Member and Guest Blog http://www.cusan.org/cusa-member-blogs.aspx http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification mojoPortal Blog Module 120 Lenten Cyber Retreat - Week III Fr. Tim Hayes, EGL 1

As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 

Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34

Petition for Week III – That all Religious Women and Men may stand as a witness to the transcendence of the Kingdom of Heaven over the things of this world.

Lent Sunday III March 11, 2012

Year B Readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031112.cfm

The First Scrutiny teaches us to Thirst for Holiness

Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

*******

How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?

From Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012:

"Being concerned for each other" also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten: fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: "Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more" (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin (cf. Mt 18:15). The verb used to express fraternal correction - elenchein – is the same used to indicate the prophetic mission of Christians to speak out against a generation indulging in evil (cf. Eph 5:11). The Church’s tradition has included "admonishing sinners" among the spiritual works of mercy. It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity.

 

3/12 MONDAY:

I have told you this so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. John 16:33

*******

Jesus Christ offers Shalom, that is, Peace, Wholeness and Integrity. The world tries to unsettle us and distract us from pursuing the one thing necessary to find true Happiness. We are called to receive Fortitude in order to stand true; He has conquered the world.

What gives you confidence in the Lord’s Grace at work in you? How are you made aware that Christ has conquered the world for you?

3/13 TUESDAY:

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Acts 4:32-35

*******

The sign of the Truth of the Christian way of life that is most effective in revealing Christ is Unity. When believers are truly of one heart and mind, crossing boundaries, holding all their good, material and spiritual, in common, then the world has to take notice. Great power flows from fidelity to the Apostolic preaching. All in need are taken care of when all who have are willing to give what they have and what they are in order to witness the Truth of their commitment to Christ.

Who has revealed the Truth of Christ to you by a sharing of person? How do you respond? Can you see the Truth of God’s Love offered to you through members of the Christian Community who are one in heart and mind with you?

3/14 WEDNESDAY:

Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:18-19

*******

Trust in the Lord’s Love for us leads to Hope. We know that God has taken care of us in the past, and we are confident that He will see us through to the end. However, when we measure the future by reference to the past, we can run the risk of limiting the horizon. The Gospel calls us to a realization of Something New. The intimations of the Eternal are evident to us through Faith, through a growing awareness that God has plans for us beyond our wildest imagination. We are surprised by the Gift of God and invited to embrace it.

Where are you conscious of Something New happening in your life? Where is the desert and where are the hints of the springs of Living Water flowing freely? How are you being invited to put your trust in God’s Love for you personally?

3/15 THURSDAY:

Let your faith in the LORD, your God, be firm, and you will be firm. Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed. II Chronicles 20:20

*******

Faith in the Lord leads to Confidence in His Presence and His Love. Hope follows from hearing the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed by those who speak in His Name, the Prophets and Teachers who are guided by the Spirit of Truth. Firm Faith leads to a strength of purpose that allows us to accomplish our God-given goals and to witness to the Kingdom in a practical way.

How strong is your Faith in the Lord? Who speaks to you with the voice of authority and challenges you to grow in Faith? Are you willing to commit even in the face of persecution and doubt?

3/16 FRIDAY: A Day of Abstinence from meat with the whole Church.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. John 14:18-20

*******

In every human heart, there is a longing for something More, something greater than this world can offer. Even when there is a sharing of person between human beings through Friendship in the Lord, there is still something left unsatisfied. The Lord promises that He will satisfy this longing. We are not left as orphans. The Day will come when we will experience for ourselves the Truth of the Unity that is presented to us through Faith in the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are One, and our destiny is to share in that One Love. The Word has been spoken to us, in our own humanity, and His Commandments allow us to respond to Him in Love.

How has your Hope in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ been enlivened? Are you aware of the sense of incompleteness and of the longing that invites you to believe that God has Something More in store for you personally? Do you hear your personal call to Newness of Life?

