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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.