Lent is a special time in which many people (hopefully many of us) seek to grow in our relationship with the Lord through prayer, fasting and charitable works. When talking about or reflecting on prayer, we might tend to focus on time and places when and where we pray. Most of us immediately think of churches or chapels or a special room in our house as places of prayer, which is understandable and good when we approach such places to connect with the Lord. There is, however, a wider perspective on prayer that I recently read in our "Breakfast Food For the Soul" that I and many of our "Adorers" receive by e-mail, which I want to share with all of you. I hope you consider what it says, save it, and find yourself at prayer more often than you are or you think you are.
BREAKFAST FOOD FOR THE SOUL
I need to remember this, Lord: just to sit in your presence, in silence, is a prayer.
To find a quiet place, to remember you are near; this is a prayer.
To sit in the stillness, to ponder the mystery: this is a prayer.
To take a deep breath, to inhale your peace: this is a prayer.
To hear my heart beat, the pulse of your presence: this is a prayer.
To close my eyes to the world around, to open my heart to you within, this is a prayer.
To open my hands let go my worry and wait to be filled: this is a prayer.
Though my heart find no words, you hear my silent prayer, in the stillness, close by your side.
When I struggle to find even one word to say you know before I, what my soul wants to pray.
When my prayer spills out all jumbled, you know precisely what my heart intends.
When I can't hear your voice I trust that your silence begins to answer my prayer.
You read my mind and all of my thoughts; you search my heart, its sorrows and joys; you know my plea before I pray.
I need to remember this, Lord: Just to sit in your presence, in silence, is a prayer.
- A Concord Pastor
BREAKFAST FOOD FOR THE SOUL
I need to remember this, Lord: just to sit in your presence, in silence, is a prayer.
To find a quiet place, to remember you are near; this is a prayer.
To sit in the stillness, to ponder the mystery: this is a prayer.
To take a deep breath, to inhale your peace: this is a prayer.
To hear my heart beat, the pulse of your presence: this is a prayer.
To close my eyes to the world around, to open my heart to you within, this is a prayer.
To open my hands let go my worry and wait to be filled: this is a prayer.
Though my heart find no words, you hear my silent prayer, in the stillness, close by your side.
When I struggle to find even one word to say you know before I, what my soul wants to pray.
When my prayer spills out all jumbled, you know precisely what my heart intends.
When I can't hear your voice I trust that your silence begins to answer my prayer.
You read my mind and all of my thoughts; you search my heart, its sorrows and joys; you know my plea before I pray.
I need to remember this, Lord: Just to sit in your presence, in silence, is a prayer.
- A Concord Pastor
Many of us, I hope, have favorite charities that we like to give to every year, and sometimes more than once during the year. I don't mind sharing with you that one of these charities for me is Catholic Relief Services (CRS) which is active in over 100 countries in the world, seeking to help the poorest of the poor with food and other items and sponsoring projects and programs that seek to lift the poor out of their state of poverty. CRS also comes to the aid of people when natural disasters happen all over the world.
Since next weekend we will have the annual collection for CRS at all our Masses, and some of you are saving up money during Lent to contribute to Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl, I want to share with you just one of their projects so you will appreciate better what they do and inspire generosity to CRS this Lenten season and perhaps beyond.
Evelina, who lives in Zambia, used to survive (as many in Zambia do) by eating meals made from corn flour, usually a porridge called "nshima." Unfortunately, nshima has very little nutrition for Evelina, her family and so many others. So, CRS is teaching women like Evelina how to prepare healthier meals and grow new, vitamin-rich crops like peanuts, pumpkins, and sugar cane. And, what people like Evelina learn, they share with their community, especially expectant mothers.
Please give generously to Catholic Relief Services. It's efforts are broad and far-reaching for those who are poor and/or suffering due to the effects of natural disasters.
Since next weekend we will have the annual collection for CRS at all our Masses, and some of you are saving up money during Lent to contribute to Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl, I want to share with you just one of their projects so you will appreciate better what they do and inspire generosity to CRS this Lenten season and perhaps beyond.
Evelina, who lives in Zambia, used to survive (as many in Zambia do) by eating meals made from corn flour, usually a porridge called "nshima." Unfortunately, nshima has very little nutrition for Evelina, her family and so many others. So, CRS is teaching women like Evelina how to prepare healthier meals and grow new, vitamin-rich crops like peanuts, pumpkins, and sugar cane. And, what people like Evelina learn, they share with their community, especially expectant mothers.
Please give generously to Catholic Relief Services. It's efforts are broad and far-reaching for those who are poor and/or suffering due to the effects of natural disasters.
The closing hymn last Sunday truly was a prayer for me and I hope for many of you, that God will indeed change our minds and hearts and make them more and more in conformity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, during this Lenten season and beyond. In particular, I must admit I prayed that God will change the minds and hearts of people who support the taking of human life by the state through Capital Punishment. This is especially crucial when it comes to our elected officials, including our Governor Asa Hutchinson who can stop the executions of four people who are sheduled to be executed during the days between April 17-27 here in Arkansas. I promised in my homily last weekend, after quoting recent Scripture passages which speak in language that clearly would not support the practice of capital punishment and the reasons some given to justify doing it, that I would give, in writing, some other reasons that all followers of Jesus Christ and His Gospel should oppose the "death penalty" and ALWAYS promote human life as a gift from God from conception until natural death. I encourage you to go to the parish website: www.hsvsacredheart.com and read last weekend's homily again and ponder what was said, as well as these points.
While the Catholic Church does not say that there are no circumstances where the death penalty might be used, it does say that in countries where prisoners can be housed in secure settings where they pose no danger to the public for the rest of their lives, that that should be the choice rather than executing them. Also, there is no universal standard by which the death penalty is applied from case to case. Much depends on the prosecutor's leaning whether the death penalty is sought as a possible punishment for a crime. Finally, the defense for those who are accused of serious crimes is often inadequate in terms of legal representation they receive, especially when defenants get "court appointed" attorneys and this leads to some being convicted and sentenced to death, who are, in fact - innocent.
I hope many of you will join me in contacting our governor to try and stop the upcoming executions (as other governors have bravely done) and encourage lawmakers, many of whom have thankfully worked diligently to protect the life of the unborn, to be consistent and protect ALL HUMAN LIFE from harm from individuals and from the state. Remember, when Jesus was asked to affirm the "death penalty" decision when it came to the woman caught in adultery, His response (which was consistent His whole life) was and is (thankfully for us), His mercy. He never gave up on anyone, and neither should we!
While the Catholic Church does not say that there are no circumstances where the death penalty might be used, it does say that in countries where prisoners can be housed in secure settings where they pose no danger to the public for the rest of their lives, that that should be the choice rather than executing them. Also, there is no universal standard by which the death penalty is applied from case to case. Much depends on the prosecutor's leaning whether the death penalty is sought as a possible punishment for a crime. Finally, the defense for those who are accused of serious crimes is often inadequate in terms of legal representation they receive, especially when defenants get "court appointed" attorneys and this leads to some being convicted and sentenced to death, who are, in fact - innocent.
I hope many of you will join me in contacting our governor to try and stop the upcoming executions (as other governors have bravely done) and encourage lawmakers, many of whom have thankfully worked diligently to protect the life of the unborn, to be consistent and protect ALL HUMAN LIFE from harm from individuals and from the state. Remember, when Jesus was asked to affirm the "death penalty" decision when it came to the woman caught in adultery, His response (which was consistent His whole life) was and is (thankfully for us), His mercy. He never gave up on anyone, and neither should we!