be removed, the mind is to be renewed, elevated, so that, after our stay in His hospital, the same mind may be in us, which is also in Christ Jesus.
We humbly implore our dual Saints to guide us to the Divine Physician, the Healer of our soul and body.
Let us pray: Be mindful, O Lord, of our supplications, and grant that we may keep with devout service this solemn fast, which thou has wholesomely ordained for the healing of our souls and bodies. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Station—Our Most Holy Savior in the Lateran

The Cathedral Basilica of Rome—caput et mater omnium ecclesiarum Urbis et Orbis—triumphantly celebrates the first solemn day of Lent.
Today, the faithful pilgrim in spirit to the Lateran Basilica of the Most Holy Savior, "head and mother of all the churches of the City and the World," the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. In this basilica Lent officially begins, in this church also, it is concluded.
The acceptable time is at hand. "We exhort that you receive not the grace of God in vain." "It is true," says St. Leo, "there is no season, which is not rich with God' gifts. His grace does ever give us an entry to His mercy, yet at this time the minds of all should be urged with greater earnestness towards spiritual progress, and should be animated by a trust in God stronger than ever, for now the anniversary of that day on which we were redeemed is drawing near. Therefore, let us be moved to perform every work of godliness, to the end that we may be able to celebrate, with clean minds and bodies, that mystery, which excels all others—the mystery of the Lord's passion." (Matins, Second Nocturne)
This holy fast (Quadragesima) will open unto us the gates of Paradise. We must embrace it with prayer and supplication, so that we may rejoice with the Lord on the day of Resurrection.
Let us pray: O God, who does purify Thy Church by the yearly observance of forty days; grant to Thy household that what we strive to obtain from Thee by self-denial, we may secure by good works. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

MONDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Peter in Chains

From the heart of the Roman Forum, the penitential procession climbed up the road winding up towards the Esquiline Hill and came to the church of St. Peter in Chains, also called the "Eudossian Basilica" (as it had been built in the place of another church by Eurdossia, wife of the emperor Valentinian III, to preserve in it the chains of St. Peter).
The Station of this day is at St. Peter in Chains and the Church takes us today to the divinely appointed watchman of "the lambs and sheep of Christ"—St. Peter.
The Chains, which held the shepherd of the lambs and sheep consist of forty-four links. Forty-four days separate us from Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Paschal solemnities when our "Lenten" work must be an accomplished fact.
How many links has that chain from which Christ, our good Shepherd, desires to free us in this acceptable time? We are fully aware that during this season of salvation this chain must be broken and the links thrown out—the big ones in particular. Which are your principal faults? Are you working against them?
Let us pray: Convert us, O God our salvation, that the Lenten fast may be of profit to us. Instruct our minds with heavenly discipline. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

TUESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Anastasia

Linked to this church is the tradition of the "first-light" Mass—Mass at dawn—which is celebrated in the first hours of the Christmas morning.
We keep this day in company with the widow-martyr, whose heavenly birthday the Church observes on the very birthday of the Light of the world. In the Christmas Mass "at dawn" St. Anastasia, whose name means "dawn"—the new light—is commemorated. In that "aurora Mass" and again today, the words fulgebit, fulgeat—"shine, radiate—occur.
A holy "radiating" is the fruit of a holy Lent. Everyone is called to be an "Anastasia", a new light, replenished by the light of Christ—Lumen Christi.
Let us pray: Look down upon Thy household, Lord, and grant that our souls, chastened by the mortification of the flesh, may radiate in Thy sight with the desire for Thee. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WEDNESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Mary Major

On the Esquiline Hill, not far from St. Peter in Chains, towers the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
IfGrandiose, both in its exterior and in it interior, the Basilica was erected by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), one year after the proclamation by the Council of Ephesus of the dogma of Theotokos—Mary, Mother of God. Before being called "St. Mary Major," the ancient Romans had called it the Basilica Liberii (back to Pope Liberius (352-366). In August 352, Pope Liberius experience a vision of Our Lady and it was She, who traced out the dimensions of this church. Pope Liberius then saw with his own eyes the area of land covered in snow on which the church was to be built.
This Basilica also contains the revered image of the Madonna of St. Luke, called Salus Populi Romani.
How have I kept the first eight days of Lent? Surely, as "the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai" and upon Moses, so the "right hand of His Majesty" was extended over us during the past week.
Let us pray: Graciously look down, O Lord, we beseech Thee, upon the devotion of Thy people, that they, who are mortified in body by abstinence, may be refreshed in mind through the fruit of good works. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

THURSDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Lawrence in Panisperna

This church was built in ancient times under the Emperor Valerian on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence (258). In its harmonious interior, at the end of the nave is a large fresco depicting the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence.
We place all our Lenten petitions in the hands of the "standard-bearer of the Roman Church"-St. Lawrence, to whose prayers and martyrdom is attributed the final triumph at Rome of the Cross over paganism—of light over darkness. May the Holy Deacon, whose heart was filled with Eucharistic fervor, accompany us on this Thursday to the reception of "the bread, which is Christ's flesh for our life for that of the whole world."
Let us pray: Mercifully look down, we beseech Thee, O Lord, upon the devotion of Thy people, that they who are mortified in the flesh by abstinence, may be refreshed in mind by the fruit of good works. We ask this Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FRIDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—The Twelve Apostles

Today we find ourselves at the Basilica dedicated to the Apostles and in particular to the Saints Philip and James the Minor, whose bodies are enclosed in a precious marble urn located under the main altar in the crypt.
Today, thirty-eight days before Easter, the Church reads to us the account of the cure of a man sick for thirty-eight years. This miracle occurred at the pool of Bethsaida. The merciful Jesus healed body and soul of this friendless sufferer. After the cure, Jesus said to him: "Behold thou art made whole; sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee."
This sick man is a picture of the world, especially of the pagan world—a world in a state of utter helplessness, laden with sin, steeped in despair, with no one to help it but Him who is "the expectation of all nations and their Savior."
The Church entrusts us today to the Holy Apostles. In their company we will celebrate the healing mysteries. In their presence we will answer the question of the king of Apostles: "Will thou be made whole?" "I will, Lord. Save Thy servant, O my God that trusts in Thee. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer."
Let us pray: Be gracious, O Lord, unto Thy people, and even as thou make them devoted to Thee, so mercifully revive them with Thy kind assistance. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

SATURDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Peter in the Vatican

In the past, people used to prepare with prayer and fasting throughout the night before coming to this Station, which takes place in the major church of Christendom, at the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.
It was at this Station that the Pope consecrated priests, joining to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that of the Ordination of Priests.
The monumentality of the Basilica and the columned square, which embraces the vast crowds like immense arms, is only a framework to the great light, which from here radiates to all the world.
St. Peter, rock of the Church, bearer of the keys of God's Kingdom, great priest of Jesus Christ, holy shepherd of His flock, bless those who are called to be fishers of men.
Let us pray: Direct our actions, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy inspiration and further them with Thy continual help; that every prayer of ours may begin always from Thee and through Thee likewise be ended. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Station—St. Mary in Dominica

In the Piazza della Navicella (which gets its name from the fountain built around the marble model of a ship) is the Church of St. Mary in Dominica—an ancient church founded around the year 600.
The purpose of this Holy Season is to transfigure us. The transfiguration of Christ, the Head, is the beginning and source of the transfiguration of His Body, the Church, and of every member of the Church.
The stational protectress today is our glorious Mother herself—Sancta Maria in Dominica—the grandest "transfiguration" accomplished by Christ, the Savior. To her maternal love and prayers we commend ourselves and so keep this second Sunday of Lent that we may merit to hear also from her lips: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
Let us pray: O God, who sees that we have no power whatever from ourselves, keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities, which may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts, which may hurt the soul. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

MONDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Clement

This stational church is built above the very house of the third successor of St. Peter, whose name is found in the Roman Canon—St. Clement. This parish church of Rome established in the fifth century is a most faithful example of the old Roman basilicas. Under the high altar are the remains of the martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, as well as, St. Clement.
Sts. Clement and Ignatius are true heroes, as their martyr-blood became the "seed of Christians." Clement and Ignatius—kindness and fire—symbols of Him, who is kindness to men of good will, though their sins be red as scarlet; kindness and forgiveness to all, who in the spirit of Daniel, turn to Him and pray: "We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, O Lord, against all Thy justice. Let Thy wrath and Thy indignation be turned away, I beseech Thee, from Thy city Jerusalem and from Thy holy mountain … for it is not for our justification that we present our prayers before Thy face, but for the multitude of Thy tender mercies."
With St. Clement we will offer "the Sacrifice of propitiation and praise. May it render us worthy of God's protection."
Let us pray: Grant we beseech Thee, O Almighty God, that Thy family, while afflicting the flesh by fasting from food, may follow justice and abstain from sin. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

TUESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Balbina

The Station today is at the sanctuary of St. Balbina—a Roman virgin, who lived in the second century and whose remains, along with those of her father, the martyr St. Quirinus, lies under the altar. This church stands on a slope of the Aventine Hill.
St. Balbina followed Christ. To Him she gave her home that it might henceforth be His home where He would "have mercy on His people according to His great mercy and blot out their iniquity" and where they would seek His face, and finding it, "relate all His wonders, and be glad and rejoice and sing praise to the name of the Most High."
I seek Your face! Your face, O Lord, will I still seek. Turn not away Your face from me.
Let us pray: Of Thy goodness, we beseech Thee, O Lord. Continue to help us in the observance of this holy fast, that having learned our duties from Thee, we may accomplish them by the help of Thy grace. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WEDNESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Cecelia

In the heart of Transtiber Rome, entered by way of a Baroque gateway portal and a cheerful courtyard, towers the splendid church of St. Cecilia, in which is buried St. Cecilia, the virgin-martyr. In the fifth century, this church was one of the most celebrated churches in Rome.
On Ash Wednesday, the church was St. Sabina, the martyr-matron. On Wednesday of the first week of Lent, we visited St. Mary Major. On this third Wednesday, it is again a woman—the virgin-martyr and "glory of the early Church," St. Cecilia, who leads us to "the Son of Man, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."
One reason why Christians often are lacking in joy and holy enthusiasm is their lack of purity. We know how the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. The two cannot live in the same house. One of the two must go. St. Cecilia knew no compromise. Her baptismal garment was never stained by impurity.
Let us pray: O God, the restorer and lover of innocence, turn towards Thee the hearts of Thy servants; that being inflamed with the fervor of Thy Spirit, they may be found both steadfast in faith and fruitful in good works. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

[Salvation]

These are wonderful reflections for this thread. Please add them daily if you can.

God bless you!

[Salvation]

Thursday, Second Week of  Lent

"At his gate lay a beggar named Lazarus." (Luke 16:20)

Reflection.
Lent is a time for each of us to increase our knowledge of the "faith that is in us" in order that we can fulfill our vocation as Christians to extend this rich blessing of faith to others. We accomplish personal renewal and revitalization of our faith through penance, prayer and instruction.

Lenten Question

Q: On what basis does the Church have the authority to establish days of fast and abstinence?
A: On the authority of Jesus Christ. Jesus told the leaders of his Church, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19, 18:18). The language of binding and loosing  was a rabinnic way of referring to the ability to establish binding  or rules of conduct for the faith community. It is thus especially appropriate that the references to binding and loosing occur in Matthew, the "Jewish Gospel."
Thus the states: "BINDING AND LOOSING (Hebrew,  . . . Rabinnical term for 'forbidding and permitting.' . . . "The power of binding and loosing as always claimed by the Pharisees. Under Queen Alexandra the Pharisees, says Josephus (1:5:2), 'became the administrators of all public affairs so as to be empowered to banish and readmit whom they pleased, as well as to loose and to bind.' . . . The various schools had the power 'to bind and to loose'; that is, to forbid and to permit ( 3b); and they could also bind any day by declaring it a fast-day ( . . .  12a . . . ). This power and authority, vested in the rabbinical body of each age of the Sanhedrin, received its ratification and final sanction from the celestial court of justice (9; 23b). "In this sense Jesus, when appointing his disciples to be his successors, used the familiar formula (Matt. 16:19, 18:18). By these words he virtually invested them with the same authority as that which he found belonging to the scribes and Pharisees who 'bind heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but will not move them with one of their fingers'; that is 'loose them,' as they have the power to do (Matt. 23:2-4). In the same sense the second epistle of Clement to James II ('Clementine Homilies,' Introduction [A.D. 221]), Peter is represented as having appointed Clement as his successor, saying: 'I communicate to him the power of binding and loosing so that, with respect to everything which he shall ordain in the earth, it shall be decreed in the heavens; for he shall bind what ought to be bound and loose what ought to be loosed as knowing the rule of the Church.'" ( 3:215). Thus Jesus invested the leaders of this Church with the power of making  for the Christian community. This includes the setting of fast days (like Ash Wednesday). To approach the issue from another angle, every family has the authority to establish particular family devotions for its members. Thus if the parents decide that the family will engage in a particular devotion at a particular time (say, Bible reading after supper), it is a sin for the children to disobey and skip the devotion for no good reason. In the same way, the Church as the family of God has the authority to establish its own family devotion, and it is a sin for the members of the Church to disobey and skip the devotions for no good reason (though of course if the person has a good reason, the Church dispenses him immediately).