　

3/17 SATURDAY:

With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers. Jeremiah 31:3-4

*******

God’s Love for us in not part of His Creation; It is the very Essence of His Being and It precedes the act of Creation. That Love, offered once and refused, is offered anew as Mercy. The Promise that flows from the Love and Mercy of God is that all will be restored in accord with His Plan for us. Joy and Happiness will be ours, if we open ourselves to Love and Mercy.

How do you experience the "age-old Love" of God? Where is His Mercy evident in your life? What in you needs to be restored, renewed, rebuilt? What already serves to bring you to Joy?

3/18 SUNDAY Worship with the community. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031812.cfm

Pray for the Catechumens as they experience the Second Scrutiny.


Administrator  ...]]> http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-iii.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-iii.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-iii.aspx Mon, 12 Mar 2012 14:59:00 GMT Lenten Cyber Retreat - Week II Fr. Tim Hayes - EGL 1
 
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 

Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34
 
Petition for Week II – That all Church leaders may have the courage and wisdom to speak the Truth before civil authorities, especially in defense of life and liberty.
 
Lent Sunday II                                   March 4, 2012
 
Year B Readings         http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030412.cfm
 
The Penitential Scrutiny opens up the grace of Baptism
 
Those who have been baptized in other Christian Communions who are seeking Full Communion in the Catholic Church experience the Penitential Scrutiny as a moment of grace where the Christian Community acknowledges their oneness with us through Baptism and prays for their openness to the healing touch of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All are called to Penance in order to be free to celebrate the full joy of Easter.
 
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25
*******
How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?
 
From Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012:
Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is "generous and acts generously" (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of "spiritual anesthesia" which numbs us to the suffering of others. The Evangelist Luke relates two of Jesus’ parables by way of example. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite "pass by", indifferent to the presence of the man stripped and beaten by the robbers (cf.Lk 10:30-32). In that of Dives and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of the poverty of Lazarus, who is starving to death at his very door (cf. Lk 16:19). Both parables show examples of the opposite of "being concerned", of looking upon others with love and compassion. What hinders this humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters?


Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else. We should never be incapable of "showing mercy" towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor. Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy. "The upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit to understand it" (Prov 29:7). We can then understand the beatitude of "those who mourn" (Mt 5:5), those who in effect are capable of looking beyond themselves and feeling compassion for the suffering of others. Reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.
 
3/ 5 MONDAY:
 
I have told you this so that you might have peace in Me.
In the world you will have trouble, but take courage,
I have conquered the world. John 16:33
*******
Jesus Christ offers Shalom, that is, Peace, Wholeness and Integrity. The world tries to unsettle us and distract us from pursuing the one thing necessary to find true Happiness. We are called to receive Fortitude in order to stand true; He has conquered the world.
 
What gives you confidence in the Lord’s Grace at work in you? How are you made aware that Christ has conquered the world for you?
 
3/ 6 TUESDAY:
 
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.  Acts 4:32-35
*******
The sign of the Truth of the Christian way of life that is most effective in revealing Christ is Unity. When believers are truly of one heart and mind, crossing boundaries, holding all their good, material and spiritual, in common, then the world has to take notice. Great power flows from fidelity to the Apostolic preaching. All in need are taken care of when all who have are willing to give what they have and what they are in order to witness the Truth of their commitment to Christ.
 
Who has revealed the Truth of Christ to you by a sharing of person? How do you respond? Can you see the Truth of God’s Love offered to you through members of the Christian Community who are one in heart and mind with you?
 
3/ 7 WEDNESDAY: 
 
Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?   In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:18-19
*******
Trust in the Lord’s Love for us leads to Hope. We know that God has taken care of us in the past, and we are confident that He will see us through to the end. However, when we measure the future by reference to the past, we can run the risk of limiting the horizon. The Gospel calls us to a realization of Something New. The intimations of the Eternal are evident to us through Faith, through a growing awareness that God has plans for us beyond our wildest imagination. We are surprised by the Gift of God and invited to embrace it.
 
