We are mid-way through holy Lent. How are you living out this season of renewal and conversion of heart? How have you changed the order and discipline in your life? Have you strengthened your prayer, used the discipline of fasting, offered yourself in a work of mercy? Look at these three disciplines outlined below.
Prayer: Come and join me at our Lenten Penance Service this Monday (the 8th of March), beginning at 7:00 pm. Come and pray for the renewal of the parish. Come and receive the blessing of the Presence of the Lord, in and through the Sacrament of Penance & Reconciliation.
Fasting: Sadly, this common spiritual practice has fallen out of favor, out of use. If you read the sacred scripture, if you listen to the teaching of the saints of God, you know that fasting is an extraordinary discipline that allows the heart "room" to grow in love. Through the intentional discipline fasting (eating one meal a day, with little else), we combat the inordinate attachment some of us have for the good things of life. Along with fasting, the Church also asks of us to abstain from meat each Friday, remembering the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday.
I urge you to join me in the Fridays of holy Lent: The Knights of Columbus Lenten Fish Fry are held each Friday of Lent, from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. So, I ask this of SJN:
- Take yourself, take your family, and join the Knights for supper, from 5:00 to 6:45 pm.
- Then, drive to the parish and join us for Stations of the Cross, at 7:00 pm.
- For those of you that eat a bit later, you can make the last part of the K of C's Fish Fry after the Stations (in English).
- For those wanting the Stations in Spanish, they begin at 8:00 pm.
Works of Mercy: There are many ways that you might grow in grace through an act of serving others. One way I recommend is to become involved with the parish's St. Vincent de Paul store (4974 Highway 29, 770-921-7187). This Lawrenceville Highway store provides needed clothing and food for the Lord's people. I hope many of you will want to volunteer in the store, as a regular part of your discipleship. Please call the store for more information on volunteering.
In addition to working at the store, you can provide for others by offering the store clothing. I would ask each person reading this article to go through your closet. You know those shirts, pants, dresses, shoes... that you never wear, that you will never wear? Let somebody else wear them. St. John Chrysostom (+407) taught that the second coat in your closet was not yours, but the poor's. Let us give away all that we do not need.
How about food? You know that we collect food for our SVDP store at the Masses on Sunday. Why not make it a habit, to bring a bag of canned goods with you to Sunday Mass? Or, make it a habit to drive over to the store once a month and offer them a couple of bags of food? Part of the renewal we seek this holy season is in changing our lifestyle, to be in conformity with that of the Lord Jesus and his disciples.
Prayer, fasting and works of mercy and service... come Lord, change our hearts!
Msgr. David Talley
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The mission of SJN Career Ministry is to provide a support group, networking opportunities, job search resources, and job leads for members and non-members of the church community who are unemployed, under-employed or returning to the work place. It is comprised of dedicated, focused and results oriented volunteers with a common goal of providing a positive environment, spiritual enrichment, motivation and inspiration to the job search process.