The Family Foundation School Catholic Community Bulletin
Pauca Verba (a few words)
Lent recalls the forty days that the Lord Jesus spent in the desert during which he contended with Satan, the tempter. Our Lent must also be a period of fighting against temptation, and especially against the temptation of our most habitual sin. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Luke 4:8) May it be granted to us , during Lent, to learn and understand these words with which the Lord opposed Satan, and which summarize the whole of the spiritual battle. (A Monk of the Eastern Church, The Year of Grace of the Lord.)
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Lenten Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
You have shown us that the desert is waiting
for those who come to it inspired by the Spirit.
The desert is a place for self-discovery,
and more than that, a place for meeting God.
Help us to follow you into the desert land,
there to fast, pray, and learn anew
that the false values of self-indulgence and success
only lead to death and despair,
and that our only hope lies in the paradox of the cross.
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The icon (Greek word for image) of Jesus in the great humility of his death – placed by the altar – was painted by Matuchka Natalya Zharsky – Father John’s wife. Many of us learned how to properly venerate an icon a couple of weeks ago. So – go ahead!!!!! And pray there with great tenderness, openness, gratitude and love.
Here is a prayer from a Mass in honor of the Holy Face of Jesus:
O God, who willed that your only-begotten Son
should become man,
and show us in his human nature a perfect image of your divinity,
grant, we beseech you,
that by venerating the image of his Holy Face
we may be united with him
in the mysteries of his Passion and Death,
and so come to contemplate forever his glorious Face
in the joy of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.
And so, next Sunday is called Passion Sunday (Palm Sunday). We begin Holy Week – the most sacred and intense week of the Christian year. Holy Thursday commemorates Jesus giving us the gift of himself in Holy Communion and the mandate to serve others – he washes the feet of his disciples.
Good Friday we hear the Passion account – the Gospel of St. John. Jesus is crucified for love of this world. He empties himself for our sake. We venerate the wood of the cross through which Jesus saves us from sin and shadow of death Satan casts upon us.
Holy Saturday night – we listen to the scriptures tell us the story of our salvation from the creation of Genesis to the Easter rising of Christ! We welcome the light in the darkness and share the joy of friends being baptized into Christ – the drowning of the old man and the rising up of the new! We receive Holy Communion – the pledge of Heaven’s Banquet where Jesus bids us to come and share.
Easter Morning – the vigil liturgy from the night before overflows and we sing “Alelluia” again and go with Peter and John to the empty tomb – receiving Holy Communion again – friendship with the Risen Christ – who invites us to newness of life!
(Good idea: These last two weeks of Lent – pray the Sorrowful Mysteries in “There Is No Problem…!”)
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The clocks are turned ahead this week: “Spring ahead, fall behind.” And so we will enjoy a longer daytime. And while Easter is early this year and it may still be quite cold (it’s possible it could even snow!) – we can be grateful for the gift of light – “Let there be light,” God said on the first day of creation. Everything is a gift!
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It is a great shame that many of us fell by the wayside from the Sugar Fast. We set out with good intentions perhaps – but we don’t anticipate our weakness. We don’t prepare for the battle. We want it to be easy, but it won’t be, the older we get. This is a battle: whether it’s to sacrifice for the poor, or to remain sober and pure, or to get an education. In the Stations of the Cross, Jesus falls and gets back up from under the cross three times. He is our model of perseverance and determination. He picks up his cross and sees it through to the end. Then there is the joy and victory of Easter! If you have kept the fast – stay encouraged and determined!
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If you are going to be home for Easter and your family doesn’t worship at Mass – tell them well ahead of time that since you’ve come to The Family School, going to Mass has become very important to you – and “could we make plans to help me get to Easter Mass?” Maybe your folks would be humbled by your request and will join you. That’s God-pleasing!
