|
| |
|
Seventh Week of
Ordinary Time -
use your
green candle!
February 21, 2007 is Ash Wednesday!
Beginning of Lent - get
your violet candle ready! |
|
Please add Coming Home Catholic to your safe senders list. |
|
Start with the
Basics
(Click
here to learn more) |
| Prayer of the Week Our primary
focus the next few days is preparing for Lent, but don't
forget the last hurrah - MARDI GRAS! Although recognized as
a secular day for questionable behavior, this day has its roots in
Catholic celebrations and can be a day of spiritual fun.
Click here for
details. |
| |
| Living Our Faith
It is always best to prayerfully prepare for Lent. Take this
Family Lenten Inventory
- we hope it helps you evaluate areas which can be improved over the
next six weeks.
|
|
|
Celebrate All Year Long!
(Click here to learn more) |
Saints to Celebrate
- Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday use your
green candle for
Ordinary Time
- Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday use a
violet
candle the season of Lent.
- February 21 use a violet
candle for Ash Wednesday. This is the first day
of Lent, the season to recall our baptismal promises of professing
our faith and rejecting sin. It is not a holy day of
obligation, but Mass is well worth attending.
- Thursday, February 22 us a white candle for the
feast of the Chair of St. Peter. This special day
celebrates the authority of St. Peter, the Rock of the Church. He
founded the Church of Antioch, then the Church of Rome.
|
| Devotion of the Month
For the next seven weeks we'll be meditating on the Last Seven
Words. These are not simply words, but the seven things
Jesus said as He was dying on the cross. We encourage you to
consider the impact of these words on your life this Lenten season.
As we prepare for Lent to begin, we consider Jesus' first words:
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
We've been reading
Evangelium vitae, John Paul II's 1995 encyclical on the value
and inviolability of human life. Considering this document in light
of Jesus' first words on the cross has been a powerful eye-opener.
Click here for our thoughts on these words.
|
|
|
Keep Building that Faith!! (click
here to learn more) |
Start the Week off Right
(prepare for the Sunday Scriptures)
1 Sm 26:2, 7-9,
12-13, 22-23 |
1 Cor 15:45-49 |
Lk 6:27-38 |
| |
| This is an entertaining , and even humorous, first
reading. David sneaked into his enemy's camp and stole the
king's spear and water jug. Although he spared the life of the king,
he could not resist taunting his enemy. His compassion was immature;
he was a successful, but still sinful, earthly king. In contrast we
have Jesus, the heavenly king. It is only in Jesus that we see true
goodness, compassion, and love. It is only through Jesus that we see
perfection.
In the second reading Paul is explaining another misunderstanding
to the Corinthians. They assume that as long as they receive the
sacraments, they have reached perfection. Paul tells them they are
better, but are in no way divine! They need to continue in their
faith - the best is yet to come.
We can make some interesting comparisons between ourselves and
the people in today's scriptures. Is our love and compassion
immature, like David's? Is it presumptuous, like the Corinthians, or
is it the true compassion of Jesus? As we enter Lent, let our
sacrifices be aimed toward the ideal, not accepting anything less.
|
| Daily Dose of Scripture (our
picks of the week) |
- Sirach 2:1-11
Sirach is one of the Old Testament wisdom books; other wisdom books
include Job,
Psalms, Proverbs, etc. Interestingly, it is one of the books that was
rejected for inclusion in the Hebrew and Protestant Scriptures. We
Catholics are blessed to have it included in our Old Testament.
This reading reminds us of our duties toward God. We can expect to
face trials, but we
must be patient and trusting, persevering in God's way. We need not
fear, God will
never forsake us.
- Mark 9:14-29
We're finishing our time with the Gospel of Mark. Once Lent begins
the daily Gospel readings no longer proceed in chronological order.
Instead, they are based on themes of faith, repentance,
and returning to God. We will return to reading individual books of the
Bible during the Easter season.
This reading from the Gospel of Mark is perfect for the day before Ash
Wednesday. The Apostles were unable to expel a demon from a young man.
When Jesus arrived the young man's father pleaded with Him to cure the
boy, which He did successfully. The Apostles, bewildered, asked what
they had done wrong. Jesus said, "This kind you can drive out only by
prayer."
How often do we fail to pray? When times get
tough, we may try to seek any means of control, considering prayer too
passive. We prefer action, any action, over peace of mind. That is the
time to open ourselves up to trusting in God and saying a prayer.
Open that Catechism!
If you are experiencing difficulties in prayer be rest assured, you
are not alone. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the difficulties of
prayer in paragraphs #2725-2733. It's a perfect place to go for
guidance.
|
|
Please visit our new
Coming Home Catholic Blog We'd
like to invite you to some Catholic discussion.
Just pick up a Bible and start reading:
"The Book of Genesis"
(click here to see!)
To comment on the blog you'll need to register and be approved as a
user. Just click on the word "Comment" at the end of any post, click
on "Register" and fill in the blanks. We look forward to hearing from you! |
|
|
|
If you enjoy this newsletter, please subscribe at
newsletter@cominghomecatholic.com.
We'd appreciate your passing this on to others who may benefit from the
information. Thank you! To cancel this
newsletter, please contact us at
unsubscribe@cominghomecatholic.com |
|
Please check out our web site at
www.cominghomecatholic.com
|
|
|