Where are you conscious of Something New happening in your life? Where is the desert and where are the hints of the springs of Living Water flowing freely? How are you being invited to put your trust in God’s Love for you personally?
 
3/ 8 THURSDAY:
 
Let your faith in the LORD, your God, be firm, and you will be firm. Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed. II Chronicles 20:20
*******
Faith in the Lord leads to Confidence in His Presence and His Love. Hope follows from hearing the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed by those who speak in His Name, the Prophets and Teachers who are guided by the Spirit of Truth. Firm Faith leads to a strength of purpose that allows us to accomplish our God-given goals and to witness to the Kingdom in a practical way.
 
How strong is your Faith in the Lord? Who speaks to you with the voice of authority and challenges you to grow in Faith? Are you willing to commit even in the face of persecution and doubt?
 
3/ 9 FRIDAY:            
 
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. John 14:18-20
 
*******
In every human heart, there is a longing for something More, something greater than this world can offer. Even when there is a sharing of person between human beings through Friendship in the Lord, there is still something left unsatisfied. The Lord promises that He will satisfy this longing. We are not left as orphans. The Day will come when we will experience for ourselves the Truth of the Unity that is presented to us through Faith in the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are One, and our destiny is to share in that One Love. The Word has been spoken to us, in our own humanity, and His Commandments allow us to respond to Him in Love.
 
How has your Hope in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ been enlivened? Are you aware of the sense of incompleteness and of the longing that invites you to believe that God has Something More in store for you personally? Do you hear your personal call to Newness of Life?
 
3/10 SATURDAY:
 
With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.  Jeremiah 31:3-4
*******
God’s Love for us in not part of His Creation; It is the very Essence of His Being and It precedes the act of Creation. That Love, offered once and refused, is offered anew as Mercy. The Promise that flows from the Love and Mercy of God is that all will be restored in accord with His Plan for us. Joy and Happiness will be ours, if we open ourselves to Love and Mercy.
 
How do you experience the “age-old Love” of God? Where is His Mercy evident in your life? What in you needs to be restored, renewed, rebuilt? What already serves to bring you to Joy?
 
3/11 SUNDAY Worship with the community. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031112.cfm
 
Pray for the Catechumens as they experience the First Scrutiny.
LENTEN CYBER RETREAT - WEEK II                3/ 4
 
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 

Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34
 
Petition for Week II – That all Church leaders may have the courage and wisdom to speak the Truth before civil authorities, especially in defense of life and liberty.
 
Lent Sunday II                                   March 4, 2012
 
Year B Readings         http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030412.cfm
 
The Penitential Scrutiny opens up the grace of Baptism
 
Those who have been baptized in other Christian Communions who are seeking Full Communion in the Catholic Church experience the Penitential Scrutiny as a moment of grace where the Christian Community acknowledges their oneness with us through Baptism and prays for their openness to the healing touch of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All are called to Penance in order to be free to celebrate the full joy of Easter.
 
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25
*******
How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?
 
From Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012:
Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is "generous and acts generously" (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of "spiritual anesthesia" which numbs us to the suffering of others. The Evangelist Luke relates two of Jesus’ parables by way of example. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite "pass by", indifferent to the presence of the man stripped and beaten by the robbers (cf.Lk 10:30-32). In that of Dives and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of the poverty of Lazarus, who is starving to death at his very door (cf. Lk 16:19). Both parables show examples of the opposite of "being concerned", of looking upon others with love and compassion. What hinders this humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters?

Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else. We should never be incapable of "showing mercy" towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor. Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy. "The upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit to understand it" (Prov 29:7). We can then understand the beatitude of "those who mourn" (Mt 5:5), those who in effect are capable of looking beyond themselves and feeling compassion for the suffering of others. Reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.
 
3/ 5 MONDAY:
 
I have told you this so that you might have peace in Me.
In the world you will have trouble, but take courage,
I have conquered the world. John 16:33
*******
Jesus Christ offers Shalom, that is, Peace, Wholeness and Integrity. The world tries to unsettle us and distract us from pursuing the one thing necessary to find true Happiness. We are called to receive Fortitude in order to stand true; He has conquered the world.
 
