Journeying through Lent

Today marks the beginning of a tremendous journey.  A journey that, as Catholics, should hold profound significance to us.  Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning point, is associated with the ashes placed upon our foreheads at the end of Holy Mass, signifying that we are dust. They are also symbolic of our need for repentance from sin.

As we process forward to receive our ashes, we will hear these or similar words:  "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19) or "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." (Mark 1:15)

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence as mandated by the Church.  We refrain from eating to draw closer to God.  We offer up our fasting as a sacrifice for sins; our sins and the "sins of the whole world" as we remember during the prayer of Divine Mercy.

Ashes were used to express sorrow or deep mourning in Scripture.  When Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites, Scripture tells us that the King of Ninevah, "rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes." -  Jonah 3:6

Daniel, striving to understand the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, says, "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." - Daniel 9:3

The Psalmist, crying out to the Lord, prayed "I eat ashes like bread, mingle my drink with tears." - Psalm 102:10

Fortunately, the Church does not require us to wear sackcloth, but we are asked to fast, pray and repent.

Lent is a somber time; a time of quiet reflection and amendment of purpose.  We must all strive to make the most of these 40 days as 'wilderness' time: we are seeking the Promised Land.  We will arrive, blessed and refreshed, at the Easter Vigil, where with the whole Church, the Communion of Saints, and in the presence of the seraphim and cherubim gathered round,  we will all joyfully proclaim Christ's Resurrection.

May you have a Blessed Lent.  May your meditations, prayers, fasting, and amendment of purpose, be united with the prayers of our Blessed Mother, as she brings us closer and closer to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was first a Catholic, I found this prayer in the Book of Job which spoke deeply to my heart and does so today.  May it speak also to your heart:

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.

I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;

things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

I had heard of you by word of mouth,

but now my eye has seen you.

Therefore, I disown what I have said, 

and repent in dust and ashes.

- Job 42:1-6

Amen.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 Message to Mirjana from our Blessed Mother

"Dear children, with motherly love, today I call you to be a lighthouse to all souls who wander in the darkness of ignorance of God’s love. That you may shine all the brighter and draw all the more souls, do not permit the untruths which come out of your mouth to silence your conscience. Be perfect. I am leading you with my motherly hand – a hand of love. Thank you."

St. Blaise and the Blessings of the Throat

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Blaise, patron saint of throats and other ailments of the head and neck.  Each year in my parish, we process forward to the alter after Holy Mass to receive the "blessing of the throat" in the name of St. Blaise.   I decided to check a little further into the story of this saint and discovered that, much to my delight, he is very much like St. Francis or the Celtic saint, St. Kevin.  Like them, he was honored by the animals in the surrounding area near the cave where St. Blaise lived during the time of Diocletian's persecution of Christians during the 3rd century A.D.  Animals and birds would come to feed from his hand and offered him protection in times of trouble.  Blaise lived as a hermit for many years and then was made Bishop of the Church during the Diocletian persecution. 

Many legends grew up around the figure of St. Blaise, mostly pertaining to persecutions he suffered at the hands of a government prefect who chained St. Blaise in jail for not worshipping the gods of the region (Cappadocia). One story tells of St. Blaise being thrown into a pond which immediately became firm ground under his feet.  He beckoned those who were jeering on the shore to come and walk on the water if they were able.  All jumped in and were immediately drowned.

Perhaps the best known legend of St. Blaise and the one that gives rise to the "blessings of the throat" comes from the story of a woman who son was choking on a fish bone.  She summoned Bishop Blaise and asked him to heal her son.  Bishop Blaise laid hands on the boy, prayed that he would be healed and he immediately was. Thereafter, his name has been invoked for throat troubles.  Ironically, I suppose, St. Blaise was beheaded in or around the year 283.

As a person who suffers from asthma and other respiratory issues, I guess I have a fondness for St. Blaise. I look forward to the "blessings of the throat" each February and pray that by his intercession, I will find comfort and relief from my asthma.  It is so good to know that the Lord has given us saints to intercede for us in all manner of problems and difficulties; some with such specific intentions as St. Blaise.

If you have a chance to receive a "blessing of the throat" this weekend at your parish, remember these stories and ask St. Blaise for a special intercession for someone you may know who needs healing and deliverance.

If you want to know more about St. Blaise or any other Saint, you can find much in the two volume work of Jacobus de Voragine entitled The Golden Legend, published by Princeton University Press.