Blessed Lent

Tuesday of Holy Week 2013

Last Supper Shrine St. Emma Monastery



It is a little cold out so bring your coats and blankets to the Feast of the Last Supper.
Join me in this wonderful expression of my love for you.

~Jesus

First Sunday of Lent First Vespers

READING 2 Corinthians 6:1-4a

We beg you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In an acceptable time I have heard you; on a day of salvation I have helped you.” Now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation! We avoid giving anyone offense, so that our ministry may not be blamed. On the contrary, in all that we do we strive to present ourselves as ministers of God.

Luke 1:46-55

The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now,

and will be for ever. Amen.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us give glory to Christ the Lord, who became our teacher and example and our brother. Let us pray to him, saying:

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

Lord Jesus, you became like us in all things but sin; teach us how to share with others their joy and sorrow,

that our love may grow deeper every day.

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

Help us to feed you in feeding the hungry,

and to give you drink in giving drink to the thirsty.

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

You raised Lazarus from the sleep of death,

grant that those who have died the death of sin may rise again through faith and repentance.

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

Inspire many to follow you with greater zeal and perfection,

through the example of the blessed Virgin Mary and the saints.

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

Let the dead rise in your glory,

to enjoy your love for ever.

– Lord, fill your people with your life.

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth,

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

Grant, almighty God,

through the yearly observances of holy Lent,

that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ

and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

– Amen.

Ash Wed. in the Monastery 2013

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.

What a wonderful way to look at life. We were made by God and we will return to God.
We have a practice of taking an inventory of our cells, on Ash Wed. This allows us to clear out what we don't need and what has accumulated over the years. Having moved around a lot growing up, I never have stayed in one place for longer than 4 years.now I have been in the same room for 11 years. I never thought that things could multiply so fast...  
Doing this helps us also to take inventory of our interior life.

How are we going to grow closer to Christ this Lent. 

O Sacred Head, Surrounded

O Sacred Head, surrounded
by crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
reviled and put to scorn!
Our sins have marred the glory
of Thy most Holy Face,
yet angel hosts adore Thee
and tremble as they gaze

I see Thy strength and vigor
all fading in the strife,
and death with cruel rigor,
bereaving Thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Thy face on me.

In this Thy bitter passion,
Good Shepherd, think of me
with Thy most sweet compassion,
unworthy though I be:
beneath Thy cross abiding
for ever would I rest,
in Thy dear love confiding,
and with Thy presence blest.

But death too is my ending;
In that dread hour of need,
My friendless cause befriending,
Lord, to my rescue speed:
Thyself, O Jesus, trace me,
Right passage to the grave,
And from Thy cross embrace me,
With arms outstretched to save.

Translated by Henry W. Baker.

Text ascribed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153)

A Lenten Prayer for Spiritual Renewal

God, heavenly Father,
look upon me and hear my prayer
during this holy Season of Lent.
By the good works You inspire,
help me to discipline my body
and to be renewed in spirit.

Without You I can do nothing.
By Your Spirit help me to know what is right
and to be eager in doing Your will.
Teach me to find new life through penance.
Keep me from sin, and help me live
by Your commandment of love.
God of love, bring me back to You.
Send Your Spirit to make me strong
in faith and active in good works.
May my acts of penance bring me Your forgiveness,
open my heart to Your love,
and prepare me for the coming feast
of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Lord, during this Lenten Season,
nourish me with Your Word of life
and make me one
with You in love and prayer.

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

Father, our source of life,
I reach out with joy to grasp Your hand;
let me walk more readily in Your ways.
Guide me in Your gentle mercy,
for left to myself I cannot do Your Will.

Father of love, source of all blessings,
help me to pass from my old life of sin
to the new life of grace.
Prepare me for the glory of Your Kingdom.
I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.

Amen.

At the Cross Her Station Keeping

At the cross, her station keeping,
Stood the mournful mother weeping,
Where He hung, the dying Lord;
For her soul of joy bereaved,
Bowed with anguish, deeply grieved,
Felt the sharp and piercing sword.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Now was she, that mother blessed
Of the sole begotten One;
Deep the woe of her affliction,
When she saw the crucifixion
Of her ever glorious Son.

Who, on Christ’s dear mother gazing
Pierced by anguish so amazing
Born of woman, would not weep?
Who, on Christ’s dear mother thinking
Such a cup of sorrow drinking
Would not share her sorrows deep?

For His people’s sins chastised,
She beheld her Son despised,
Scourged, and crowned with thorns entwined;
Saw Him then from judgment taken,
And in death by all forsaken,
Till His Spirit He resigned.

Jesu, may her deep devotion
Stir in me the same emotion,
Fount of love, Redeemer kind,
That my heart fresh ardor gaining,
And a purer love attaining,
May with Thee acceptance find.

I Kiss the Wounds...



I kiss the wound on Your Sacred Head,
With sorrow deep and true;
May every thought of mine today
Be a thousand acts of love for You,
Of love for You, dear Lord.

I kiss the wound on Your Sacred Shoulder,
With sorrow deep and true;
May every cross I bear today,
Be a thousand acts of love for You,
Of love for You, dear Lord.

I kiss the wounds on Your Sacred Hands,
With sorrow deep and true;
May every task I do today,
Be a thousand acts of love for You,
Of love for You, dear Lord.

I kiss the wounds on Your Sacred Feet,
With sorrow deep and true,
May every step I take today,
Be a thousand acts of love for You,
Of love for You, dear Lord.

I kiss the wounds in Your Sacred Heart,
With sorrow deep and true;
May every beat of my heart today,
Be a million acts of love for You,
Of love for You, dear Lord.

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten journey...

O God, who are moved by acts of humility

and respond with forgiveness to works of penance,

lend your merciful ear to our prayers

and in you kindness pour out the grace of your blessing

on your servants who are marked with these ashes,

that, as they follow the Lenten observances,

they may be worth to come with minds made pure

to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of your Son.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Observance of Lent

In our monastery, we follow the practice St. Benedict puts forth in Chapter 49 of his Holy Rule.  He tells the monk that whatever he desires to "add to the usual manner of service" during the season of Lent should only be undertaken with the permission and approval of the abbot.  On Ash Wednesday, each nun individually submits her Lenten resolutions to our Prioress, Mother Mary Anne for her blessing and approval.  Our Lenten resolutions include prayer, renunciation, and reading. 

Our resolutions are not common knowledge, but rather kept private following Christ's teaching in Matthew 6:16-18 (your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.) 

The reading that are part of our resolutions comes from the Chapter 48 of the Holy Rule where St. Benedict states "During this time of Lent each one is to receive a book from the library, and is to read the whole of it straight through."  While for St. Benedict's monks, this often was a book of scripture, today it encompasses a wide range of books on monasticism and spirituality.

Yes, there are things that we do for Lent as a community, probably the one that we all gain the most from is our weekly sharing on scripture.  Not only does it allow for sharing but also many times gives us a different insight both of the Sister and of the scripture itself.