How’s your Lent? Keep falling short? Now is the time to double down. Go back to your promises and make them count for the next two weeks. Offer your sufferings and cooperate with those graces. God will reward you!
“Jesus, eternal God, became mortal man in order to mediate our redemption, to form a new people that would be His Mystical Self, and to bring all men into an eternal union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There can be no living of Christ without living the price of mediation for souls. That price may vary, from mere fidelity in the performance of monotonous duty, to bearing with loneliness and misunderstanding, or even to suffering violence and death. Sin continues, and therefore suffering for sin must continue. Since Christians share Christ’s priesthood through Baptism and Confirmation, His passion becomes their passion, for an “eternal inheritance.””
INTROIT(Ps. 42:1-2) Do me justice, O God, and fight against a faithless people; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me. For You, O God, are my strength. Ps. 42:3. Send forth Your light and Your truth; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place.
COLLECT: O Almighty God, look with mercy upon Your family. Guide and guard us in body and soul by Your bounteous grace and protection.
GRADUAL (Ps. 142:9, 10; 17:48-49) Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord. Teach me to do Your will. O Lord, who preserved me from the wrathful nations, You will exalt me above my adversaries,You will rescue me from the man of violence.
TRACT (Ps. 128:1-4) Often they have fought against me from my youth.
Let Israel now say, “Often have they fought against me from my youth.
Yet they could not prevail over me. The wicked have furrowed my back.
They have continued their iniquity, but the Lord, who is just, will humble the pride of the sinners.”
https://tridentine-mass.blogspot.com/2023/03/passion-sunday.html
Thank you for encouragement.
I love the tradition of covering the statues. It’s an invitation to focus on what we cannot see, the mystery of our faith, hidden from our eyes, but visible to the eyes of the soul. I pray to be closer to the Lord at the end of this Lent than I have ever been before. Am I accomplishing that? By the grace of God if I do. I’ve been reading a little pamphlet about Padre Pio’s Mass that makes me see more clearly the sacrifice of Calvary. What a great saint of the Passion!
Indeed! I read your post this morning.
This morning at Mass, Father pointed out in the homily that the tradition of covering the statues begins on Passion Sunday because of the ending of today’s Gospel (John 8:59) – “but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.” He also suggested we spend time during the next two weeks reflecting on the words of the hymn Vexilla Regis. I started that journey and have found a variety of versions, a worthy subject for pondering the next two weeks.
Are you not fasting if you are not hungry all the time?
In the morning I have fruit, coffee, in the afternoon a meal, and before bed a glass of milk. Depending on the meal I have I am super hungry the next morning or I just don’t feel hungry the rest of the day. I tried a super strict fast at the beginning of Lent but it was too strict, but now I am not hungry all the time I feel guilty.