What gives you confidence in the Lord’s Grace at work in you? How are you made aware that Christ has conquered the world for you?
 
3/ 6 TUESDAY:
 
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.  Acts 4:32-35
*******
The sign of the Truth of the Christian way of life that is most effective in revealing Christ is Unity. When believers are truly of one heart and mind, crossing boundaries, holding all their good, material and spiritual, in common, then the world has to take notice. Great power flows from fidelity to the Apostolic preaching. All in need are taken care of when all who have are willing to give what they have and what they are in order to witness the Truth of their commitment to Christ.
 
Who has revealed the Truth of Christ to you by a sharing of person? How do you respond? Can you see the Truth of God’s Love offered to you through members of the Christian Community who are one in heart and mind with you?
 
3/ 7 WEDNESDAY: 
 
Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?   In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:18-19
*******
Trust in the Lord’s Love for us leads to Hope. We know that God has taken care of us in the past, and we are confident that He will see us through to the end. However, when we measure the future by reference to the past, we can run the risk of limiting the horizon. The Gospel calls us to a realization of Something New. The intimations of the Eternal are evident to us through Faith, through a growing awareness that God has plans for us beyond our wildest imagination. We are surprised by the Gift of God and invited to embrace it.
 
Where are you conscious of Something New happening in your life? Where is the desert and where are the hints of the springs of Living Water flowing freely? How are you being invited to put your trust in God’s Love for you personally?
 
3/ 8 THURSDAY:
 
Let your faith in the LORD, your God, be firm, and you will be firm. Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed. II Chronicles 20:20
*******
Faith in the Lord leads to Confidence in His Presence and His Love. Hope follows from hearing the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed by those who speak in His Name, the Prophets and Teachers who are guided by the Spirit of Truth. Firm Faith leads to a strength of purpose that allows us to accomplish our God-given goals and to witness to the Kingdom in a practical way.
 
How strong is your Faith in the Lord? Who speaks to you with the voice of authority and challenges you to grow in Faith? Are you willing to commit even in the face of persecution and doubt?
 
3/ 9 FRIDAY:            
 
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. John 14:18-20
 
*******
In every human heart, there is a longing for something More, something greater than this world can offer. Even when there is a sharing of person between human beings through Friendship in the Lord, there is still something left unsatisfied. The Lord promises that He will satisfy this longing. We are not left as orphans. The Day will come when we will experience for ourselves the Truth of the Unity that is presented to us through Faith in the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are One, and our destiny is to share in that One Love. The Word has been spoken to us, in our own humanity, and His Commandments allow us to respond to Him in Love.
 
How has your Hope in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ been enlivened? Are you aware of the sense of incompleteness and of the longing that invites you to believe that God has Something More in store for you personally? Do you hear your personal call to Newness of Life?
 
3/10 SATURDAY:
 
With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.  Jeremiah 31:3-4
*******
God’s Love for us in not part of His Creation; It is the very Essence of His Being and It precedes the act of Creation. That Love, offered once and refused, is offered anew as Mercy. The Promise that flows from the Love and Mercy of God is that all will be restored in accord with His Plan for us. Joy and Happiness will be ours, if we open ourselves to Love and Mercy.
 
How do you experience the “age-old Love” of God? Where is His Mercy evident in your life? What in you needs to be restored, renewed, rebuilt? What already serves to bring you to Joy?
 
3/11 SUNDAY Worship with the community. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031112.cfm
 
Pray for the Catechumens as they experience the First Scrutiny.

Administrator  ...]]> http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-ii.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-ii.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-ii.aspx Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:32:00 GMT Lenten Cyber Retreat - Week I (2/26)  
Fr. Tim Hayes, EGL 1
 
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34
 
Petition for Week I – That the Church of God may be a witness to Truth in a world dominated by the tyranny of Relativism.
 
