Why Did You Die For Me?

My Lord, My Lord, why did You die for me?
I didn't deserve it as you can see.
When You hung on that cross, that piece of tree,
You knew I didn't deserve it but You set me free.
That crown of thorns upon Your head You suffered for me.
The nails driven into Your hands and feet You withstood that
So my life could be complete.
They beat andscrouged You until You died.
They yelled, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him"
While Your Mother watched and cried.
Lord, I couldn't have stood it if I'd been there to,
To watch them make a mockery out of Precious You
I didn't deserve it as You can see
My Lord, My Lord, why did You die for me? Poem by Rachel Anair
[This poem may not be used without expressed permission of the author.]

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Preface of Lent I in the Roman Missal

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Each year you give us this joyful season
when we prepare to celebrate the Paschal Mystery
with mind and heart renewed.

You give us a spirit of loving reverence for you,
our Father, and of willing service to our neighbor.

As we recall the great events that gave us
new life in Christ, you bring the image of your Son
to perfection within us.

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By Father John Sassani in the Boston Pilot

"These words, used at the Eucharistic celebrations during Lent,
offer us a clear understanding of Lent and its Spirituality.
The season of Lent is an occasion of grace offered by God
to the Church in order to renew our faith and charity.
Remembering the mystery of Christ's death and resurrections
helps us to mature to the fullness of Christ.

The disciplines of praying, fasting and almsgiving
effect and manifest the spirituality of Lent by preparing us
for the Christian life or by reforming that life within us."

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PRAYER

† In William Nicholson's play Shadowlands,
C.S. Lewis says: It doesn't change God. It changes me.
... and this is what the Prayer Journey is all about!
It is meant to change US!

That is why it isn't enough to say prayers
we must reflect quietly on who Jesus is...
we must sit in the Silence, who is God...
we must not always be babbling but patiently listening
because when we are listening God is finally able to be heard.

Scripture is beautiful to read and to contemplate
and we should do that. A rosary that is meditated
is beautiful and a very effective prayer in our lives.
However, Jesus taught us to pray in the desert, in the garden,
wherever He went, always believing, always trusting
always beseeching the Father.
In prayer, we seek Jesus but we need to listen as He speaks to our hearts.

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FASTING

Just as Lent is a time to intensify the Prayer Journey,
it is also a time to purify the soul by fasting and by almsgiving.

Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus left us!
It is a gift that feeds us, that nourishes our souls,
that strengthens and sustains us.
Yet what a price He paid for us to have this precious gift of Him!,

Before being able to sacrifice Himself and thus
enable us to have Him with us forever
Jesus lead a life of sacrifice, mortification and fasting.
Scripture is filled with images of Jesus breaking bread
at weddings and feasts and all kinds of gatherings.
But if we remain simply with that *image* then we have missed the point.

How many times did Jesus go away into the desert
to fast and to pray to the Father?
Jesus prayed to His Father daily and fasted.
If not, how could He have given His life for us?
It would have been impossible.
A good mother will sacrifice everything for her child. Why?
Because she has known her child in the quiet of the womb.
A mother nurtures, sustains and feeds her child from the moment
of conception... through the pains of child birth.
Before her child was born, she began sacrificing her life
for this child. And such is the image of Jesus.
He tells us in Isaiah that He can never forget us
as a mother can never forget her child!

And so, just as Christ's presence remains with us today
prayer and fasting, like Eucharist itself, influence our daily lives
so that we can be the presence of Christ in the world;
so that each of us can be transformed into another Christ.
† Amen.

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ASH WEDNESDAY

Lent is an acceptable time for us to enter more deeply
into the reign of God. The way for us to do this is the way
of prayer, penance and good works of loving service.

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Even now says the Lord,
return to me with your whole hearts.

Joel: 2:12

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Whenever yo pray, go to your room, close your door,
and pray to your Father in private.

Matthew: 6:1

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As we begin lent, we are filled with somber feelings,
with a sense of reflectiveness and with deep longing to journey
ever more closely with Jesus, our Redeemer!

This is indeed a time to return to the Lord filled with hope
and longing for what can be as we walk with Him
in a deeper more meaningful way.

We need to learn to "go to our room" ... "close the door
and pray" ... the blessings reaped in quiet prayer with Jesus
are many. It is a time to come to Him with all of our concerns,
brokenness, hurts and pains of life and joys ... expecting
full well that He will be faithful to His promises and will
fill our lives with healing, stronger faith and greater hope!

As we journey together with Christ, I hold all who come here
in heart and prayer. My prayer for you is that you will come to know the Savior as Mary knew Him, especially as she stood
at the foot of the Cross.

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† God's blessings as we proceed together on "Our Lenten Journey". †

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LENTEN REGULATIONS FOR CATHOLICS

Abstinence ~ Catholics over 14 years of age are bound
to the obligation of abstinence. Abstinence is to be observed
on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. On days of abstinence,
meat may not be used at all.

Fast ~ Catholics over 18 and up to the beginning
of their 60th year are bound to the obligation of fasting.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the days of fasting.
On these days, only one full meal is allowed. Two other
meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength, may be taken
according to one's needs but together they should not equal
another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted
but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed.

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© 2004 Lucie LeBlanc Consentino
† Promises Kept †

Music Playing ~ "Servant King" ~