Lent-2017

Lectionary readings for Fourth Sunday of Lent Cycle A: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 Guidance on using the lectionary. “Spiritual masters often refer to a kind of “dread,” the nagging sense that we have missed something important and have been somehow untrue—to ourselves, to others, to God. Lent is a good…

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Ash-Wednesday-Lent

Lectionary readings for Ash Wednesday Cycle A: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Guidance on using the lectionary. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating…

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Lectionary readings for February 22, 2012: Joel 2: 1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5: 20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21  Lenten Lectionary (Cycle B) Calendar “Yet even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me with all your heart.” –Joel 2:13 Today is Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the Church’s observance of the Lenten season. Ash…

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Below are five books we can heartily recommend as you practice Lent and create space for God during this important season of the Church year. You can access the lectionary readings here. Bread and Wine:  Readings for Lent and Easter—Penetrating readings from a variety of spiritual writers offers breadth and depth of insight on the…

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“The spiritual journey is not a career or a success story.  It is a series of humiliations of the false self that become more and more profound.” Fr. Thomas Keating I agree with this statement. I don’t like it… but I know it is true.  And it makes me wonder if any of us are…

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Lectionary readings for Ash Wednesday: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21. “Yet even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me with all your heart” Joel 2:13 Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Church’s observance of the Lenten season. It is a space in time in which we…

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Editor’s note: In this article, guest author Peter Giersch reflects on some of the oldest traditions of the Church for celebrating Holy Week. As he describes the various ways that the Church gathers during these holy days, we are reminded that Easter is not just a day. It is a season of remembering and entering…

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?Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea!?? ~I Kings 18:44 I love the way the rain comes at winter’s end to hose down the sooty earth, and wash away the dirt that comes from who-knows-where. Oh God, I need a cleansing rain in my life, dirty…

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“While the truth that we cannot escape God’s all-seeing eye may weigh us down at times, it is finally the only remedy for our uneasiness…Only under God’s steady gaze of love are we able to find the healing and restoration we so desperately need.” Marjorie Thompson, Soulfeast Confession is good for the soul because it…

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“The things we cannot accept in ourselves we project upon others. If I do not admit my shadow side, I will unconsciously find another who will carry my shadow for me. Once this projection is made, then I need not be upset with myself. My problems are now outside and I can fight them “out…

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“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” Psalm 51: 10 In her book Amazing Grace, Kathleen Norris tells the story of working as an artist-in- residence at a parochial school, teaching children how to write poetry using the psalms as a model. One little boy…

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“Yet even now, says the Lord, repent and return to me with all your heart.” Joel 2:13 Today is Ash Wednesday—the beginning of the Church’s observance of the Lenten season. It is a space in time in which we are called to stop whatever we are doing, no matter how important it might be, and…

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Oh God, let something essential happen to me, something more than interesting or entertaining or thoughtful. Oh God, let something essential happen to me, something awesome, something real. Speak to my condition, Lord and change me somewhere inside where it matters. Let something happen which is my real self, Oh God. —Ted Loder Growing up…

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