Readings for Saturday 8 March 2014 (after Ash Wednesday)
Is 58:9-14. Ps 85:1-6, R/ v 11. lk 5:27-32. www.catholicbishops.ie/readings
Isaiah calls out for greater service of God and fellow human beings. Lent gives us the opportunity to jettison much that is unnecessary and unhelpful in our way of life. The following of Christ implies a leaving behind of much that causes unhappiness in our own lives and in the lives of others.
Saint John of God
Memorial may be made today of Saint John of God, religious. Saint John of God (1495-1550) devoted his life to the care of the poor and the sick. He is patron saint of nurses, the sick, heart patients, printers and book sellers.
Music during Lent
The wilderness will lead you
to your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice,
With tenderness, you shall know.
Long have I waited for your coming home to me
and living deeply our new life.
Come Back to Me by Gregory Norbet is performed by Gregory himself in this video.
Click here to view the video.
Excerpt from Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) by Pope Francis
“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 3.
To read the full text of Evangelii Gaudium please click here.
Pope Francis: There is there is no “Christian style” without Jesus or the Cross
Humility, meekness, generosity: this is the Christian “style,” a way of life that travels along the way the Cross, as Jesus did, and is a life that leads to joy. That was the message of Pope Francis in his homily on Thursday during the Mass at Santa Marta.
In the Gospel for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Jesus says to His disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This, the Pope emphasized, is the “Christian style,” because it was first put into practice by Jesus:
“We can’t think of the Christian life apart from this path. There is always this journey, a journey that He took first: the journey of humility, the journey, too, of humiliation, of denying oneself, and then rising. But this is the path. Without the Cross, the Christian style is not Christian, and if the Cross is a Cross without Jesus, it is not Christian. The Christian style takes the Cross with Jesus and goes forward — not without the Cross, not without Jesus.”
Click here for the full text of his homily from Thursday 6 March 2014 Mass at Santa Marta.
Source: Vatican Radio
Resources on the Vatican website for Lent 2014
The Vatican is collating all the resources for Lent 2014 on a special link on the home page of www.vatican.va. It includes the catechesis, addresses and homilies of the Holy Father, information on liturgical events and video and other multimedia content. Click here to access it.
Theme of Trócaire’s Lenten Campaign 2014 – ‘Water’
This year’s Trócaire Lenten campaign is about the global water crisis. There are 1.1 billion people in our world who are living without access to a reliable source of water.
Click here for the parish resources from Trócaire for Lent 2014.
To find out more about Trócaire’s Lenten campaign visit www.trocaire.ie/lent and please bring home a Trócaire box this Lent.
Daily Lenten Prayer
Almighty and Everlasting God,
You have given the human race
Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility.
He fulfilled Your Will by becoming Man
And giving His life on the Cross.
Help us to bear witness to You
By following His example of suffering
And make us worthy to share in His Resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.
Amen
Dublin Diocese Liturgical Resource Centre
Click here for a list of music suggestions for Lent 2014 and the Easter Triduum from the Archdiocese of Dublin Liturgical Resource Centre.
Services and Events for Lent 2014
The Meaning of Lent
The English word ‘Lent’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lencten, meaning ‘Spring’. In other languages the word comes from the Latin, Quadragesima – a period of 40 days. In the Christian tradition the forty days is understood to refer to a time of intense prayer and preparation; we remember the biblical stories of Noah and the flood of 40 days, the forty years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness and Christ’s forty day fast in the desert in preparation for his earthly ministry.
