Reflections for Lent (February, March and April, 2007)

EWTN ^ | Lent 2007 | EWTN staff/various

[Salvation]

 

Click here for the February reflections.

[Frank Sheed]

This is priceless. Be sure to have a "look-see". It says it all. I hope you have a fast connection!

http://kansascitycatholic.blogspot.com/2007/02/lenten-fare.html

Frank

[mockingbyrd]

sweet!

[Frank Sheed]

see #21

[Tax-chick]

That was cute! Maybe I'll let Bill make one :0).

[Frank Sheed]

Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!

;-o)

[Ciexyz]

Since you're asking for non-fish, non-dairy recipes, I'd recommend "Go Veggie!" This is how I eat for at least one meal a day, to get my eight servings of veggies a day: Throw any combination of veggies into a pot and boil, include a sliced onion for taste, drain and add add a pat of non-dairy butter substitute for taste and sprinkle with oregano. I really like frozen veggie combinations such as peas, carrots, broccoli, pinto beans, chick peas, and white beans. This tastes really good to me, and I'll eat it with a small roll with a teaspoon of all-natural peanut butter, and a half cup of no-fat cottage cheese on salad greens and a sliced apple.

[mockingbyrd]

Oooh....sounds good. Especially after a day a fasting. (I swear the only two days I ever get like really hungry, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday)

Thanks so much!

[Salvation]

Thursday After Ash Wednesday

"Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps." (Luke 9:23)

Reflection.
WHAT TO GIVE UP . . .

Give up complaining. . . . . . . .focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism. . . . . . . . . become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments . . .think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry. . . . . . . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. . . . .be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. . . . . . . . . . turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. . . . . . . . . . . . . return good for evil.
Give up negativism . . . . . . . . .be positive.
Give up anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be more patient.
Give up pettiness. . . . . . . . . . .become mature.
Give up gloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . .enjoy the beauty that is all                                                      around you.
Give up jealousy. . . . . . . . . . . .pray for trust.
Give up gossiping. . . . . . . . . . .control your tongue.
Give up sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.
Give up giving up. . . . . . . . . . . hang in there!

Lenten Question
Q: Why are the forty days called Lent?
A: They are called Lent because that is the Old English word for spring, the season of the year during which they fall. This is something unique to English. In almost all other languages its name is a derivative of the Latin term, or "the forty days."

Lenten Action.
Think of a person with whom you have a strained relationship and make some gesture toward improving that relationship.

Prayer
Direct our actions, Lord, by your holy inspiration and carry them forward by your gracious help, that all our works may begin in you and by you be happily ended.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
Amen.

[Salvation]

Abstinence of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting on every day of Lent, correct?

[mockingbyrd]

Abstinence on every Friday in Lent, and Ash Wednesday.

The only two days Catholics are required to fast are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

I give up snacking and coffee and alcohol and stuff like that, but that's not really fasting, IMO.

[mockingbyrd]

I needed this. Thank you.

[Ciexyz]

Thanks so much!

Glad I could oblige. Bon appetit. Here's wishing you Lenten blessings.

[Salvation]

Many Catholics choose to fast the entire time of Lent -- this used to be the rule when I was growing up.

Jere's the Canon Law link from EWTN:

The Holy Season of Lent -- Fast and Abstinence

[Salvation]

Friday After Ash Wednesday

The Fridays of  Lent are days of abstinence from meat.

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed. (Isaiah 58:6)

Reflection.
We must always remember what God tells us in Scripture: "Even if a mother could forget the child in her womb" - something impossible, but even if she could forget - "I will never forget you."
And so here I am talking with you. I want you to find the poor here, right in your own home first. And begin love there. Be that good news to your own people first. And find out about your next-door neighbors. Do you know who they are?
I had the most extraordinary experience of love of neighbor with a Hindu family. A gentleman came to our house and said: "Mother Teresa, there is a family who have not eaten for so long. Do something." So I took some rice and went there immediately. And I saw the children - their eyes shining with hunger. I don't know if you have ever seen hunger. But I have seen it very often. And the mother of the family took the rice I gave her and went out. When she came back, I asked her: "Where did you go? What did you do?" And she gave me a very simple answer: "They are hungry also." What struck me was that she knew - and who are they? A Muslim family - and she knew. I didn't bring any more rice that evening because I wanted them, Hindus and Muslims, to enjoy the joy of sharing. ..... Mother Teresa

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.
Schedule a fifteen minute period of silence today to listen to your heart and to the Lord speaking to you..

Prayer
Lord, with your loving care guide the penance we have begun. Help us to persevere with love and sincerity.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Stations Of The Cross

[mockingbyrd]

Thanks for the reminder. I have to say, fasting has been way off my radar for the last four years. Each Lent, I've been either pregnant or nursing. And I'm kind of thinking that this might just be year five. But it's good the remember, because a modified fast could still be very good.

[Salvation]

Saturday After Ash Wednesday

If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness. (Isaiah 58:10)

Reflection.
"Repent, and believe in the gospel," Jesus told the crowds (Mark 1:15).
Perhaps at times we listen to sermons or read the gospels and apply the message to others. Often we can think of many people who need to repent. However we must be careful not to apply the gospel only to others. This call to repentance applies first of all to you and me. Recall that Jesus often preached in the synagogues and at the temple. He was preaching to the church goers and church workers. The call to repentance was not just to those sinners out there. The message of repentance is for Church leaders and workers. It is for you and me.

Lenten Question
Q: When does Lent begin?
A: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which is the day on which the faithful have their foreheads signed with ashes in the form of a Cross. It is also a day of fast and abstinence. 

Lenten Action.
Make a note on your calendar to participate in the Sacrament of Penance.

Prayer
Father,
look upon our weakness and reach out to help us with your loving power.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

[Salvation]

First Sunday of Lent

"I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Genesis 9:13)

Reflection.
“The whole life of Christ was a cross and a martyrdom, and dost thou seek rest and joy? If thou carry the cross unwillingly, thou makest it a burden to thee. If thou fling away one cross, without doubt thou shalt find another, perhaps a heavier”
...." (Thomas de Kempis -- Imitation of Christ).

Lenten Question
Q: Why are Sundays excluded from the reckoning of the forty days?
A: Because Sunday is the day on which Christ arose, making it an inappropriate day to fast and mourn our sins. On Sunday we must celebrate Christ's resurrection for our salvation. It is Friday on which we commemorate his death for our sins. The Sundays of the year are days of celebration and the Fridays of the year are days of penance. 

Lenten Action.
Phone a long lost friend and relive old memories. Visit a sick person. Feed the birds.

Prayer
O Jesus, I withdraw in spirit with You into the desert; teach me how to fight the triple concupiscence of the flesh, pride, and avarice.

Stations Of The Cross

[Salvation]

Monday, First Week of  Lent

"I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me." (Matthew 25:40)

Reflection.
It is not enough for us to say: "I love God," but I also have to love my neighbor.
St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don't love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is not true love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me. It hurt Jesus to love us.
We have been created in His image for greater things, to love and to be loved. We must "put on Christ" as Scripture tells us. And so, we have been created to love as He loves us. Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and He says, "You did it to Me." On the last day He will say to those on His right, "whatever you did to the least of these, you did to Me, and He will also say to those on His left, whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you neglected to do it for Me."
When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus said, "I thirst." Jesus is thirsting for our love, and this is the thirst of everyone, poor and rich alike. We all thirst for the love of others, that they go out of their way to avoid harming us and to do good to us. This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts ...Mother Teresa

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.
Give a donation to charity.

Prayer
Healer of body and soul, cure the sickness in my spirit so that I may grow in holiness through your constant care. Amen