At the Last Supper Jesus told His disciples that they would abandon Him in His hour of need. Then He turned to Peter and said, “I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 22:32). He knew Peter would need God’s help after he denied knowing Jesus. In the Letter to the Hebrews (7:25) we read that he “lives forever to make intercession” for each of us. We Catholics were taught at an early age to ask Mary to “pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.” We believe that the Virgin Mary has a special intercessory role in heaven. She sees the challenges, wounds and needs of her children and continually prays for them, like any good mother she comforts us when we pray for our loved ones, reassuring us that she is with us. Jesus promised that if we ask, we will receive. He promised that if we are persistent in our prayer, we will see God act. He promises that He will join with us along with His mother in praying for all the needs and concerns that we bring to Him for we are never alone in our prayers.
People often ask why do some of my prayers go unanswered? This is one of the mysteries of our faith. We know that Jesus loves us and never wants to see any of us suffer but we don’t always see our prayers answered. Perhaps the best answer we can offer is that God does answer our prayers but we don’t always know how and when. Given our inability to understand fully the mind of God, the only way we can keep moving forward in our faith is by being persistent. The only way forward is to believe that God will answer our prayers according to His wisdom and in His time. Think of the people you know who are hurting, whether physically or spiritually; think of one or two situations in the world that need your attention – perhaps the unrest in the Middle East, the scourge of abortion; the famine in Central Africa; the poverty in Latin America – and add them to your everyday Lenten prayer list. Maybe on Easter Sunday God will give us a special answer to one of our most deeply held prayers for someone on our list.
During Lent you are encouraged to build on your own personal faith journey through daily Mass; scripture reading and reflection; daily meditation and examination of conscience; praying the rosary; visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Tuesday Adoration from 1-5p.m.); Stations of the Cross; fasting and a sacrificial offering to Share Lent.
OUR LENTEN SCHEDULE
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday Mass at 7:30a.m.
Tuesday and Thursday Mass at 12:10p.m.
Friday at 7p.m. – Station of the Cross followed by Mass