Lenten Action.

Pray for  RCIA Catechumens and Candidates.

Prayer

O Jesus, Divine Strength, I come to You to seek support for my weakness, and infirmity.

[Salvation]

Friday, Second Week of  Lent
Fridays of  Lent are days of abstinence from meat.

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age. (Genesis 37:3)

Reflection.
O Divine Word, You humbled Yourself even unto death and willed to be treated as the least of men by sinners, by demons, and even by the Holy Spirit and by Your Eternal Father. You did all this to glorify your Father, to make reparation for the offenses committed against Him by pride, to confound and destroy our arrogance and to teach us to detest vanity and to love humility. Oh! how truly can we see that pride dishonors God and is very displeasing to Him, since it is necessary for you, the Son of God, to be so humiliated in order to atone for such dishonor!
We can truly say also that vanity is a monstrous thing since in order to destroy it, You were willing to be reduced to such humiliation! Oh! how firmly must we  believe that in the eyes of God humility is an infinitely precious treasure and a jewel most pleasing to Him, since You, His divine Son, willed to be so humiliated to make us love this virtue, and to urge us to imitate You in the practice of it, and thus merit the grace to perform its works.'  ..... St. John Eudes

Lenten Question

Q: What is a day of fast and abstinence?
A: Under current canon law in the Western Rite of the Church, a day of fast is one on which Catholics who are eighteen to sixty years old are required to keep a limited fast. In this country, one may eat a single, normal meal and have two snacks, so long as these snacks do not add up to a second meal.

Children are not required to fast, but their parents must ensure they are properly educated in the spiritual practice of fasting. Those with medical conditions requiring a greater or more regular food intake can easily be dispensed from the requirement of fasting by their pastor. A day of abstinence is a day on which Catholics fourteen years or older are required to abstain from eating meat (under the current discipline in America, fish, eggs, milk products, and condiments or foods made using animal fat are permitted in the Western Rite of the Church, though not in the Eastern Rites.) Again, persons with special dietary needs can easily be dispensed by their pastor.

Lenten Action.

Share an answered prayer with a friend—give God credit in words. Remember to give thanks to God for what you received.

Prayer

Merciful Father, may our acts of penance bring us your forgiveness, open our hearts to your love, and prepare us for the coming feast of Your resurrection.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

THURSDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Mary Trastevere

In the heart of Transtiber, in a beautiful Romanesque square stands the church of St. Mary. On the spot of this church, shortly before the birth of Christ, oil gushed out of the ground. Mary carried Christ "the Anointed One" (reference to the oil) in her arms.
The Mother of God is today's stational leader to Christ, the Light of the world. We fly to your patronage, Holy Mother of God. Do present our humble prayers to Him, whom you did bring forth, the King that rules heaven and earth. Help us, good Mother, that He may keep us away from the broad road, which leads to darkness and perdition and take us on the narrow but sure way to eternal light and life.
It is Thursday, four weeks from the great Eucharistic Thursday. May today's Eucharistic action give us light to see the right way and strength to follow it. And Christ is the "Way," and Mary, our leader to this "Way"—Per Mariam ad Jesum!
If us pray: Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the help of Thy grace, that being duly intent on fasts and prayers, we may be delivered from enemies of soul and body. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FRIDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Vitalis

Mother Church points today to the "Great Friday" on which our High Priest and Redeemer obtained for us eternal redemption. She takes us today to the church of St. Vitalis—father of the holy martyrs, Gervase and Protase. For his loyalty to Christ, St. Vitalis was first buried up to the waist in an old cistern and then stoned to death.
Here at the altar of this martyr—his name means "full of life"—Holy Mother Church directs our attention to the life-giving death of the Savior. In four weeks we will celebrate the life-begetting Passion of Christ. Pointing to this great mystery, the Church prays that we continue to prepare for it; that the holy fast may chasten us and make our hearts pure, so that when the vintage time of the Paschal solemnity arrives, the divine householder may not be obliged to say: "I looked that my vineyard should bring forth grapes, and it has brought forth thorns."
May St. Vitalis, who drank so abundantly of the sacred winepress of the Lord's Passions, accompany us today to the Eucharistic Banquet in which this most Holy Passion is rendered present and the fruits thereof applied to our souls. Here all of us will become "Vitales"—living members of Christ—the Fountain of all life and holiness.
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that cleansed by this holy fast, we may be brought by Thee with pure hearts to the holy season, which is to come. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

SATURDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—Sts. Marcellinus & Peter

This Station is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Lavicana, in which were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus, priest, and St. Peter, exorcist, martyred at Tome during the Diocletian persecution. Their names are mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass.
May today's stational saints, not brothers in the flesh, but in spirit, obtain for us the gift of gratitude both for our holy calling—God's free gift—as well as for the grace of conversion, our homecoming to the Father. For the remainder of our life may "the unspotted law of the Lord, which converts souls, and the testimonies of our faithful Lord fill us with such wisdom that we shall show forth the glory of God, and declare the works of His hands."
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, a saving virtue to our fast; that the chastisement of the flesh, which we have taken upon us may bestow new life to our souls. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Station—St. Lawrence Outside the Walls

The stational Mass brings us to another basilica, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, erected by the Emperor Constantine in the year 330. As the basilica is near the Verano cemetery and above ancient catacombs, where the bodies of the martyred St. Lawrence, St. Stephen and St. Justin were laid to rest, the penitential character of the Lenten Station takes on particular significance.
On this day, the catechumens of old were taken to the tomb of St. Lawrence, the illustrious deacon whose "eyes were ever towards the Lord." Today, they had to decide whether they were "for Christ or against Him." If for Him, then "all fornication and uncleanness, covetousness, obscenity, foolish talking, gossip must be laid aside," "for no fornicator, or unclean or covetous person has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ Jesus."
We have made our decision years ago. On the day of our baptism, we renounced Satan, his pomps and his works. "Heretofore we were darkness," but by the waters of baptism "were made light in the Lord."
If we are not keeping our baptismal oath, then "the last state of that man becomes worse than the first, for the unclean spirit will return into the house from whence he came, together with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and dwell there." The result will be a scattering, a breaking up of the supernatural life, a separation from Him who is our blessed hope in this life and our eternal joy in the next.
Let us pray: Pluck my feet out of the snare. Look upon me and have mercy on me for I am alone and poor. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

Ping me daily, so I remember.

[Salvation]

Saturday, Second Week of  Lent

"Let us eat and celebrate because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life." (Luke 15:23-24)

Reflection.

Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is All everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
So, faithful Virgin, yields himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He'll wear
Taken from thence, flesh, which death's force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in his mind, who is thy Son and Brother;
Whom thou conceiv'st, conceiv'd; yea, thou art now
Thy Maker's maker, and thy Father's mother;
Thou hast light in dark, and shut'st in little room
Immensity, cloistered in thy dear womb.
                                   by John Donne

Lenten Action.

Go to a chapel and say  Morning Prayer. Call your parents and tell them you love them. 

Prayer

Forgive my sins against the unity of your family; make me love as you loved me.

[Salvation]

Prayer Ping!

Please notify me via Freepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Prayer Ping list.

[Salvation]

Sunday, Third Week of  Lent

"Zeal for your house consumes me." (John 2:17)

Reflection.
" O Divine Truth, You give so much strength to the soul which clothes itself with You, that it never falters under the weight of adversity  beneath the burden of troubles and temptations, but in every struggle it gains a great victory. I am wretched because I have not followed You, O Eternal Truth; hence I am so weak that in every least triulation I fall" ...St Catherine of Siena

Lenten Question

Q: Is there a biblical basis for abstaining from meat as a sign of repentance?
A: Yes. The book of Daniel states: "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia . . . 'I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.'" (Daniel 10:1-3)

Lenten Action.

Say "I will pray for you" to someone who has shared a difficulty.

Prayer

Renew my eagerness to work with you in building a better world, so that my friends may hear your gospel of peace and justice.

[Salvation]

Monday, Third Week of  Lent

"Go and wash...and your flesh will heal." (2 Kings 5:10)

Reflection.
Although I know well, Margaret, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God, I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me until now and made me content to lose goods, land, and life as well, rather than to swear against my conscience. God's grace has given the king a gracious frame of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty. In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot, therefore, mistrust the grace of God. 
By the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my reward in heaven besides. 
I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning. 
And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall, therefore, with good hope commit myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy. 
And, therefore, my own good daughter, do not let you mind be troubled over anything that shall happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be the best.  ..a letter by St Thomas More to his daughter Margaret

Lenten Action.

