Chaplain’s message — Feburary 2016
Greetings Brother Knights of the Father Bonner Council of St. Thomas More Parish,
As we enter the season of Lent, we begin a spiritual journey that prepares us for the celebration of the Easter Mysteries. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said in 2011, “Lent is a journey, it means accompanying Jesus who goes up to Jerusalem, the place of the fulfilment of his mystery of Passion, death and Resurrection; it reminds us that Christian life is a ‘way’ to take, not so much consistent with a law to observe as with the very Person of Christ, to encounter, to welcome, to follow.” [1]
What does this way of life in Christ look like for each of us? Especially during Lent, we practice its 3 pillars: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. St. Augustine once said, “Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God? Give it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.”
According to St. Augustine, fasting and almsgiving are interconnected. Fasting and almsgiving should be the fruit of our prayer and the “wings” which take our prayer to new depth and closer union with God. Fasting and abstaining from food and other goods provides an opportunity to use the resources which we have saved through fasting for the good of those in need, to develop compassion, and to join in solidarity with those in need. Through fasting and almsgiving, we learn to give of ourselves.
The practice of almsgiving coincides with the practice of the Works of Mercy as taught to us by the Church. In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Lenten season is a good time to focus intentionally on practicing the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy listed below:
Works of Mercy
The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are actions we can perform that extend God’s compassion and mercy to those in need.
Corporal Works of Mercy — The Corporal Works of Mercy are these kind acts by which we help our neighbours with their material and physical needs:
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Clothe the naked
- Shelter the homeless
- Visit the sick
- Visit the imprisoned
- Bury the dead
Spiritual Works of Mercy — The Spiritual Works of Mercy are acts of compassion by which we help our neighbours with their emotional and spiritual needs:
- Counsel the doubtful
- Instruct the ignorant
- Admonish sinners
- Comfort the afflicted
- Forgive offenses
- Bear wrongs patiently
- Pray for the living and the dead
May you and your families experience a blessed Lenten season as your journey with Our Lord Jesus Christ in preparation for the celebration of Easter. May your prayers take on “wings” as you fast and give alms through works of mercy.
Fraternally yours in Christ,
Father Andrew
[1] www.osservatoreromano.va/en/news/fasting-and-almsgiving-the-wings-of-prayer#sthash.EzwEP9XP.dpuf