Dear Parishioners:
Today, the Church celebrates the World Day of the Sick. This annual day of prayer was established in 1992 by St. Pope John Paul II to encourage Catholics to pray for the sick and those who care for them. It is a day to offer hope to the ill and infirm. So, please pray today for the sick and suffering, especially those from Our Lady of Mercy Parish. The World Day for the Sick is February 11, a date chosen because it coincides with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. It commemorates the appearances in 1858 of Our Lady to a young French girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. Lourdes has been a pilgrimage site renowned for healing ever since. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.
In his message for the World Day of the Sick this year, Pope Francis says: “The sick, the vulnerable, and the poor are at the heart of the Church; they must also be at the heart of our human concern and pastoral attention. May we never forget this! And let us commend ourselves to Mary Most Holy, Health of the Sick, that she may intercede for us.”
Prayer is a pillar of the Season of Lent, which begins this coming Wednesday, February 14. On Ash Wednesday at OLM, there are four Masses at which ashes will be imposed. So please plan on attending at 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 12:05 pm, or 7:00 pm. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence from meat. Confessions will also be available on Ash Wednesday from 11:00 am until Noon and 6:00 pm until 7:00 pm. It is the time for us to “Repent and Believe in the Gospel!”
As you prepare to begin the Solemn Fast of Forty Days in Lent, I encourage you to enter more fully into this holy season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. There are multiple opportunities for prayer available at OLM, and books for spiritual reading during Lent are available after all Masses this weekend.
During these 40 Days of Lent, consider adding Daily Mass to your schedule. Every day, Monday through Friday, during Lent, Mass is celebrated at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm. The Stations of the Cross will be every Friday during Lent at 7:00 pm. These are wonderful opportunities to practically deepen your spiritual life and commitment to Christ through prayer.
St. Pope John Paul II said: “Confession is an act of honesty and courage – an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God.” And if we are honest and courageous, we know we should go to Confession this Lent. Confessions at OLM are every Monday through Friday from 11:45 am until Noon, every Monday at 6:00 pm with two priests available during Lent, and every Saturday at 3:00 pm. Additionally, confession times will be scheduled during the Parish Lenten Mission. The annual all-day confessions are scheduled for Saturday, March 23. Certainly, ample opportunity to make a good Confession in Lent and prepare for Easter.
The Parish Lenten Mission is scheduled for February 24-28. Father Francis McCarty, OSB from St. Anselm College, is our Mission Preacher. So please mark your calendar now and be sure to make the Mission!
Fasting is a pillar of Lent as well. This fasting isn’t meant only for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday but should be the entire Season of Lent. In addition to food, what else should we fast from this Lent? Consider fasting from some pleasures, comforts, and bad habits keeping you from Christ. It may be alcohol, tobacco, or sweets for some. Perhaps it is swearing, missing Mass, lying, or wasting time for others. Certainly, any fast in our contemporary culture must include fasting from technology, such as time on our cell phones, computers, social media, and the internet. What are you giving up for Christ this Lent?
Almsgiving is central to our Lenten Fast. We are called to give to the poor and needy not simply from our surplus but sacrificially. Christ compels us to help our those living in poverty and hunger. Please consider the charities in the bulletin for your almsgiving. Lent is coming. Prepare! St. Francis de Sales said: “Lent is the autumn of the spiritual life during which we gather fruit to keep us going for the rest of the year.” Pray, fast, and give alms. They bear spiritual fruit for the rest of the year! Be well. Do good. God Bless!