Forgive one who has betrayed you and ask forgiveness from one you have betrayed.

Prayer

Jesus, may we know that when a person is forgiven and begins to walk in the path of righteousness he will go on to become the recipient of many spiritual blessings. May this be the inheritance of every true believer.

[Salvation]

Tuesday, Third Week of  Lent

"Lord, when my brother wrongs me, how often must I forgive him?" (Matthew 18:21)

He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph's wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying 'Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.'.....  Saint Bernardine of Siena

Reflection.

I had confided the painful story of my father to my friend. My parents separated bitterly when I was in high school. My father turned against his three sons. He circulated a letter of vicious lies in town to destroy our reputations and moved to Canada to avoid paying child support.
I last saw my father in 1964, when I was sixteen. After that, I spoke with him only twice. The last time, he claimed he was not my father and threatened to harm me if I ever contacted him again. Years later, in 1990, I learned that my father had died--and changed his last name!
It was now 1993. My friend knew my pain. In a gentle way we debated our subject over the phone. Citing Jesus' words, "if there is repentance, you must forgive," I clung to my anger and the reverse idea that Christians need not forgive, when there is no repentance.
My friend and I had debated this issue before. Finally, in this conversation he said, "Here's what I'm concerned about. What happens to me when I don't forgive?" This time his words struck me. Beyond my clinging to any proof text, his words spoke to my soul.
My journey included prayer, self-reflection, sharing my journey with others, and my desire to be freed from re-living these nightmares of my past. Above all, I trusted our God of love and forgiveness to go with me, no matter how arduous my journey.
Weeks passed into months. Slowly my intense anger began to cool. Finally, after more than two years, a day came when I realized I no longer bore ill will toward my father. With God's help, I had forgiven him!
I still considered his actions to be wrong. But even so, what a difference! After all those years of simmering anger, I had come to a place where I felt a real sense of peace with my father's memory--and myself! This experience touched my life and faith deeply..... Dr. Douglas Showalter

Lenten Action.

Forgive one who has betrayed you and ask forgiveness from one you have betrayed.

Prayer

O Lord, the hour of your favor draws near, the day of your mercy and our salvation - when death was destroyed and eternal life began. We acknowledge our sins and our offenses are always before us. Blot out all our wrongdoings and give us a new and steadfast spirit. Restore us to your friendship and number us among the living who share the joy of your Son's risen life.

Gracious Saint Joseph,
protect me and my family from all evil as you did the Holy Family. Kindly keep us ever united in the love of Christ, ever fervent in imitation of the virtue of our Blessed Lady, your sinless spouse, and always faithful in devotion to you. Amen.

[Salvation]

**.... Dr. Douglas Showalter**

Wow! What a testimony!

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

MONDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Mark's

In the historic center of the city, near Piazza Venezia, stands the elegant basilica of St. Mark. St. Mark had a very important role in the evangelization work in the Rome of his time, and after the death of the Apostles, it was in this city that he wrote the Gospel of Mark.
The more sincerely we enter into each Lenten day, the more perfectly will the Holy Eucharist transform us and the more pleasing to God will be our Lenten efforts. Our spiritual life will take on a freshness, like that of a child, or rather, it will glow in the very freshness of Christ Himself. The branch will receive daily a new portion of vital energy from the infinite freshness and vitality of the Vine.
Let us pray: Pour forth in Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that as we abstain from carnal food, may we also restrain our senses from harmful excesses. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

TUESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Prudentiana

The church of St. Prudentiana, on the Viminal Hill, was one of the most venerated places for Roman Christians. St. Prudentiana lived here with her sister, St. Praxedes. Here, St. Peter received hospitality and the first Christians often assembled. Today, this church stands rather forgotten because it was closed for a very long time.
We turn to St. Prudentiana on this day. May she obtain for us by her powerful prayers:
1. The grace of mutual forgiveness, so that we may be able to say in truth: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us"—Not seven times, but seventy times seven.
2. The grace also of true love for our glorious Lord and for each other. Prudentiana shows us the way. Where charity and love reign, there is God. Christ will then be in our midst. And He shall be the Savior, Lord and King of our hearts and our home.
Let us pray: May the effect of our redemption be applied unto us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by means of your grace, ever restraining us from human excesses and conducting us to the gift of salvation. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WEDNESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Sixtus

