Forty Days and Forty Nights

The title of this post sounds like a poor movie title doesn’t it? Yet the number 40 shows great significance in the Bible. Forty is seen as denoting a period of trial and testing. Remember the time Jesus spent in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11 and also in Luke 4:1-13 when the devil tested him? From these two Bible readings we can see how Lent has taken on the 40 days symbolism.

We begin Lent with Ash Wednesday, which we all know and a majority of us took advantage of receiving ashes to start off Lent prayerfully. But, did you know that the 40 days does not start until the 1st Sunday of Lent? If you count the days until Holy Thursday it will be exactly 40. And on Holy Thursday we begin the Triduum which lasts until Easter Sunday.

Maybe you could think of a fun way to keep track of those 40 days. In Spain it is the custom to make a paper scorpion with 40 legs. The paper scorpion represents the “sting of death” that St. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. He tells us “The sting of death is sin…” Each day during Lent (in Spain) one of the scorpion’s legs is torn off and then on Easter the legless creature is tossed into the bonfire. This represents that “in Christ, death itself dies.” Of course we wouldn’t harm a real scorpion, but the symbolism is what we see with this idea.

If you are crafty you could have a special place with a green cloth where you could add a cotton ball sheep each day until you have a flock of 40 sheep. Maybe you like creating paper birds using the origami technique, you could fold one bird per day and add them to the green cloth until you have a flock of 40 birds or bring a bare tree branch in and put it in a vase and hang the birds from the smaller branches.

Remember one of the other areas we see the number 40 in the Bible is the in the story of Noah’s Ark, Genesis 6:5 – 8:22. There were 40 days of rain while Noah was on the Ark with his family and the animals which he had brought in by pairs. Make a cardboard ark and add 2 animals each day and by the end of the 40 days you will have an ark full of 80 animals or 40 pairs.

On your dining table you could place a cloth with a bowl on it and add 40 prayer intentions to the bowl. Each night at dinner you could take a prayer intention from the bowl and the family could pray for that intention. Leave the prayer intention on the cloth so by Holy Thursday your bowl will be empty surrounded by all those things your family prayed for as a family during Lent. Then on Easter you could take a container to church and fill it with Holy Water from the newly blessed water and then take it home and pour it into the empty prayer bowl. As you eat your Easter meal everyone can bless themselves with the Holy Water before your say our meal prayer.

What other ways can you think of to count the 40 days and 40 nights?

Palm Sunday

Why palms? What could palms possibly have to do with Jesus? Well in the Gospel of John chapter 12 verses 12-15 it talks about the people taking palm branches and going out to greet Jesus. So, you can see how the idea of using palm branches would become part of the beginning celebration of Holy Week. Celebrations of Palm Sunday can be trace back to the 8th century in Italy.

We begin our weekend liturgies with a procession of palms to commemorate the reading from John’s Gospel of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. We can look at this as a way of praying with our feet. We in our own way are entering into the spirit of our “Passover festival” which begins Holy Thursday night.

When we take the blessed palms home with us we place them by a crucifix or near a door to remind us of the journey we are on with Jesus. Other traditions for example in Austria, Bavaria and the Slavic countries farmers will walk through fields and farm buildings on Palm Sunday. “They pray and sing, while placing a sprig of the blessed palm in each pasture, as well as in the barn and stable.” This is believed to stave off weather disasters, diseases etc. and to ask for God’s blessings on the year. (1)

Our entire lives are a journey or procession to eternal life with God in heaven. So this year as you process into the church on Palm Sunday carrying your newly blessed palms remember that we are constantly on the move with Jesus and carry his love and word to everyone we meet on the journey to heaven.

(1 Camels, Carols, Crosses and Crowns: 23rd Publications, Kielly & Geraghty, 1996)

Grace

What is this thing we call grace? We hear that it is something we are given by God. We receive it in the sacraments yet what is it? It is not something we can tangibly hold in our hands yet it is a gift. Most of the gifts we receive we can hold on too or at least see in action such as the gift from a child to do dishes for a mother on her birthday. God’s gift of grace is free and we not need to do anything to deserve it. God gives us this gift so that we may respond to his call to become his adopted children.

