Lent is a season for preparation for Easter. Outside of the rigors of every day life, this is a time of year that we, as Catholics, need to set aside time for prayer and reflection to prepare for Easter. I started by looking at my calendar and remembering that there were things that I had not yet added to my calendar. So I went through my emails and added to my calendar the events to which I committed. Then I started thinking about when I was going to find time to set aside for myself to pray and reflect.
I paused for a few hours to think about when I would fit in extra time to prepare myself for Easter. When I returned I was about to write all of the activities that I have planned when I realized that I had already planned time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I simply forgot that these activities were designed for just this purpose.
About three years ago I decided to purchase and start praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I pray Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer every day. I try to get the Office of Readings in every day as well. When I pray the Office of Readings, I reflect on the readings and write my reflections. The readings for Lent are designed to prepare the reader for Easter. So right there is one way I will be preparing for Easter.
I will be going to Mass on Ash Wednesday. The ashes remind us of our mortality and is a great way to begin our preparation for Easter.
In the evening on Ash Wednesday, our local chapter of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic will begin the Total Consecration To Mary. This will be done as a group for each of the Wednesday's during the 33 day consecration and for the consecration on the 33rd day. So there went most of my Wednesday's during Lent and I will be doing the other days of the consecration at home.
Thursday of this week I have Lenten Reflection and dinner through a Church organization with which I am a member. The speaker is Msgr. Eugene Morris apparently I need to hear what he has to say as our parish Knights of Columbus council just had him as a speaker for the speaker program.
Fridays during Lent at my parish means that there will be a Fish Fry dinner run by the Knights of Columbus. I will be doing my part in setting up, serving food, and, if needed, to clean up afterward. This is a community event and fund raiser in which the proceeds all benefit the parish in some way.
So that is my Wednesday's and Friday's during Lent along with my first Thursday. Tuesday is the night of the week that I try to keep clear all year so I can spend time at home. We will see how I do about that as I look at the rest of Lent. The rest of the days of the week do not have weekly recurring activities, but there are some monthly recurring events and one time events throughout my calendar.
The first Saturday of Lent has me helping serve beverages at the Irish Festival at the Pontifical College Josephinum. This is a fun event, but it is giving of my time for a worthy cause.
I could go through the events I have planned, but that is not the point of this post. The point is finding time during Lent to prepare for Easter.
Below is a day-by-day list for each week of Lent with the activities I have planned by listing the organization. One thing I need to mention is that I usually meet with people from a non-religious organization two or three times a week. The nights I normally do this are Wednesday and Friday. Since these nights are being taken by the Consecration and Fish Fry, I have to find another night to meet, which is possible every night since I can find such a meeting on every night of the week. I will try to do that on Monday's, but that is not possible every night.
The following key will be used:
3OP - Lay Faternities of St. Dominic
C - Other church organization or event
KC - Knights of Columbus
NRO - The previously mentioned non-religious organization.
PLM - Parish Lenten Mission
Beginning of Lent
Wed - 3OP
Thu - C
Fri - KC
Sat - KC
First Week of Lent
Sun - KC
Mon - C
Tue - NRO
Wed - 3OP
Thu - KC
Fri - KC
Sat - KC
Second Week of Lent
Sun - (open)
Mon - NRO
Tue - (open)
Wed - 3OP
Thu - KC
Fri - KC
Sat - (open)
Third Week of Lent
Sun - 3OP
Mon - KC
Tue - NRO
Wed - 3OP
Thu - KC
Fri - KC
Sat - (open)
Fourth Week of Lent
Sun - KC
Mon - NRO
Tue - (open)
Wed - 3OP
Thu - (open)
Fri - KC
Sat - (open)
Fifth Week of Lent
Sun - PLM
Mon - PLM
Tue - PLM
Wed - PLM
Thu - PLM
Fri - KC
Sat - (open)
Our Parish Lenten Mission will be given my Msgr. Morris. As I said earlier, I must really need to hear what he has to say. I know he is a powerful speaker and I look forward to hearing him.
Holy Week
Sun - (open)
Mon - NRO
Tue - KC (Chrism Mass)
Wed - NRO
Thu - KC (or C if KC is canceled as it should be)
Fri - C
Sat - C
So during Lent, I have nine nights free on my schedule to find time to prepare myself of Easter. Sometime in here I will need to find time to visit with family as well.
Even though there are only nine nights free on my schedule, many of these activities do help me prepare for Lent. I forgot that many of these activities are part of my Lenten preparation for Easter. The fact that I forgot most of these activities in some way were to help me prepare for Easter is a reminder that I need to remind myself of that and treat them as just that - activities to prepare myself for Lent. I need to take time before each activity and dedicate it to God as I should be doing anyway.
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Easter. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Removing the CAPE
About two years ago I learned of a different kind of Catholic known by some as CAPE Catholics. I had never heard this phrase and the explanations that ran through my head were people who wore a cape to church and Catholics who live on the cape. The explanation I got started with the Christmas and Easter only attendees at Mass. The CAPE Catholics add Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday to the Masses they attend.
One possible explanation as to why they attend these two additional Masses is that they get something for attending. This thing they get is not just the Mass receipt, also known as the parish bulletin. They get the ashes on their forehead and the palms to display in their house as visible signs of their being Catholic. Many regular attendees at Mass may find this behavior to be deplorable. I could list many reasons why their behavior is wrong, but deep inside there is a desire to have a Catholic identity. No matter what their reason to have a visible Catholic identity, there is hope.