Lent Sunday I February 26, 2012
 
The Rite of Election highlights the Mystery of God’s Choice
 
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25
 
*******
 
How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?
 
From Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012:
 
"Let us be concerned for each other": responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This first aspect is an invitation to be "concerned": the Greek verb used here is katanoein, which means to scrutinize, to be attentive, to observe carefully and take stock of something. We come across this word in the Gospel when Jesus invites the disciples to "think of" the ravens that, without striving, are at the centre of the solicitous and caring Divine Providence (cf. Lk 12:24), and to "observe" the plank in our own eye before looking at the splinter in that of our brother (cf. Lk 6:41). In another verse of the Letter to the Hebrews, we find the encouragement to "turn your minds to Jesus" (3:1), the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. So the verb which introduces our exhortation tells us to look at others, first of all at Jesus, to be concerned for one another, and not to remain isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters. All too often, however, our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for "privacy". Today too, the Lord’s voice summons all of us to be concerned for one another. Even today God asks us to be "guardians" of our brothers and sisters (Gen 4:9), to establish relationships based on mutual consideration and attentiveness to the well-being, the integral well-being of others. The great commandment of love for one another demands that we acknowledge our responsibility towards those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God. Being brothers and sisters in humanity and, in many cases, also in the faith, should help us to recognize in others a true alter ego, infinitely loved by the Lord. If we cultivate this way of seeing others as our brothers and sisters, solidarity, justice, mercy and compassion will naturally well up in our hearts.
 
The Servant of God Pope Paul VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: "Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations" (Populorum Progressio, 66).
 
2/27 MONDAY:
 
I have told you this so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. John 16:33
 
*******
 
Jesus Christ offers Shalom, that is, Peace, Wholeness and Integrity. The world tries to unsettle us and distract us from pursuing the one thing necessary to find true Happiness. We are called to receive Fortitude in order to stand true; He has conquered the world. What gives you confidence in the Lord’s Grace at work in you? How are you made aware that Christ has conquered the world for you?
 
2/28 TUESDAY
 
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Acts 4:32-35
 
*******
 
The sign of the Truth of the Christian way of life that is most effective in revealing Christ is Unity. When believers are truly of one heart and mind, crossing boundaries, holding all their good, material and spiritual, in common, then the world has to take notice. Great power flows from fidelity to the Apostolic preaching. All in need are taken care of when all who have are willing to give what they have and what they are in order to witness the Truth of their commitment to Christ.
 
Who has revealed the Truth of Christ to you by a sharing of person? How do you respond? Can you see the Truth of God’s Love offered to you through members of the Christian Community who are one in heart and mind with you?
 
2/29 WEDNESDAY: On this “Leap Day,” give God thanks for the Mystery of Time – God’s greatest gift after Grace. He gives us Time to prepare for Eternity, time to grow in Grace. May we give God our time that He may fill our days with an awareness of His Love, so that we may know Him, love Him and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in the next…. Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:18-19
 
********
 
Trust in the Lord’s Love for us leads to Hope. We know that God has taken care of us in the past, and we are confident that He will see us through to the end. However, when we measure the future by reference to the past, we can run the risk of limiting the horizon. The Gospel calls us to a realization of Something New. The intimations of the Eternal are evident to us through Faith, through a growing awareness that God has plans for us beyond our wildest imagination. We are surprised by the Gift of God and invited to embrace it.
 
Where are you conscious of Something New happening in your life? Where is the desert and where are the hints of the springs of Living Water flowing freely? How are you being invited to put your trust in God’s Love for you personally?
 
3/ 1 THURSDAY:
 
Let your faith in the LORD, your God, be firm, and you will be firm. Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed. II Chronicles 20:20
 
*******
 
Faith in the Lord leads to Confidence in His Presence and His Love. Hope follows from hearing the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed by those who speak in His Name, the Prophets and Teachers who are guided by the Spirit of Truth. Firm Faith leads to a strength of purpose that allows us to accomplish our God-given goals and to witness to the Kingdom in a practical way. How strong is your Faith in the Lord? Who speaks to you with the voice of authority and challenges you to grow in Faith? Are you willing to commit even in the face of persecution and doubt?
 
