Fr. Tom O'Donnell's Pre-Lenten Message
The Spirit of Lent
In a few short weeks, Christians will once again be celebrating Ash Wednesday, which signals the beginning of the Lenten Season.
Pope Benedict XVI has told us: “Lent offers us the providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we in turn may become m9ore merciful to our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in the process of interior renewal, these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. ”
Our Holy Father is specifically telling us that the Corporal and Spiritual Works or Mercy should be the center of our penitential practice during the holy season of Lent. Penance should be not only inward but also outward and social, being directed towards works of mercy on behalf of our brothers and sisters.
In St. Matthew’s Gospel for Ash Wednesday, Our Lord tells us: “Give alms ... pray to your Father …Fast without a gloomy face …”
Giving alms, Jesus teaches, means making the needs of others our own, especially the needy of the world. The needy are all around us: children and the old, the sick, families and individuals, next-door neighbors and people in lands far away.
Jesus says that giving and looking out for those in need will make you live, and you will receive some blessing from God in return. And what shall we give? Some time, some of our talent, material resources. And almsgiving is not just for the rich. Poor or rich, ourselves.
In deciding, decide generously. After all we have the great example of Jesus: “He loved us, and gave himself up for us .”
We all have something to give. Whatever we give, though should be something of (word missing).
The spirit of Lent also calls us to pray. But prayer, Jesus teaches, is much more than the words: “Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret.” Before you pray, enter the room of your heart. Shut the door to noise and the countless everyday cares grabbing for attention.
In the quiet of your heart and with your faith as a guide, speak to your God. A gracious Father listens and knows what you need. God helps us pray in this season. For those who have stopped praying or pray without fervor, God gives the grace for praying again.
Usually the grace comes as we turn to prayers and practices already there: the Celebration of Mass, reflective reading of the Bible, simple prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary and the Psalms, the Rosary of Our Blessed Mother.
As members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians we can find no greater way to fulfill our Lenten obligations than to continue to support and donate our time and gifts to the many Hibernian works of charity which have been the hallmark of our great society for many years.
Father Tom O’Donnell, A.O.H. Division One, Allegheny County Chaplain, Pennsylvania State Chaplain
In a few short weeks, Christians will once again be celebrating Ash Wednesday, which signals the beginning of the Lenten Season.
Pope Benedict XVI has told us: “Lent offers us the providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we in turn may become m9ore merciful to our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in the process of interior renewal, these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. ”
Our Holy Father is specifically telling us that the Corporal and Spiritual Works or Mercy should be the center of our penitential practice during the holy season of Lent. Penance should be not only inward but also outward and social, being directed towards works of mercy on behalf of our brothers and sisters.
In St. Matthew’s Gospel for Ash Wednesday, Our Lord tells us: “Give alms ... pray to your Father …Fast without a gloomy face …”
Giving alms, Jesus teaches, means making the needs of others our own, especially the needy of the world. The needy are all around us: children and the old, the sick, families and individuals, next-door neighbors and people in lands far away.
Jesus says that giving and looking out for those in need will make you live, and you will receive some blessing from God in return. And what shall we give? Some time, some of our talent, material resources. And almsgiving is not just for the rich. Poor or rich, ourselves.
In deciding, decide generously. After all we have the great example of Jesus: “He loved us, and gave himself up for us .”
We all have something to give. Whatever we give, though should be something of (word missing).
The spirit of Lent also calls us to pray. But prayer, Jesus teaches, is much more than the words: “Go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret.” Before you pray, enter the room of your heart. Shut the door to noise and the countless everyday cares grabbing for attention.
In the quiet of your heart and with your faith as a guide, speak to your God. A gracious Father listens and knows what you need. God helps us pray in this season. For those who have stopped praying or pray without fervor, God gives the grace for praying again.
Usually the grace comes as we turn to prayers and practices already there: the Celebration of Mass, reflective reading of the Bible, simple prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary and the Psalms, the Rosary of Our Blessed Mother.
As members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians we can find no greater way to fulfill our Lenten obligations than to continue to support and donate our time and gifts to the many Hibernian works of charity which have been the hallmark of our great society for many years.
Father Tom O’Donnell, A.O.H. Division One, Allegheny County Chaplain, Pennsylvania State Chaplain
Labels: homily
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