Third Sunday of Lent
Patrick first came to Ireland as a slave. In his loneliness, he discovered God’s deep love for him and found faith. He began to pray. After his escape from captivity, Patrick had a vision. Patrick returned as a missionary, visiting parts of the country where the faith had never been preached. A short time later, Ireland was sending out its own missionaries to restore Europe’s faith.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the ship.
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Tuesday is the Feast of St. Patrick
the Mass times are
Vigil Monday 6.30pm
Tuesday 10am & 12noon.
During Lent we encounter the God who suffered and died in Jesus Christ
Marked with the ashes of mortality on Ash Wednesday, we follow episodes from the life of Christ in the daily readings of the liturgy of the Word at Mass. Notes of his rejection by his contemporaries slowly appear. The Lenten weeks duly take us in Holy Week to the recounting of Christ’s Passion and death. Life’s path is a mixed experience for all of us. Dark periods are difficult to manage. Suffering, illness, ill fortune, disappointment, bereavement, loss, financial disaster can cause us to question the meaning and purpose of life. Such negative experiences can cause us to lose hope. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is a God who suffers. In Christ he is abandoned by friends and followers. He is a Crucified God. He is a God who suffers. He knows the pain of suffering. He knows the loneliness, the sense of abandonment, the dark-hole that are part of intense suffering. This Lent we might stop and gaze on the crucified Christ. Our faith offers us a way with Christ through suffering and hopelessness. It is a painful way, the way of the Cross. Lent and Holy Week announce a promise of New Life beyond the tragedy of suffering, beyond terminal illness, beyond death. Faith in Jesus Christ strengthens us in the face of trials and suffering.
Children: Where was Jesus crucified? Who was crucified beside him? Who stood at the foot of the Cross? Do you know anybody who is suffering? How could you help them during Lent?
Youth: Suffering, trials, disappointments, failure are integral to life. Few of us escape experiencing one or other. The God in whom Christians believe took on all of life, suffering and death included. Being a follower of Christ means we take up our Cross of suffering. Being a follower of Christ also involves helping others, who suffer, to bear their Cross. As Christians we know that life does include suffering. We seek to alleviate such suffering. We do not ignore it or run away from it. We treasure the gift of life above all suffering and tribulation.
Adults: Our contemporary mentality and culture tends to run away from suffering, failure and tragedy. Our Lord Jesus Christ inspires us in the face of life’s tribulations. He helped those in difficulty; he invites us to do likewise. He took up his Cross, carried it, and even died an ignominious death. His death broke the chains of death and unleashed a new order of hope. Through baptism we are children of this Christian hope. Part of our vocation is to radiate our circle of influence with that hope. Lent provides us with a time to review our sense, our spiritual intimation, of this God given hope, a powerful dimension of our Christian calling. Where, in what contexts, do you need to act in order to recall, make present, that hope. |
