The Weekly Word

Bread of Life

Prayer...

Prayer is, in the strictest sense, a humble religious petition of man to God to seek divine benevolence and benefits he needs for life, both temporal and eternal. It is a conversation with God, either by accepted prayer forms, or from the heart. Consider these words as if God were speaking them to His children...

"It is not necessary my child, to know much in order to please me much; it is enough that you love me fervently. Speak here to me then, as you would speak to your most intimate friend, to your mother, to your brother."

~God your Father~

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He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

Quotes to Live By

There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.

The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.

In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Spreading the Word spiritually, creatively, inspirationally, and historically on a weekly basis, by St. Joe's own parishoners

LENT

by Claire Clow

Change our hearts, Lord. Guide us through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving to a deeper awareness of you in each other.

The Blessing Cup

The Lenten Season is a time in our Church year which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts approximately 40 days. It is a time of preparation before Easter, a time for fasting and prayer as we anticipate the resurrection of Jesus. On Ash Wednesday Christians are signed with a cross of ashes on our foreheads, a symbol that we are a people of Christ.

I look forward to this season because for me it is a time when I can deepen my relationship with Jesus. One of the devotions of the Catholic Church is the Stations of the Cross. The reason we have this service of the Stations is to lead us, in spirit, through a pilgrimage along the journey of Christ's sufferings and death. There are a series of 14 stations which are in the form of plaques, pictures, or carvings throughout most Catholic churches. During the devotion of the Stations, certain prayers are read to help us reflect on the sufferings Jesus went through to save us from our sins.

I'd like to share the reasons I find Lent such a strong season for growing in our Spiritual lives and also tell you a story that happened a few years ago during Lent which left no doubt in my mind that "God answers prayers", (GAP).

Signed with a...

Cross of Ashes...

I grew up a Catholic and was taught by the Dominican Sisters for 12 years. They stressed that the 40 days of Lent were a time to strengthen our prayer life as we approach Easter. I was taught that by engaging in acts of penance, fasting and devoting extra time to prayer we could join in the sufferings of Christ and help to reach spiritual goals for ourselves. I admit as a young girl this seemed a bit overwhelming and I'd only give up a certain candy or food I enjoyed and call it good. Then I'd look forward to Easter Sunday and celebrate Christ�s resurrection by again enjoying that treat I had been doing without. What they were trying to teach was that by denying ourselves something we enjoy, we discipline our wills so that we are not slaves to our pleasures.

Throughout the years Lent became a greater time of devotion for me, like an extended retreat or a spiritual journey that means more each year. I look for ways to serve others that will be a sacrifice for me, I fast more than just "giving up a little candy." I set apart a much longer space of time to pray, go to Adoration and Reconciliation as often as possible, striving overall to spend a much lengthier time with Jesus.

We decipline our wills...

So that we are not slaves to our pleasures....

As a parent Lent also gave me time to share part of our rich Catholic Faith with my daughter. We would try to take a time together to pray each day and reflect with the help of a special book or on a daily reflection. Fr. John made that much easier over the years with his emailed Lenten reflections that we could read together or separately and then discuss. We also tried to make the Stations of the Cross at least a few times on Fridays. During her grade school years I always took a day of vacation and went to the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday at her school. I wanted to try and instill the importance of what Christ did for us by my example of giving up vacation time to spend this day at Church and with her.

The GAP part of the story is coming up now. I have three close girlfriends who regularly get together to celebrate each other's birthday. We plan a special night out, getting dressed up, going in on a nice gift and having a fancy dinner at one of the nicer Portland restaurants. This particular year my birthday fell during Lent. I had made a promise to myself as one of my Lenten resolutions that I would attend each Friday's Stations and soup dinner at our church that year. When my friends started planning our night out it happened that we could all only get together on Friday evening. I knew they would be very disappointed if I told them that the Stations were on Friday and I wouldn't be able to go. I also felt I'd be letting Jesus down on a promise I'd made to him and disappointing myself if I missed going to the Stations. It was a dilemma and I prayed about the correct thing to do all week. I was attending a prayer seminar during this time and part of the sessions consisted of a meeting with a Spiritual Director. I explained the situation to her and asked what she felt I should do. She advised me that it was important to keep our traditions with our friend; she felt that I should go to the dinner. She said I could do a private devotion of the Stations myself during the week. I told my girlfriends we were good to go but I still felt that I was breaking my promise to Jesus. Friday morning I was feeling more and more that I'd made the wrong decision as I got ready for work. I usually have the Catholic radio station KBVM on in my car. As I started the engine, to head to work I couldn't believe what the DJ was saying. The first thing that came over the radio, just like it had been taped and waiting for me to turn on was, "due to a conflict in scheduling, the Stations of the Cross at the Cathedral today will be held at 12 noon instead of 7:00 pm tonight." Right then I knew Someone very powerful was looking out for me. I now would be able to keep my commitment of the Stations and go to dinner -GAP- pretty cool!

Needless to say; I was in a pretty good mood by the time I got to work. As an added bonus, one of my co-workers asked if he could take me out to lunch for my birthday. This person is a Catholic but hadn't attended Mass regularly since he was a teenager. I knew he wanted to change this so instead of eating I asked if he'd like to go to the Stations with me. He wasn't sure, he actually didn't know what they were, but he agreed. He was overwhelmed with the Cathedral and the whole service. He now attends Mass regularly. If that DJ wasn't an angel delivering a message to me from up above that day I don't know what else she could have been.

I pray this Lent you will find the joy Jesus wants us all to have in our hearts as we work to be with Him in eternity. Listen for those whispers of the wings.

You are loved!

And always remember that URLVD

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