3/ 2 FRIDAY:
 
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. John 14:18-20
 
*******
 
In every human heart, there is a longing for something More, something greater than this world can offer. Even when there is a sharing of person between human beings through Friendship in the Lord, there is still something left unsatisfied. The Lord promises that He will satisfy this longing. We are not left as orphans. The Day will come when we will experience for ourselves the Truth of the Unity that is presented to us through Faith in the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are One, and our destiny is to share in that One Love. The Word has been spoken to us, in our own humanity, and His Commandments allow us to respond to Him in Love. How has your Hope in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ been enlivened? Are you aware of the sense of incompleteness and of the longing that invites you to believe that God has Something More in store for you personally? Do you hear your personal call to Newness of Life?
 
3/ 3 SATURDAY:
 
With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers. Jeremiah 31:3-4
 
*******
 
God’s Love for us in not part of His Creation; It is the very Essence of His Being and It precedes the act of Creation. That Love, offered once and refused, is offered anew as Mercy. The Promise that flows from the Love and Mercy of God is that all will be restored in accord with His Plan for us. Joy and Happiness will be ours, if we open ourselves to Love and Mercy.
 
How do you experience the “age-old Love” of God? Where is His Mercy evident in your life? What in you needs to be restored, renewed, rebuilt? What already serves to bring you to Joy?
 
3/ 4 SUNDAY
 
Worship with the community. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030412.cfm
 
Pray for the Candidates for Full Communion in the Catholic Church as they experience the Penitential Scrutiny.

Administrator  ...]]> http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-i-226.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-i-226.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat-week-i-226.aspx Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:33:00 GMT Lenten Cyber Retreat = Prelude  
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34
 
* * * * * * *
 
In this week of Ash Wednesday, we enter into the Season of Lent with a public witness of our need for God’s Mercy. Sinners though we are, we join together to express our common desire to be converted and to renew our commitment to living the Gospel.
 
 
2/20 MONDAY: Consider the Question: What practices of Prayer will be a part of my observance of Lent?
 
Matthew 6:6 “. . . When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
 
2/21 TUESDAY: Consider the Question: What forms of Fasting and self-discipline will I use in order to learn to be obedient to the Lord and to His commands?
 
Matthew 6:17-18 “. . . When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
 
2/22 ASH WEDNESDAY: Attend Mass and receive the imposition of ashes to acknowledge your need for conversion. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.
 
Consider the question: What works of charity and Almsgiving will be part of my journey through Lent?
 
Matthew 6:3-4 “. . . When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
 
2/23 THURSDAY: Express in a personal prayer your commitment to growth in relationship with the Lord through the Season of Lent.
 
Joel 2:12-13 “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God.”
 
2/24 FRIDAY: Abstinence from meat with the whole Church.
 
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
* * * * * * *
 
What does the Theme for this Retreat mean for you? What Questions does it raise in your spirit? How do you intend to reflect on in it in the weeks ahead?
 
2/25 SATURDAY: Consider the Scripture that has been suggested for the Retreat:
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. Luke 12:29-34
 
* * * * * * *
 
How does this Scripture speak to you personally? What is the Spirit inviting you to do during this Season of Lent?
 
2/26 SUNDAY Worship with the community.
 
 
Pray for the Catechumens and Candidates for Full Communion in the Catholic Church as they experience the Rite of Election, being called to the Easter Sacraments.
 
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25
 
 
How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?
 
From Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012: http://www.zenit.org/article-34255?l=English
 
Pope's Message for Lent 2012 "We Must Not Remain Silent Before Evil"
 
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 7, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's
message for Lent 2012.
 
"Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works" (Heb 10:24)  Dear Brothers and Sisters, The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favorable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter. 
 
