3 minute read
Prepare Your Heart this Lent: A Time of Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving
Lent is an important time in the Catholic liturgical year. It’s a time of repentance, where we abstain from certain luxuries. Most of us are familiar with abstaining from meat on the Fridays of Lent, but there is much more we can and should do to prepare for the resurrection of our Lord on Easter. We should take the time to reflect on and renew our baptismal promises so we can be in communion with those in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process, who will receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter.
As we enter these 40 days of Lent, Fr. Don Buhrman invites us to consider how we might grow in our faith and closeness to the Lord. He’s hoping that in 2022, parishioners will gather a group and start their own study on a topic that interests the group. Our St. Leo’s staff are here to support this effort. Additionally, the FORMED online platform offers many great programs for studying a wide range of faith-based topics.
Advertisement
“It’s good and important for people to gather in community to study the faith,” Fr. Don says. “We want parishioners to consider starting small groups to make 2022 a great year in faith development.”
Not only is this an opportunity to grow in faith, but parishioners can grow in friendship, as well.
Fr. Don also invites parishioners to join the Thursday morning Bible study group that meets after 9 a.m. Mass. The men’s group, Brothers in Christ, gathers each Friday at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast, followed by the meeting from 6 to 7 a.m.
You may also consider watching The Chosen series to learn more about Christ’s life. Fr. Don says the program puts a face to the people in the Bible. The series is presented with a bit of humor, too.
“The Chosen makes the stories from Jesus’ life come alive,” Fr. Don says. “It shows how the people around Jesus looked and acted.”
If you have never attended Eucharistic Adoration, now is the time to start! Extra hours of adoration will be added in the weeks leading up to Easter. In addition, Abide Adoration takes place at 7 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of the month from September to May. Abide is an hour of adoration, song, and meditation. And from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Friday of the month, there is adoration, with benediction at 1 p.m.
“Take an opportunity to attend adoration,” Fr. Don says. “Lives have been changed through adoration.”
Everyone should plan to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter. There will be a Penance Service at 7 p.m. on April 11. The other Catholic Churches in Grand Island all have a service that same week.
“We want to go into Easter pure, so we can truly celebrate the resurrected Lord,” Fr. Don says. “When you receive the grace of forgiveness, you have oneness with God in an intimate way.”
