Praying for victims of religious persecution

Earlier this month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for all people of good will to pray for victims of religious persecution and violence, and they asked them to work to protect the marginalized and persecuted around the world.

In their statement, they wrote: “Lent is a season to meditate upon the Cross and unite ourselves even more closely with Christ's suffering. Let us use this season to unite with our suffering brothers and sisters and pray for them and with them in a special way. With hope, let us pray for the day when we can all share in the joy and lasting peace of Christ's resurrection.”

The entire statement is available here.

Caring for Creation calendar

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington has a 2013 Lenten Caring for Creation calendar available as a download from its website, which notes, “The calendar offers practical ways you can grow in your understanding of what it means to be a wise steward of God’s Creation and to deepen your commitment to practices and attitudes which promote care for Creation.”

Everyone is invited share and make copies of the calendar, available here.

Carmelites in Lent

For Lent, the Carmelites offer a series of daily reflections from one of the most popular Carmelite saints, St. Therese of Lisieux:

One of the great struggles of our faith lives is that often–in a sincere attempt to deepen spiritually–we overreach and build up the idea of having a relationship with God into a monumental undertaking that is doomed from the start. It’s not all that different from wanting to get into shape physically but not starting because we believe we must be able to run a marathon immediately.

Fortunately for us, St. Therese of Lisieux provides a much-needed antidote to this sort of crippling spiritual ambition. In the 100 years since her canonization, Therese has become the most beloved female saint in the Catholic church largely due to her beautifully simple approach to prayer as well as her "Little Way" in which she discovered God’s enormous love and grace in the most mundane and simple tasks of her day (from working in the laundry to being kind to some of the more difficult personalities in her Carmelite religious community).

During this Lenten season, we’ve transformed our Daily Disconnect into "The Little Way through Lent." The basic premise of the prayer exercise remains the same but our quotes and reflections have all been adapted for Lent from Fr. John F. Russell O.Carm’s book A Lenten Journey with Jesus Christ and St. Therese of Lisieux. We invite you to take a few minutes every day this Lent to disconnect and pray with Therese but we’ve also added a bit of a twist.

In the popular imagination, Lent is often equated with abstaining from chocolate or meat. The truth is, traditional Lenten observance emphasizes the practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving among Christians. So, in addition to the daily contemplation offered, we also encourage you to pay attention to the "Little Ways" we post everyday at the end of the disconnect, on our homepage and on our Facebook page. In the spirit of Therese’s Little Way, our daily "Little Ways" offer suggestions everyday for small acts of praying, fasting and giving that can be done relatively easily.

You can learn more here.

Try a little kindness this Lent

In his monthly column in The Evangelist, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard writes about one way we may enter into the season of Lent, which begins today:

In a past era, we were encouraged "to give up something." The key to Lent, however, is to view it less as a burdensome obligation and more as an opportunity to do something positive. Indeed, a good theme song for Lent would be Glen Campbell's "Try a Little Kindness."

Jesuit educator Rev. Peter Schineller opines "that kindness entails an ability to reach out beyond our own situation, good or bad, to show compassion toward others."

Such kindness doesn't have to take on dramatic forms. It can be as simple as a pleasant greeting at the checkout counter, to the bus driver, to the bank teller, to the security guard at the mall or to the person entering church with us.

It might find expression in listening to our spouse, children, coworkers or friends more patiently and sensitively. It might heed the advice of Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, superior general of the Jesuits, who suggests that before speaking you should ask three questions about what you will say: "Is it true; is it kind and gentle; and is it good for others?"

The entire column is here.

Lenten Resources from Pax Christi

Pax Christi USA strives to create a world that reflects the Peace of Christ by exploring, articulating, and witnessing to the call of Christian nonviolence. This work begins in personal life and extends to communities of reflection and action to transform structures of society. Pax Christi USA rejects war, preparations for war, and every form of violence and domination. It advocates primacy of conscience, economic and social justice, and respect for creation.

As of today, it has a new website at http://paxchristiusa.org/

The group also offers some excellent Lenten resources here. More will be added as the site develops.

Robbery during Lent?

Sister Joyce Rupp offers a Lenten reflection in National Catholic Reporter that begins as follows:

Imagine you are an archbishop going for a walk in a spacious cemetery. It’s a chilly Lenten day. You’re weary from a long day’s work, and haven’t even taken time to get out of your work clothes because of yet another meeting in the evening. Soon after you settle into a comfortable pace, a poorly dressed man walks in your direction. As he draws close to you, he stops. The next thing you know he’s thrusting a knife at your neck, demanding “money or your life.”

Your billfold’s at home. There’s no money to give. The assailant keeps insisting. Frightened out of your wits, you remember you stuck a snack in your pocket. You point to the candy bar and tell him it’s all you’ve got -- he can have it. At this suggestion, the man looks at you in utter disbelief and protests, “No way, Father. I don’t eat chocolate during Lent.”

You’ll have to go here to know the rest of the story.

Lent and Peace

Franciscan Friar Jack Wintz writes an article entitled Eight Attitudes for a Holy Lent in his e-newsletter entitled E-spirations at AmericanCatholic.org.

Some months ago I received an e-mail from a reader suggesting that Jesus’ eight beatitudes would make a good topic for E-spirations. As we stand at the threshold of Lent, the timing seems just right for us to explore this teaching of Jesus, which offers us eight attitudes for opening ourselves to God’s saving love.
. . .
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
The Hebrew word shalom helps us understand the full meaning of peace as a state wholeness and total health and well-being. When we wish someone peace in the biblical sense, this is what we are wishing them. When we are in tune with God’s healing and saving love, we are peacemakers, seeking to tear down walls of hatred, division, misunderstanding and prejudice. As instruments of God’s peace, we are instruments of wholeness and reconciliation in our world. We are then true children of God.

You can read the entire article here.