When I went off to college and did not even think about going to church. For the next 16 years I attended Mass when I lived under my parent's roof, was visiting my parents, or my parents were visiting me. There was a period of time in between when I lived near Chicago and I started to attend Mass every week, but then I moved again and did not look for a church.
During those 16 years, I lived in 5 different cities. I have since settled in Columbus, OH. When I visited my parents for Easter in 2007, I went to Mass with them just like I would have any other year. I do not know exactly what happened to me, but I decided to attend Mass the following Sunday. Due to my association with a non-religious organization, I had already known where one Catholic church was nearby my home so that is where I went. Because my childhood parish did not, and still does not, have kneelers I knew I was going to be lost on when to kneel so I followed what the others did. I also followed the example of others to know where to go for reception of Holy Communion. Regardless of what was happening, I needed to follow the example of others.
I would like to say that I was warmly welcomed to the parish. That did not happen. The thing that kept me coming back was the accessibility of the parish priests after Mass as I asked them for guidance. They were more than happy to help me relearn the faith. They also directed me to a bible study and RCIA class. The RCIA class was the best thing for me as I was able to learn and relearn the Catholic faith. In the process I also got to know our deacon that runs the RCIA program at our parish and some of the other clergy. Without the accessibility of the parish priests after Mass, I do not think I would have continued to come back. Within a few months of my return to the church, they held their annual stewardship fair so people can see what organizations are at the parish and invite people to join them. At least that is the intent of the fair. What happened for me is that I signed up with two groups and never got contacted. I did not make that realization until a year later when I was attending the RCIA class. I could have easily been turned off from the Church because of the appearance of nobody wanting me.
Not every infrequent attendee of Mass has the desire to (re)learn and get active like I did. When the CAPE Catholics come to church, it is important to be a good example for them. This call is not just to be an example of what to do at Mass and when to do it, but an example after Mass as we are called to live our faith in every thing that we do. The example we provide to infrequent Mass attendees, like CAPE Catholics, may turn them into regular attendees. Some might just be going about their ritual to attend Mass on a day where they feel compelled to attend. Any one of them might see or hear something that makes them realize they need to be there every week. Rather than treating the CAPE Catholics as someone in the way at Mass four times a year, treat them with true Christian charity and be willing to help them if they ask. Perhaps they might remove the CAPE and become a practicing Catholic.
One possible explanation as to why they attend these two additional Masses is that they get something for attending. This thing they get is not just the Mass receipt, also known as the parish bulletin. They get the ashes on their forehead and the palms to display in their house as visible signs of their being Catholic. Many regular attendees at Mass may find this behavior to be deplorable. I could list many reasons why their behavior is wrong, but deep inside there is a desire to have a Catholic identity. No matter what their reason to have a visible Catholic identity, there is hope.
When I went off to college and did not even think about going to church. For the next 16 years I attended Mass when I lived under my parent's roof, was visiting my parents, or my parents were visiting me. There was a period of time in between when I lived near Chicago and I started to attend Mass every week, but then I moved again and did not look for a church.
During those 16 years, I lived in 5 different cities. I have since settled in Columbus, OH. When I visited my parents for Easter in 2007, I went to Mass with them just like I would have any other year. I do not know exactly what happened to me, but I decided to attend Mass the following Sunday. Due to my association with a non-religious organization, I had already known where one Catholic church was nearby my home so that is where I went. Because my childhood parish did not, and still does not, have kneelers I knew I was going to be lost on when to kneel so I followed what the others did. I also followed the example of others to know where to go for reception of Holy Communion. Regardless of what was happening, I needed to follow the example of others.
I would like to say that I was warmly welcomed to the parish. That did not happen. The thing that kept me coming back was the accessibility of the parish priests after Mass as I asked them for guidance. They were more than happy to help me relearn the faith. They also directed me to a bible study and RCIA class. The RCIA class was the best thing for me as I was able to learn and relearn the Catholic faith. In the process I also got to know our deacon that runs the RCIA program at our parish and some of the other clergy. Without the accessibility of the parish priests after Mass, I do not think I would have continued to come back. Within a few months of my return to the church, they held their annual stewardship fair so people can see what organizations are at the parish and invite people to join them. At least that is the intent of the fair. What happened for me is that I signed up with two groups and never got contacted. I did not make that realization until a year later when I was attending the RCIA class. I could have easily been turned off from the Church because of the appearance of nobody wanting me.
Not every infrequent attendee of Mass has the desire to (re)learn and get active like I did. When the CAPE Catholics come to church, it is important to be a good example for them. This call is not just to be an example of what to do at Mass and when to do it, but an example after Mass as we are called to live our faith in every thing that we do. The example we provide to infrequent Mass attendees, like CAPE Catholics, may turn them into regular attendees. Some might just be going about their ritual to attend Mass on a day where they feel compelled to attend. Any one of them might see or hear something that makes them realize they need to be there every week. Rather than treating the CAPE Catholics as someone in the way at Mass four times a year, treat them with true Christian charity and be willing to help them if they ask. Perhaps they might remove the CAPE and become a practicing Catholic.
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