This gift that God gives to us freely is called sanctifying grace and we receive it through the sacrament of Baptism. The only way we lose sanctifying grace is by committing a mortal sin. And yes we can get it back by going to confession (remember confession or reconciliation is a sacrament as well, see a connection here?). Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift and it will enable our soul to live with God in heaven. This is the grace that sustains us in our ongoing life of discipleship. Yes, we are disciples of God and need to be sustained in living a Christian life.

Then there is actual grace. This comes and goes as we need it. This is the grace that helps us to live our lives in a Christian manner. It helps us to regulate our lives with God’s will for us. This is God’s way of nudging us to a deeper relationship with Him, to put God first in all that we do. We may not always feel that nudge or if we do we ignore it. Then there are times that the nudge pretty much “knocks” us off our feet and is something we can’t ignore. Have you experienced either? I have experienced both and must admit ignoring a nudge or two in my lifetime. The times that are very hard to ignore always seem to make me step back and reevaluate what I am doing which is exactly what God has intended. The gentle nudges for the most part are easy to incorporate into our lives yet sometimes they are just ignored. Keep your eyes and heart open for those gentle and sometimes not so gentle nudges that God sends your way.

Pope Francis tells us in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that:
“112. The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him.[79] He sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives. The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as the sacrament of the salvation offered by God.[80] Through her evangelizing activity, she cooperates as an instrument of that divine grace which works unceasingly and inscrutably. Benedict XVI put it nicely at the beginning of the Synod’s reflections: “It is important always to know that the first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, only begging for this divine initiative, shall we too be able to become – with him and in him – evangelizers”.[81] This principle of the primacy of grace must be a beacon which constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.”
You can find Pope Francis’ Exhortation at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.pdf


I hope this helps you a little bit in understanding what grace is and how it works in our lives.

Baptism

Why am I talking about Baptism during Lent? We don’t even have a Baptism Weekend during Lent…The highlight of the Church Year is Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We forgo baptisms during Lent in the anticipation of the Easter Vigil when the unbaptized joining the Catholic Church are baptized. Remember Baptism is a sign of the death, the burial (which is symbolized by going into the water) and the resurrection of Jesus (the coming out of the water). What glorious time the Easter Vigil is when the Elect become part of the Catholic faith with the community as witnesses.

Check the pictures of our Elect out in the gathering space get to know their faces so you can greet them and welcome them when you see them. Remember they are now called The Elect and not catechumens and they are called the “elect” because they have been chosen and called forth by the Bishop on the 1st Sunday of Lent at the St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral in La Crosse. Pray for them and for the candidates who will join our community in full communion at the Easter Vigil

During Lent we look forward to the Resurrection with the anticipation of a great happening. We look forward to Baptisms with excitement and thankfulness as well. Maybe to remind us of our own Baptism we could set an empty bowl in our prayer space at home and then at Easter fill the bowl with water from the newly blessed water at church. Then each day until Pentecost family members can remind themselves of their own Baptisms by dipping their fingertips into the water and making the sign of the cross.

Prayer the Sequel

Here we are a little more than ½ way through Lent. For those of you who decided to expand your prayer time during Lent I hope it is going well. I must admit I added a few extra minutes to my morning time and sometimes I think why did I do this again? For the most part though it has given me a great start to my day. The one thing I have found to be lacking since I added the extra prayer time is am noticing that more often than not my journaling gets forgotten. There is always something to work on in our lives isn’t there?

We just need to remember that if we fall backwards God is always there with us gently guiding us forward. The conversations we have with God during our prayer time are just like having an old friend sitting with us. And remember when we do fall back, it might feel awkward at first when we start the conversation again but then in no time at all it is like we haven’t been away at all.

My sister-in-law gave me a devotional prayer book for women last year for my birthday and I have been using that each day. Some days it is more meaningful than others depending on what is going on in my life. The thing I like about this one is that it is written as if Jesus is talking to me (or whoever is reading the book). It makes it easier to fall into that conversational mode since with this short paragraph or two each day Jesus is talking in words that I read and can respond to.

I pray that the rest of your Lent is a prayerful one and that your conversations with God are fruitful ones.

