Taizé Prayer Service with Opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation – Wednesday March 29 at 7:00pm at St. John

Taizé Prayer Service with Opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation – Wednesday March 29 at 7:00pm at St. John

Taizé is an ecumenical monastic order in Burgundy, France, with a strong devotion to peace and reconciliation through prayer, meditation, and song.

The repetitive sung simple prayers draw you deeply into communion with the Holy Spirit and allows the clutter of your thoughts to subside. Holy Scripture and silence are interwoven in the experience in order for worshipers to be attentive to God’s voice. There will be opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation throughout.

There can be no better way to prepare for Holy Week than to approach it full of God’s abundant grace.

Fourth Week of Lent: The Fifth Word – “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Fourth Week of Lent: The Fifth Word – “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Here are some thoughts and questions for your consideration this week:

Try to set aside fifteen minutes. Distractions in prayer are as normal and ordinary as they are in any relationship. Don’t get discouraged.

Read the selection from Luke 23:39-43 above. Try to imagine that scene, putting yourself at the foot of the cross. 

Recall how your own attitude toward suffering or toward a difficult situation has either helped or hindered you.

In the Hail Mary, we ask her to intercede for us “now and at the hour of our death.” Does that particular line hold much meaning for you? 

Reflect on the love that Jesus has for us, that love that invites us to be with him…

“Ukraine: War, Morality, and Religion” – A Lenten Lecture with Fr. Bryan Hehir on Monday, March 27 at 7:30pm at St. John Powers Hall

“Ukraine: War, Morality, and Religion” – A Lenten Lecture with Fr. Bryan Hehir on Monday, March 27 at 7:30pm at St. John Powers Hall

(Please note the new date – Monday, March 27.)

Please join us Monday evening, March 27 for this important lecture with Fr. Bryan Hehir on the current situation in Ukraine.

This lecture is especially timely in light of our Lenten Gift supporting City of Goodness in their work to shelter and care for displaced women with children, orphans, and elderly people from all over Ukraine. 

Please note: Fr. Hehir’s lecture will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person: https://sjspwellesley.org/sj/live/

NEW DATE: Tuesday, March 21 – Evening for Women: “Stations of the Cross through Mary’s Eyes” at St. John

NEW DATE: Tuesday, March 21 – Evening for Women: “Stations of the Cross through Mary’s Eyes” at St. John

All women of the Collaborative are cordially invited to a Lenten program on Tuesday, March 21 at 6:00pm at St. John the Evangelist Church.  Our program will begin in the Upper Church,  where we will walk the Stations of the Cross through Mary’s eyes.

Following the Stations, Kelly Meraw will offer a short Lenten reflection.  (The Stations and Reflection will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person: sjspwellesley.org/sj/live/)

After the program, we will share a pot-luck dinner downstairs in Powers Hall.  Please plan to bring a dish to share and RSVP by clicking here: sjspwellesley.org/evening-for-women/

Third Week of Lent: The Fourth Word – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Third Week of Lent: The Fourth Word – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Seeing the suffering Jesus and hearing how he prayed helps us to pray our way through our own sufferings. We realize again that he really entered into our human living and took on our heartaches and our pain.

Some questions to bring to prayer this week include: 

As you imagine this gospel scene, can you enter into conversation with Jesus about his suffering? 

Do you have your own experiences of feeling abandoned by God? How did/does it feel? How did/do you relate to God in those situations?

Pray for those who feel abandoned: spouses and children who have been deserted, the mentally ill and homeless who are uncared for, those who cling to ideals when others have folded to pressure.

Pray in gratitude for your faith- although it may seem weak at times- and for the faith of the community that sustains you in the midst of suffering…

Second Week of Lent: The Third Word – “Woman, here is your son. Here is your mother.”

Second Week of Lent: The Third Word – “Woman, here is your son. Here is your mother.”

Of all of the phrases uttered by our dying Lord, there are none so tender as these spoken to his mother and to his beloved disciple. This gesture seemed so important to Jesus that it seemed as if it had loomed as the last piece of unfinished business of his earthly life.

Some questions to bring to prayer this week include: 

How might this scene help you to care for the people whom you love in your life?

Do you feel free to ask others for help? Are there certain circumstances or certain people that make it easier or more difficult to ask?

How does this gospel scene impress you as an adult child? How does it touch you as a parent? Watch the news, read the paper, and recognize the faces of other parents who suffer because of their children’s suffering. Pray for them.
 

First Week of Lent: The Second Word – “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

First Week of Lent: The Second Word – “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Can you recall a hurt that has taken hold of you, one that you can’t seem to let go? Have you noticed how it can drain your energy and attention? How it can turn you into the sort of person that you really don’t want to be? As you mediate on the words of Jesus this week, consider how he invites you to follow his example.

Here are some thoughts and questions for your consideration during this week:

Imagine this gospel scene. Speak to Jesus about his forgiveness for those who have hurt him.

How does this prayer of Jesus influence the way in which Jesus dies?

The Week of Ash Wednesday: The First Word – “I Am Thirsty.”

The Week of Ash Wednesday: The First Word – “I Am Thirsty.”

For what do you thirst? Can you be attentive to the words of Jesus as they reveal your own thirst?

Here are some thoughts and questions for your consideration during this week:

Recall your own experiences of thirst. How do they help you to relate to this scene of Jesus on the cross? In your prayer, express to him how you feel.

Consider the people around the world who suffer because of the poor quality or the inadequate supply of water. Remember them to Jesus in prayer. Imagine the face of Jesus.

For what do you thirst this Lenten season? Can you name it? Can you ask for it? How is Jesus the living water for you?

“Seven Last Words for Seven Weeks: Praying with Jesus on the Cross” with Sister Mary Sweeney, SC

“Seven Last Words for Seven Weeks: Praying with Jesus on the Cross” with Sister Mary Sweeney, SC

This Lent we are invited to truly walk with Jesus and journey through the Gospels as we pray simply over one phrase each week spoken by our dying Lord. 

The “Seven Last Words” that Jesus spoke from the cross are not really words, but sentences. No single Gospel account contains all seven last sentences; rather, they are compiled from the four Gospels and they capture the experience of the dying Jesus.

All groups will be facilitated by the author, Sr. Mary Sweeney, SC

Thursday Evenings – Beginning February 16 at 7:00pm on ZOOM

Friday Mornings  – Beginning February 17 at 9:30am at the St. Paul Rectory

Privately – Beginning February 19 Meditate on the seven last words each week in a dedicated section of our Lenten bulletins and on our website.

To learn more and register…

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