Readings for Thursday 27 March 2014 (3rd Week of Lent)
Jer 7:23-28. Ps 94:1-2, 6-9, R/ v 8. Lk 11:14-23. www.catholicbishops.ie/readings.
Pope Francis on Twitter
“Jesus is our hope. Nothing – not even evil or death – is able to separate us from the saving power of his love.”
Follow Pope Francis on Twitter @Pontifex.
Excerpt from Evangelii Gaudium The Joy of the Gospel
“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”.[26] This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.[27] In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers.[28] It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.” – Evangelii Gaudium 28.
An tEaspaig Pilib Ó Buaidh o.c.d, Easpag Rath Bhotha Tréadlitir don Charghas 2014
‘Sé bochtanas Chríost an tseoid is mó den iomlán’
Click here to read the text in full.
’24 Hours for the Lord’
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation wrote to dioceses across the world in February of this year, inviting them to take part in the ’24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative. Pope Francis suggested that the dates of 29-30 March should be the days on which the ’24 hours for the Lord’ are held.
It was suggested to dioceses that people should be able to find special opportunities during these days for prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pope Francis himself will be participating in the initiative and is expected to hear confessions. The event will begin in Rome in the Vatican with a liturgical celebration in Saint Peter’s Basilica on the afternoon of Friday 28 March.
Click here for details of events in Irish dioceses.
Daily Lenten Prayers
(i) We pray for all who are struggling to hold onto their faith.
(ii) We pray for all who find themselves without jobs at this time;
that they might find a purpose for their talents.
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.
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.