Reconciliation

What do you think of when you see a cross or crucifix? Does it remind you that Jesus Christ dies on a cross to save us from our sins? It should Jesus did come to this earth as our Savior the one sent by God to redeem us.

God sent his only Son to become human so we could know the loving embrace of his forgiveness for all of us that is a big idea to wrap our minds around right? He loves each of us as we love our own children if we are blessed to have them. God loves us through our good days and our bad days. He forgives us for ignoring Him for extended periods of time. The trials that we face in our lives will find Him walking with us and at times carrying us. So why then is it so hard for us to ask for forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

We all sin. Yes, I said that we may not want to admit to ourselves that we sin but let’s face it we do, it may not be mortal sins but venial sins take us away from God’s love just as easily. It may not be more than telling a little white lie every now and then to protect someone’s feelings. That’s OK right? Not really, we need to at least admit to God and ourselves that we lied and that we will definitely try not to do that again. We will most likely fall back once in a while, but remember God is a loving and forgiving God.

We do not sin in a vacuum that is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is important. Jesus instituted this Sacrament, in John 20: 21- 23 Jesus says, “…’Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’.” Ok, you say so why doesn’t the priest just have everyone come into the church once a month, 2 times a year or even yearly and we can pray a little and then everyone does a personal examination of conscience and the priest says the prayer of absolution over everyone and voila we are absolved of our sins and we are forgiven. Well…stating our sins out loud to another person who is the representative of Christ here on earth helps us be accountable to ourselves. And just like our conversations (prayer) with God no one else can find out about what we discuss with the priest in confession under the seal of confession unless we chose to share that with someone else. Fr. William Saunders says this in his article The Seal of the Confessional, “The standard of secrecy protecting a confession outweighs any form of professional confidentiality or secrecy. When a person unburdens his soul and confesses his sins to a priest in the Sacrament of Penance, a very sacred trust is formed. The priest must maintain absolute secrecy about anything that a person confesses.”

Everything we say to the priest stays between him and you. Wow, isn’t that mind boggling? We are so used to the things said in what we believe is confidence finding their way to the world around us that we find it hard to believe but it is the truth. So think about that during Lent and attend a reconciliation service or go to confession during the time it is offered at your parish. Here at St. Olaf Father is in the confessional on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 and on Saturday afternoons from 4 to 4:45. The area wide reconciliation services for Lent are listed in the bulletin.

Spring Cleaning

March 21 is the vernal equinox, the first day of Spring! Why does Spring always fall during Lent. It is such a looked forward too season (especially this year in our neck of the woods) as we all want to experience the warmth that the onset of Spring promises. If you think about it Lent is the time to experience the anticipation of the Resurrection so perhaps there is a very good reason for Spring to begin during Lent.

The Lent comes from the word lengthen. Spring falls in Lent as the days are getting longer makes perfect sense now. We experience longer days and hopefully those days are filled with sunshine to melt snow and warm the earth. Time for flower gardens and vegetable gardens can’t be far behind can they?

We also think of cleaning during the season of Spring, thus the title of this blog Spring Cleaning! The time when we freshen our homes for the coming summer. Or the time when we show our children what it means to cooperate so things are cleaned quickly and with fun. We all want our children to know how to take care of themselves and sometimes that means being the adult and saying OK before we can do the fun things we all need to work together to get this chore done. Does your home have a place for everything so that when something needs to be put away everyone knows where to put it? If not maybe this the time to put that organizational mind set in place so that by Easter our homes are ready for the risen Lord.

The Annunciation

On March 25 with recognize the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary to announce she will become the Mother of God. It has been 3 months since Christmas and in another 9 months we will celebrate the birth of Jesus again.

By this time in March the daylight hours are now longer than the nighttime hours. We are in the season of Spring. This year it may not seem like Spring yet in many areas especially here in Wisconsin but the days are getting longer and the temps are slowly rising.
There are several ways different ways that people celebrate the Annunciation. Since wind and air are symbols of the Holy Spirit there are some traditions that serve foods that have been whipped or fluffed up with air such as mashed potatoes or a lemon meringue pie. This is to celebrate that “the Spirit filled Mary with God’s life giving breath” .

