Replies

Monday of Holy Week

Then she dried his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the ointment’s fragrance. (John 12:3)

Reflection.

Adoration

Jesus, my God, I adore You, here present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, where You wait day and night to be our comfort while we await Your unveiled presence in heaven. Jesus, my God, I adore You in all places where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved and where sins are committed against this Sacrament of Love. Jesus, my God, I adore You for all time, past, present and future, for every soul that ever was, is or shall be created. Jesus, my God, who for us has endured hunger and cold, labor and fatigue, I adore You. Jesus, my God, who for my sake has deigned to subject Yourself to the humiliation of temptation, to the perfidy and defection of friends, to the scorn of Your enemies, I adore You. Jesus, my God, who for us has endured the buffeting of Your passion, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the heavy weight of the cross, I adore You.
Jesus, my God, who, for my salvation and that of all mankind, was cruelly nailed to the cross and hung there for three long hours in bitter agony, I adore You. Jesus, My God, who for love of us did institute this Blessed Sacrament and offer Yourself daily for the sins of men, I adore You. Jesus, my God, who in Holy Communion became the food of my soul, I adore You.
Jesus, for You I live. Jesus, for You I die. Jesus, I am Yours in life and death. Amen.

Lenten Fact
Hunting was for many ages considered as forbidden during Lent: the spirit of the holy season was too sacred to admit such exciting and noisy sport.

Lenten Action.

Let go of a long standing grudge. Practice real forgiveness after the example of Jesus.

Prayer

God of mercy, be close to your people. Watch over us who receive this sacrament of salvation, and keep us in your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.

Tuesday of Holy Week

"I tell you solemnly, one of you will betray me!" (John 13:21)

Reflection.

A Simple Gesture

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder.
Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. Asthey walked Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years.
Finally the long-awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met.
"Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I relized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life."

Every little hello, every little smile, every helping hand saves a hurting heart. Pass it on.

Lenten Fact
After Constantine legalized Christianity in the year 312, the pathway of our Lord's passion was marked with its important stations. St. Jerome (342- 420), living in Bethlehem during the later part of his life, attested to the crowds of pilgrims from various countries who visited those holy places and followed the Way of the Cross.

Lenten Action.

Call a relative with who you have been out of contact with. Smile at everyone you meet today.

Prayer

All-powerful God, by the suffering and death of your Son, strengthen and protect us in our weakness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Stations Of The Cross

Wednesday of Holy Week

I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, and I found none. (Psalm 69:21)

Reflection.

PRAY IT AGAIN, SAM

My mom has prayed the daily rosary for as long as I can remember. We used to say it together as a family. At home, she always used a large wooden rosary she had owned for many years.
After we kids had moved away, she started praying with the devoted group of parishioners who said a rosary after each weekday mass. At church, she began using a new set of plastic rosary beads she kept in her purse. An elderly gentleman named Sam led the prayers, and the others faithfully responded.

The count of "Hail Marys" through five mysteries everyday was always accurate except for the third decade. Here, as my mom fingered the last "Hail Mary" bead, Sam would always say one more "Hail Mary" and naturally everyone would give the "Holy Mary" response. "There he goes again," she'd think to herself as he began the "extra" prayer. "Why does he always say eleven 'Ave Marias' in the third decade?"

That pattern continued for several years until one day when my mom left her purse in the car and had to borrow a pair of rosaries from the lady sitting next to her. Lo and behold, this time when my mom fingered the final "Hail Mary" bead of the third decade, Sam dutifully followed with the "Glory Be."

This prompted my mom to do something she otherwise wouldn't have thought of: to check the rosary beads in her purse - that set only contained nine beads in the third decade!

Lenten Fact
A plenary indulgence is granted for those who piously exercise the Way of the Cross, actually moving from station to station where they are legitimately erected and while mediating on the passion and death of our Lord ("Enchiridion of Indulgences," No. 63).

Lenten Action.

Today is the day we remember Judas betraying the Lord.
Ask the Lord for forgiveness for all your sins.

Prayer

Father, in your plan of salvation your Son Jesus Christ accepted the cross and freed us from the power of the enemy. May we
come to share the glory of his resurrection, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Stations Of The Cross