This year I would like to propose a few thoughts in the light of a brief biblical passage drawn from the Letter to the Hebrews: "Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works". These words are part of a passage in which the sacred author exhorts us to trust in Jesus Christ as the High Priest who has won us forgiveness and opened up a pathway to God. Embracing Christ bears fruit in a life structured by the three theological virtues: it means approaching the Lord "sincere in heart and filled with faith" (v. 22), keeping firm "in the hope we profess" (v. 23) and ever mindful of living a life of "love and good works" (v. 24) together with our brothers and sisters. The author states that to sustain this life shaped by the Gospel it is important to participate in the liturgy and community prayer, mindful of the eschatological goal of full communion in God (v. 25). Here I would like to reflect on verse 24, which offers a succinct, valuable and ever timely teaching on the three aspects of Christian life: concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness

Administrator  ...]]> http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat--prelude.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat--prelude.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lenten-cyber-retreat--prelude.aspx Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:54:00 GMT Lent and Easter Cyber Retreat 2012 - Outline 2/19  
Fr. Tim Hayes, EGL 1
 
February 20 – April 15, 2012
 
I propose a Cyber Retreat for the Seasons of the Paschal Mystery, Lent and Easter. It is adaptable in any way that fits your own need. The only “requirement” is that you pray for those who join you. This year’s Cyber Retreat begins February 20, 2012, the Monday before Ash Wednesday. The Retreat concludes with Divine Mercy Sunday, April 15, 2012.
 
Theme: Trust in God’s Personal Love for His People
 
As for you, do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not worry anymore. All the nations of the world seek for these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these other things will be given you besides. Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.  Luke 12:29-34
 
Scripture and Reflection for Each Day of the Week
 
Monday:
 
I have told you this so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.  John 16:33
 
 
Jesus Christ offers Shalom, that is, Peace, Wholeness and Integrity.  The world tries to unsettle us and distract us from pursuing the one thing necessary to find true Happiness.  We are called to receive Fortitude in order to stand true; He has conquered the world. 
 
What gives you confidence in the Lord’s Grace at work in you?  How are you made aware that Christ has conquered the world for you?
 
Tuesday:
 
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need.  Acts 4:32-35
 
 
The sign of the Truth of the Christian way of life that is most effective in revealing Christ is Unity.
 
When believers are truly of one heart and mind, crossing boundaries, holding all their good,material and spiritual, in common, then the world has to take notice. Great power flows from fidelity to the Apostolic preaching. All in need are taken care of when all who have are willing to give what they have and what they are in order to witness the Truth of their commitment to Christ. 
 
Who has revealed the Truth of Christ to you by a sharing of person? How do you respond? Can you see the Truth of God’s Love offered to you through members of the Christian Community who are one in heart and mind with you?
 
Wednesday:
 
Thus says the LORD: Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.  Isaiah 43:18-19
 
 
Trust in the Lord’s Love for us leads to Hope. We know that God has taken care of us in the past, and we are confident that He will see us through to the end. However, when we measure the future by reference to the past, we can run the risk of limiting the horizon. The Gospel calls us to a realization of Something New. The intimations of the Eternal are evident to us through Faith, through a growing awareness that God has plans for us beyond our wildest imagination. We are surprised by the Gift of God and invited to embrace it.
 
Where are you conscious of Something New happening in your life? Where is the desert and where are the hints of the springs of Living Water flowing freely? How are you being invited to put your trust in God’s Love for you personally?
 
Thursday:
 
Let your faith in the LORD, your God, be firm, and you will be firm. Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed.  II Chronicles 20:20
 
 
Faith in the Lord leads to Confidence in His Presence and His Love. Hope follows from hearing the Word of the Lord as it is proclaimed by those who speak in His Name, the Prophets and Teachers who are guided by the Spirit of Truth. Firm Faith leads to a strength of purpose that allows us to accomplish our God-given goals and to witness to the Kingdom in a practical way.
 
