Lent is a time of prayer and penance, when Christ wants to lead us back to our baptismal promises of dying to sin and of living for God. We prepare ourselves to enter once again into Jesus’ Paschal mystery and to renew it in our lives.

Dying to sin
During Lent, God’s people seek to put sin out of their lives by uprooting habits and tendencies that are contrary to God’s will. It is a time of conversion, of turning away from our sins and of turning back to God. 
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Living for God
The Lord Jesus is calling us to be people of praise and prayer, and living signs of his love for all. During Lent, we open our hearts to our Father, so that we may live with Christ for God.

What should we be doing for Lent? Today the Church invites us to prepare for Easter by doing individual penance and penance as a group; by reading God’s word more carefully; by praying more ardently, including sincere prayer for sinners; by giving of ourselves to the service of God’s people. (Source: CCCB, Living Lent)

Penitential Practices

The season of Lent has traditionally been a time of prolonged penance for the Christian community. Together we prepare for the great Easter mysteries by  committing ourselves to fulfill our baptismal call to maturity, holiness, service, and community. 

Bishop McGrattan reiterates the importance of works of mercy, which have always been the Church’s witness to “love in action” in every age. They express our mercy, compassion and justice for one another. In the midst of the pandemic, we invite you to read our Bishop’s advice and practical examples on how to care for one another with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

Almsgiving

During Lent, we are asked to focus more intently on “almsgiving,” which means donating money or goods to the poor and performing other acts of charity.  As one of the three pillars of Lenten practice, almsgiving is a witness to fraternal charity and  a work of justice pleasing to God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2462).  

​​There are several special opportunities for almsgiving through donations. Please visit our Giving page to find ways to donate to your parish community and other ministries in the Diocese.

VISIT OUR GIVING PAGE

Fasting & Abstinence

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are universal days of fasting and abstinence from meat. 

Anyone over the age of 18 and under the age of 59 are obliged to fast and abstain. 
Fasting, in the Latin Church, is the limitation of food and drink – typically to one main meal and two smaller meals (that together do not equal the regular meal in size), with no solid foods in between. Abstinence is the refraining from certain kinds of food or drink, typically meat. While all Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, in Canada “Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.” ~ Ordo, note 29b and 29d.   

But how did fasting become such an important means of preparing for the Eucharist and of learning virtue through self-discipline? Read this brief reflection on Lenten Fasting

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ~ Mathew 6: 16-18

Daily Reflections in your inbox

Beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing through all forty days of Lent, receive a daily email with a short video to help you reconnect with yourself and your God through the work of the following speaker and publications. Be open with what God can do in your life with just an email, a short video or an open heart. We invite you to subscribe to one of these daily Lenten Reflections. 

Lenten resources for Families with Children

The following activities might be helpful as we prepare our family to enter once again into Jesus’ Paschal mystery and to renew it in our lives:
Observing Lent with Your Family

The first video will be shared on Ash Wednesday via catholicyyc.ca and diocesan social media (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram).

https://www.cccrs.com/1593-2/

In these familiar readings, a line jumps out: “He was among the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him.” We have not been promised a life without difficulty, free from floods and sin, disaster and temptation. We have been promised abundant life in the midst of these very difficulties. Jesus was not spared suffering but accompanied through it as Jesus accompanies us.

As we enter into this Lenten journey we choose the disciplines which will create an experience of wilderness. We practice habits, attitudes, and behaviours that will sustain us in our journey through Lent. Go faithfully there.

Wherever suffering takes us, Jesus will give us what we need to live.

God of the wilderness, give us space in this Lent to see you ministering to us. Help us to see you in a new way in the absence of comfort and familiar routines. Draw us into the mystery of letting you care for us, we pray to the Lord.

#CatholicYYC#SundayMass
CCCB – Reflection

Gospel Reading – Mark 1:40-45
Jesus cures a person with leprosy, who reports his cure to everyone.

In today’s Gospel, we continue to hear Mark report the miraculous healings that Jesus performed in Galilee. The Gospel begins with Jesus healing a man with leprosy. Leprosy is a disfiguring, infectious skin disease that has been surrounded by many social and religious taboos throughout history. In 1873, the cause of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, was identified. We now know that leprosy is caused by a bacterial infection. Although it is infectious, modern medical studies have shown that transmission is more difficult than previously thought. Since the 1940s, medical treatments have been available, and the patient no longer needs to be isolated once long-term treatment has begun.

In Jesus’ time, however, religious and social taboos dictated the behavior of those with leprosy and other skin diseases. The Law of Moses provided for the examination of skin diseases by the priests, and if leprosy was identified, the person was declared unclean. People with leprosy lived in isolation from the community. They were instructed to rip their clothes and to announce their presence with loud cries when moving in the community. If the sores of leprosy healed, the Law of Moses provided a purification rite that permitted the person to return to the community.

In today’s Gospel, the man with leprosy took the initiative, approaching Jesus and asking for healing. In doing so, the leper violated the religious customs of the day by approaching a person who was clean. His request to Jesus can be interpreted as a courageous and daring act. The confidence of the leper in Jesus’ ability to heal him is evident in the words of his request. But his words can also be read as a challenge to Jesus, asking just how far Jesus was willing to extend himself in order to heal someone. While healing the man, Jesus touched him, which also violated established social norms. This is an important sign of the depth of Jesus’ compassion for the man and an important statement about Jesus’ interpretation of the Law of Moses.

Although Jesus touched the leper, he did not break completely with the Law of Moses. He instructed the man not to tell anyone about the cure and told him to present himself to the priests as prescribed by the Law of Moses. The first instruction sounds nearly impossible to honor. Certainly, the man would want to share the good news of his healing, and his quick improvement would require an explanation. The second instruction honors the Law of Moses.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that after this healing, it became difficult for Jesus to travel freely. There are several possible explanations for this. There might have been concern about the repercussions of Jesus’ breach of social and religious norms. In touching the man with leprosy, Jesus made himself unclean. Mark’s narrative, however, leads to the conclusion that Jesus’ movement was hampered by his popularity. Despite his instructions, the cured man spread the word about Jesus’ healing power. Even when Jesus was in deserted places, people sought him out in search of his healing.

Taken from Loyola Press. – Sunday Connection

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Discouragement is a normal part of a faithful life.

How resonant are Job’s words for you today? For different times during this pandemic? As Job goes through a season of loss and suffering and waiting, he laments the length of the nights, his weariness, his fear that this suffering will never end. This passage has been provided to us in Scripture as a balm to our weary souls. The Psalm proclaims that God heals the long suffering of the broken-hearted. The Christian community proclaims the resurrection but only after standing at the foot of the cross to witness the suffering of Jesus, our suffering. The promise of healing is intertwined with the knowledge that we are suffering and in despair. Healing comes with time. We have hope in the coming healing only when we acknowledge that Jesus is with us especially in our suffering.

Loving Lord, you have walked with Job through loss and pain, and you have walked the pain of your own suffering and fear at Gethsemane. Be with us as we wait in hurt for your healing. Help us to trust the pain that will eventually deliver your healing. Amen.

Taken form CCCB – Reflection

https://www.cccrs.com/5th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-2/

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Schedule:

10:00 am to 10:30 am	Praying the Holy Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet	Led by different prayer groups
10:30 am to 10:35 am	Deacon Alex	Welcome Note
10:35 am to 11:00 am	Divine Spirit prayer group members	Praise & Worship
11 am to 11:25 am	Fr. Poul Narisetti	Testimony
11:25 am to 11:30 am	Deacon Alex	Closing Prayer with a request for Fr. Poul’s blessing

https://www.cccrs.com/1545-2/