Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Cross, Page 4
Thursday, March 2, 2000
Lenten Journey
(Continued from page 1)
V.F., P. O. Box 4304, Eastman, GA
31023, 912-374-4031; MHSM-
CRAE@juno.com.
A Journey of Reconciliation
The Church ministers reconcilia
tion by extending the forgiveness
received in baptism to those who
have sinned after baptism, through
the Sacrament of Penance or Re
conciliation. Because the faithful
are required to receive communion
at least once a year, during the
Easter season, the celebration of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation during
Lent has long been a traditional act
of purification and preparation for
1 sharing in the Easter mysteries.
I ask all our parishes again this
| year to take a close look at the prac-
j tice of Reconciliation. In every
j parish and mission there are to be
| set times for the celebration of the
jj sacrament on a weekly basis. Even
} if on some occasions no one comes
to confession, the availability of a
priest at stated times cannot help
| but further the regular practice of
confession among the faithful.
Lenten penance services are also
highly recommended for every
! parish and mission. The value of
this sacrament should be the princi
pal topic of at least one homily at
j all Sunday Masses in each parish
during the Lenten season.
A Journey of Pilgrimage
i also encourage the faithful to go
j on a jubilee pilgrimage, which is a
way of incarnating one’s life-long
journey with Christ by traveling to
a sacred place. The diocese is offer-
i ing and encouraging two kinds of
pilgrimage during the jubilee year.
1, Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: I
will lead a pilgrimage to Bethlehem,
Nazareth and Jerusalem from
October 9-19, 2000. (For details,
see page 12.)
2. Pilgrimage sites in the diocese:
I have also designated the following
churches, listed by deanery, as pil-
Operation Rice
Bowl
O peration Rice Bowl is an excel
lent way to celebrate the Lenten
season in your parish or school. This
year is the 25th anniversary of
Operation Rice Bowl. The Diocese of
Savannah increased its contributions
for Operation Rice Bowl in 1 999 by
8.68% over 1998, thanks to all who
have given so generously.
For more information contact
Catholic Relief Services at 209 West
Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD
21201-3443 or call 410-625-
2220.
grimage sites:
Savannah . The Cathedral of Saint
John the Baptist (from reopening in
March: the Undercroft; from
November 29, the reopening of the
Cathedral: the Upper Church); Saint
Benedict the Moor Church; Saint
James Church.
Albany : Old Saint Teresa Church.
Augusta : Church of the Most Holy
Trinity.
Columbus: Holy Family Church.
Macon: Saint Joseph Church.
Statesboro: Saint Mark Church
(Eastman), Saint Matthew Church
(Statesboro).
Valdosta-Brunswick: Nativity of
Our Lady Mission (Darien), Saint
John the Evangelist Church
(Valdosta), Saint Joseph Church
(Way cross).
Catholics who make pilgrimages
to the Holy Land or to the pilgrim
age churches of the diocese may
gain the jubilee indulgence, provid
ed they have made a sacramental
confession, leading to a genuine
conversion of heart, received Holy
Communion and prayed the Creed,
the Our Father, the Hail Mary and
the Glory Be to the Father at the
pilgrimage site for the pope’s inten
tions. Shut-ins unable to go on pil
grimage may gain the indulgence
without traveling, under the same
conditions. Performing certain
works of mercy may also gain the
indulgence.
A Journey Home
Our journey to God is always a
journey home, to the Father who
created us in his image and like
ness. The family, rightly called the
“domestic church,” provides us
with the experience of a commu
nion of persons that at its best
reflects the mutual love of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, Lenten and Jubilee
celebrations in each home are
encouraged. A prayer service for
creating a “sacred space” in each
home, a place set aside for prayer
and reflection, has been distributed
to all the parishes and published in
The Southern Cross (2/10). Whether
our pilgrimage is to Rome, to the
Holy Land or to another pilgrimage
church, within the home or within
the heart, we find that at the end of
the journey, the Lord Jesus is the
open door. He welcomes, he nour
ishes, he forgives, he embraces, he
makes us one of the family. The
door is always open. The clarion
call of the Jubilee is to open wide
the doors of our own hearts in
response, so that Christ may enter
in and make his dwelling there.
A Journey of the Heart
Individuals are urged to refocus
their lives on the centrality of
Christ, the Word made flesh,
through the traditional Lenten disci
plines of fasting, prayer and alms
giving. By participating in these tra
ditional observances during the
forty days of Lent, we prepare our
selves for the fifty days of Easter
joy. The very moderate Catholic
disciplines of fasting and abstinence
are intended to remind us not to
take for granted the sustaining gift
of food that comes to us from our
loving God. (For details, see
below.) We fast from food on Ash
Wednesday and Good Friday and
abstain from meat on these days
and on all the Fridays of Lent, in a
gesture of self-denial. By freeing
ourselves even a little from the
habit of indulging our every appe
tite, our hearts may be opened to
greater love of God and neighbor.
Our love of God is expressed and
made actual primarily by prayer. In
addition to the liturgical prayer of
the community mentioned above,
there is a rich tradition of personal
prayer that during Lent is often
made incarnate by such devotions
as the Stations of the Cross and the
Rosary, particularly when the
Sorrowful Mysteries are the focus
of our meditation.
Our love of neighbor is expressed
primarily by “almsgiving,” a word
that refers to specific acts of charity
toward the poor. Catholic Relief
Services sponsors the annual
“Operation Rice Bowl,” a highly
commendable practice of collecting
the money saved from our Lenten
fasting and abstaining from red
meat and forwarding it to the poor
est of the poor. See below. In the
jubilee spirit of concern for the
poor, the diocese has forgiven seven
poor parishes $76,562 in indebted
ness in order to help them to pro
claim the Gospel more meaningful
ly, without the burden of debts that
absorb the majority of their resour
ces. (For details, see page 1.) The
diocese will also support and re
quest prayers for the forgiveness of
the debts of the world’s poorest
nations, whose impoverishment is
greatly caused by staggering debt
payments to the World Bank, which
results in their people being without
the necessities of life.
By participating in any and all of
these events and programs, we can
incarnate our journey of faith, the
journey towards the Paschal feast of
heaven, to which we have been
invited and summoned by the Lamb
of God: “Blessed are they who are
called to the Supper of the Lamb.”
May the graces of this great sea
son of purification and enlighten
ment be with all of you.
Your friend in Christ,
ishop of Savannah
MONASTIC
EXPERIENCE
Vocation Retreat
An opportunity to explore Benedictine monastic life
March 10-12, 2000
Saint Bernard Abbey, Cullman, Alabama
No cost. No obligation.
For information or registration, contact:
Vocation Director, St. Bernard Abbey,
Cullman, Alabama 35055
Telephone: (256) 734-8291, ext. 144
e-mail: sbavoc@usa.net
Lenten Norms
The following Lenten norms have been set down
by the bishops for American Catholics.
4* The current discipline of the church for Lent mandates that all who
have reached their fourteenth birthday are bound by the law of absti
nence (no meat) on Ash Wednesday, on all Fridays of Lent and on
Good Friday. This year, Bishop Boland has dispensed from the law of
abstinence in the Diocese of Savannah for Friday, March 17, Saint
Patrick's Day.
4* Those between the ages of eighteen and fifty-nine are also bound
by the law of fasting on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. To fast is
to limit oneself to one full meal a day. Two other meatless meals, suffi
cient to maintain strength, may be taken according to each one's
needs, but together these should not equal another full meal. Between
meals, only liquids may be taken.