How strong is your Faith in the Lord?  Who speaks to you with the voice of authority and challenges you to grow in Faith?  Are you willing to commit even in the face of persecution and doubt?
 
Friday:
 
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.  John 14:18-20
 
 
In every human heart, there is a longing for something More, something greater than this world can offer. Even when there is a sharing of person between human beings through Friendship in the Lord, there is still something left unsatisfied. The Lord promises that He will satisfy this longing. We are not left as orphans. The Day will come when we will experience for ourselves the Truth of the Unity that is presented to us through Faith in the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are One, and our destiny is to share in that One Love. The Word has been spoken to us, in our own humanity, and His Commandments allow us to respond to Him in Love.
 
How has your Hope in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ been enlivened? Are you aware of the sense of incompleteness and of the longing that invites you to believe that God has Something More in store for you personally?  Do you hear your personal call to Newness of Life?
 
Saturday:
 
With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you. Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel; Carrying your festive tambourines, you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.  Jeremiah 31:3-4
 
 
God’s Love for us in not part of His Creation; It is the very Essence of His Being and It precedes the act of Creation. That Love, offered once and refused, is offered anew as Mercy. The Promise that flows from the Love and Mercy of God is that all will be restored in accord with His Plan for us. Joy and Happiness will be ours, if we open ourselves to Love and Mercy.
 
How do you experience the “age-old Love” of God? Where is His Mercy evident in your life? What in you needs to be restored, renewed, rebuilt? What already serves to bring you to Joy?
 
Sunday:
 
Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.  Hebrews 10:23-25
 
 
How do Faith, Hope and Love serve to lead you to worship with the Christian Community? For what are you thankful as you experience the Eucharist? How do you encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Are you able to express your own Confession that gives Hope? What are the Lord’s Promises to you?
Each week will also offer a section from Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten Message for 2012: http://www.zenit.org/article-34255?l=english
 
For your own planning, each week:
 
Find a form of Prayer – opening to Christ’s Gift of Himself. Read and ponder the Sacred Scriptures. Attend a celebration of the Stations of the Cross in a local parish. Spend some time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
 
Find a manner of Fasting – entering into the act of self-emptying. Consider several different ways to fast; all are invited to find their own level:
* Abstain from meat;
* Eat only one large meal (no snacks);
* Experience a total fast (no food at all);
* Fast during daylight hours;
* Fast from certain activities or behaviors.
 
Respond to the call to Almsgiving – making an offering of self. Give alms, sharing materially and personally what God has given you with someone in need. Choose a personal charity or find an action that “costs” you something personally.
 
* * * * * * *
 
Let us live this Lent with the intention to draw close to the God Who seeks to be closer to us and to pray for the triumph of God’s Justice in our broken world. Led into the desert, let us cooperate with works of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, to grow in the grace that is needed for our time and in our capacity to fast in order to open space for God.
 
Petitions for Each Week of Lent
 
Week I – That the Church of God may be a witness to Truth in a world dominated by the tyranny of Relativism.
 
Week II – That all Church leaders may have the courage and wisdom to speak the Truth before civil authorities, especially in defense of life and liberty.
 
Week III – That all Religious Women and Men may stand as a witness to the transcendence of the Kingdom of Heaven over the things of this world.
 
Week IV – That all the Faithful may be strengthened in their convictions by the power of the Holy Spirit as they choose to live by Faith in a world of secularism and doubt.
 
Week V – That all who are wounded by sin and selfishness may learn the freedom of the Children of God and come to know the Love of God the Father for all His People.
 
Week VI – That all who are initiated through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist may bring new life and joy to the People of God through the graces they receive at Easter.

Administrator  ...]]> http://www.cusan.org/lent-and-easter-cyber-retreat-2012-outline-219.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lent-and-easter-cyber-retreat-2012-outline-219.aspx http://www.cusan.org/lent-and-easter-cyber-retreat-2012-outline-219.aspx Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:58:00 GMT