The St. Sixtus Stational Church is located on the Appian Way and is a parish church dating to the fifth century. It was in this church that the catechumens were presented to the Church by their sponsors. Their names were written on tablets of ivory covered in leather, which were read at the Commemoration of the Living. After the Collect of the Mass, the catechumens received the initial parts of the Baptismal ceremony, viz. the rites of exsufflation, of the sign of the cross, of the imposition of hands and that of the salt.
In an age, which makes light of God's commandments, it is of special importance that the faithful be uncompromising in the observance of the "ways of life." Let us be "the salt of the earth and the light of the world," as our holy leader Sixtus was in the third century. We invite this holy pontiff to precede us to the altar and to ask for us "that we, who seek the grace of God's protection, may serve Him with a quiet mind.
Let us pray: Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that disciplined by wholesome fasting, and abstaining from all vices, we may more easily gain forgiveness. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

THURSDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—Sts. Cosmas and Damian

This church, made from two pagan temples, holds the bodies of the holy martyrs, Cosmas and Damian, who were put to death during the Diocletian persecution. The sick came in crowds to visit the tomb of these two brothers, doctors by profession, imploring them to restore their health.
The "unsalaried" physicians, Cosmas and Damian, devoted time and talents to the service of the poor and the sick, so that, by curing the infirmities of the body without renumeration, they might more easily win immortal souls for Christ.
Today, the Divine Physician will again come and refresh you. He carries with him the divine antidote, the Eucharistic medicine for the healing of our infirmities.
Let us pray: May the blessed solemnity of Thy saints, Cosmas and Damian, magnify Thee, O Lord, by which Thou hast both granted eternal glory to them and assistance to us by Thy ineffable providence. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FRIDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Lawrence in Lucina

For the second time this week, the chaste Deacon Lawrence is our processional leader to the Savior of the world. Last Sunday, we knelt at his tomb and heard his encouraging words: "walk as children of the light …"
Today, we are making our pilgrimage to the church containing a large portion of the gridiron on which this holy Deacon made his last and most perfect oblation to God.
It was during the forty years passed in the desert that Moses and Aaron asked God to bring from the rock-a figure of Christ-"a spring of living water," so that all the people could quench their thirst. During these forty days of Lent, the Church asks Christ to give us the living water about which he spoke to the woman of Samaria near Jacob's well-the water, which quenches our thirst forever. This water is our faith in Jesus. It is grace. It is the blood, which flows from the wounds of the Savior, and which through baptism, penance and the other sacraments, purifies our souls, and gushes forth into eternal life, of which it assures us a share.
Let us pray: Show me, O Lord, a toke for good; that they, who hate me may see and be confounded because Thou, O Lord, hast helped me and hast comforted me. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.



<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

SATURDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Susanna

Today's liturgy places before us three women—one in the white garment of virginity, the other in the blue mantle of chastity and the third in the purple robe of penitence. The first shows the triumph of Christ's redemption, the second, the power of faith in the coming Messiah, the third, the compassion of the Good Shepherd, who came to seek what was lost.
The first is today's stational guide—St. Susanna, to whom the vow of virginity and consecration to Christ, the royal Bridegroom, meant more than the princely hand of the unprincely Galerius Maximianus. She refused his hand in marriage and was put to death.
The other Susanna is the chaste wife of Joachim living in Babylon in the days of Daniel, the prophet. Two adulterous men, ever to be remembered as a disgrace to manhood, two judges, who perverted justice and drowned their manly honor in the pool of perjury, were this pure women's adversaries. But Susanna prefers to be a victim of the hellish vengeance of her accusers than sin against her God.
And now the third one—the woman caught in adultery. She lost her virginity, her chastity, and has broken fidelity to her marriage vows. "she must be stoned," was the cry. She was an outcast in the eyes of her merciless accusers, who themselves were whitened sepulchers inwardly full of worms. Jesus, the new Daniel, came to her rescue. He condemned her sin, but raised her from an erring sheep to a penitential follower. "Has no one condemned you, woman? No one, Sir. Neither will I condemn you. Now sin no more."
Let us pray: Extend to Thy faithful the right hand of heavenly help, that they may seek Thee with their whole hearts and deserve to obtain what they ask for worthily. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.