In Sweden they serve waffles with whipped cream, yum! Then they collect any leftover waffle crumbs and bury them the garden with the hope that the same life giving breath the Spirit filled Mary with will help the gardens be fruitful.

Kite flying is another way to take advantage of the wind or if you are in a warm climate sailing. Are there any ways you can think of to take advantage of the air/wind?
copyright©1991, LTP, written by Christine Kenny-Sheputis

The Scrutinies

We are in Lent as everyone who is Catholic knows. What might surprise some of you is that during the middle portion of Lent there are some specific liturgical things that take place. During the 3rd through the 5th Sundays of Lent “The Scrutinies” are often celebrated. This year the First Scrutiny will be March 23rd. During this time The Elect (those that are unbaptized and are preparing to become members of the Catholic Faith during the Easter Vigil) are brought forward to be publicly recognized, acknowledged and prayed for.

The Scrutinies take place after the homily. The Elect are called forward before the community of faith and are reminded that we all struggle with being called to “turn away from sin” and that this particular time in their journey to Baptism is when they need to be fully aware of that call. It is a time for The Elect, and for all of us for that matter, to scrutinize (examine) their lives to see where and what they struggle with and seek help from God to overcome any weakness since He alone provides everyone with healing and the strength we need in the daily struggles of life. The Scrutinies help all examine our consciences and they will end with the Prayers of the Faithful.

The community of faith that surrounds The Elect is called on as a visible sign to show how God’s support helps everyone and helps all who believe to overcome any weakness or obstacle that may stand between us and God. This support is carried through the journey of faith The Elect are traveling to the Easter Vigil where all renew the Baptismal vows when The Elect are to be baptized.

When there is The Elect to be baptized at the Easter Vigil the readings used on the 3rd, 4th and 5th Sundays of Lent always come from the Cycle A readings. This year we are in cycle A so the readings would be part of these Sundays regardless, but in the years when Cycle B or Cycle C are the readings followed these 3 Sundays still follow the Cycle A readings. The 3rd Sunday of Lent in Cylce A offers us the Gospel according to John chapter 4 verses 5-42, Jesus and the Woman at the Well, then on the 4th Sunday of Lent we will hear from the Gospel according to John chapter 9 verses 1-41, Jesus Cures the Man Born Blind and finally on the 5th Sunday of Lent we will hear from John chapter 11 verses 1-45, Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead. Prayerfully listen to these readings this year and hear what Father has to say in his homilies on all 3. Do they relate at all to the Scrutinies that are read between the homily and the Prayers of the Faithful?

Family Meals

Think of all the special occasions we join family and friends around the dinner table. I would imagine that most of you like myself have a lot of good memories of stories shared, good food shared and of course the love that we freely share with our family and friends.

During Lent we feel the need to eat less by fasting from certain foods and by abstaining from meat on Friday as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the busyness of our lives we sometimes forget that we need to join our family around the table for a meal. Perhaps during Lent we can become more conscious of spending time around the dinner table with our families. The time can be used to catch up on what is happening with everyone and by doing this we are not only nourishing our bodies but we are feeding our hearts and spirits as well. Maybe we could even extend that meal time into a game night or taking the time to go for an after dinner walk with the whole family. Of course we most likely won’t be able to fit that into our lives every day but once or twice a week might be doable. Think about it, time for just the family.

Maybe a different family member would be in charge of a meal prayer each time. When ending the prayer maybe the prayer leader could ask what each person would like to thank God for. Another family member could plan the menu for the special meal and if they are old enough could help with the preparation of the meal. The ideas are endless if we just take the time to stop and think…

Family Meals

Think of all the special occasions we join family and friends around the dinner table. I would imagine that most of you like myself have a lot of good memories of stories shared, good food shared and of course the love that we freely share with our family and friends.

During Lent we feel the need to eat less by fasting from certain foods and by abstaining from meat on Friday as well as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In the busyness of our lives we sometimes forget that we need to join our family around the table for a meal. Perhaps during Lent we can become more conscious of spending time around the dinner table with our families. The time can be used to catch up on what is happening with everyone and by doing this we are not only nourishing our bodies but we are feeding our hearts and spirits as well. Maybe we could even extend that meal time into a game night or taking the time to go for an after dinner walk with the whole family. Of course we most likely won’t be able to fit that into our lives every day but once or twice a week might be doable. Think about it, time for just the family.

Maybe a different family member would be in charge of a meal prayer each time. When ending the prayer maybe the prayer leader could ask what each person would like to thank God for. Another family member could plan the menu for the special meal and if they are old enough could help with the preparation of the meal. The ideas are endless if we just take the time to stop and think…

Almsgiving

What is almsgiving and why do we use such a strange word during Lent? According to the dictionary alms•giv•ing [áamz gìvving] is giving to the poor: in former times, the charitable giving of money, food, or goods to people in need. We use the word during lent because giving of our treasure is a key part of Lenten sacrifice, we give money or necessities to people who need them.

Alms comes from the Greek word for compassion. We are called to try and feel what someone in need is feeling. That is hard for most of us to do so we need to practice that daily during Lent. And, don’t think that this will not cost you anything. You are thinking of course it won’t I’ll just put my spare change at the end of the day in an envelope or jar that doesn’t cost anything. If you really want to practice the tradition of giving of what you have then you should give up purchasing a soft drink, going to a movie, going out for a meal. Going without will put you in a person’s shoes who does not have the means to do this. And then to donate the money you save from not purchasing something to a charity.

This year for Lent St. Olaf is collecting alms for Literacy Volunteers – Chippewa Valley. For every $1 invested in a literacy organization, $33 is saved in support services and $11 is generated within the community by increased productivity. Most of us take for granted the skills we have to fill out a job application, use a computer, making a bank deposit with the correct addition or subtraction skills involved or even reading a book to a child. There are many that struggle with these daily tasks for whatever reason. Please, be generous with your almsgiving this year to support LVCV and the volunteers who use the resources to teach those in need of the service LVCV provides will greatly appreciate it.

Prayer

On Ash Wednesday, March 5 I talked about being able to prayer anytime for example taking 5 minutes out of your lunch break. In our busy lives prayer is such a hard thing to find time for or at least we think it is. I always told myself I pray throughout the day so I don’t need a set time which a lot of us do. Then during Advent last year I thought I will stop watching the morning news and spend time in prayer instead. It worked and I am still doing it as we begin our Lenten journey.

I keep my Bible and whatever prayer resources I am using next to “my” chair and in the morning instead of turning on the TV I pick up one of the resources or my Bible and there I am ready to begin my day with prayer. Now I know that a lot of you have children and need to be present for them in the mornings and the evenings and anywhere in between so making the choice to forgo a morning news show has already been made right? So, take the time when you can grab it to pray that is what I did when I had children at home. Better yet involve them in the prayer time for when it becomes habit for them they will continue to pray as adults.

You might want to have a special prayer area that anyone in your family can pause by to say a quick prayer as they go about their day. If you do have a small table or even a spot on a shelf to use you can change it according to the seasons, during Lent you could have a small bowl of sand and a cross; or during Holy Week add a palm branch; or what wonderful reminders of Spring we have like pussy willows, tulips, Easter eggs etc. If you have a small piece of fabric as part of the prayer area you could change that according to the colors of the liturgical year taking you cue on that from how the church is decorated during each season.

And remember prayer is talking and listening to God so you don’t need to have a lot of prayer books to rely on, just taking a few minutes to catch God up on your day and thanking him for all of the blessing in your life or asking him to walk with you during a particularly difficult time is all you need to get started.

Fast Pray Give - Busted Halo

Do you need a new and quick way to experience the 40 days of Lent?  Check out the Lent Fast, Pray, Give Calendar at Busted Halo by clicking on this link: Fast Pray Give - Busted Halo

Fasting and Abstinence During Lent

As Catholic Christians we are asked to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  Fasting means that we eat only one full meal on these 2 days and then for breakfast and lunch (or supper if lunch is our full meal) we only eat a partial meal i.e. for lunch instead of a sandwich, salad and soup perhaps we just have the salad and a piece of fruit. 

We are also asked to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Friday's druing the seaon of Lent.  That means we do not eat meat on those days.  We can have eggs, dairy products, produce etc.  Just not any meat. 

For more information on fasting and abstaining visit http://www.americancatholic.org/features/lent/faqle9902.asp