St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
Easter Sunday features a message by Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
Palm Sunday features a message by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
The Fifth Sunday of Lent features a message by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
The Fourth Sunday of Lent features a message by Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
The Third Sunday of Lent features a message by Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
The Second Sunday of Lent features a message by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem.
Some authors say that the word “Lent” is derived from the word “lengthen.” Seasonally, this means that the days are getting longer, that they are lengthening. We are heading toward spring.
Environmentally, in the Church year, this is the time for spring house cleaning. Getting rid of all that is not necessary. Putting out of sight those things that might distract us from the task at hand.
Some authors refer to Lent as the “desert experience.” A desert is a barren, dry, quiet place. One only hears the whisper of the wind and the shifting of sand. The days are hot by day and cold at night. Most Lenten days are cloudless with a myriad of stars at night—a cosmic fast and feast. It’s a time of deprivation and promise—a reminder of death and the promise of new life.
Lent, like all the seasons of the year—and much like life itself—is a paradox. A balancing of opposites. That’s why I say it’s time for spring cleaning. It’s time to create an atmosphere that’s conducive to solitude, contemplation, and memories.
Fr. John Buscemi, an artist and liturgical space consultant, writes that Lent is built on images of ashes, thirst, emptiness, and promise. Memories can help us unlock this power. But memories require solitude—an aloneness beyond loneliness. And solitude is necessary for creativity, reflection, and understanding.
… A cosmic fast and feast. It’s a time of deprivation and promise—a reminder of death and the promise of new life.
—Fr. Stephen Rossey, O. Praem.
Ash Wednesday
I like to think of Ash Wednesday as a memento mori—a reminder of death. Our American culture does not like reminders of death and I think that is sad. Death is the counterpart of the paradox of life. We don’t have one without the other. “Unless the grain of wheat falls to ground and dies—it cannot live.”
Reminders of our mortality are good for us. They keep us thinking straight and value orientated. That is what Ash Wednesday is all about—last year’s palms, from the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Passion Sunday becoming this year’s ashes—a reminder of the life/death cycle.
The imposition of ashes in the form of a big, bold cross on our foreheads is a reminder to all that “we are dust and to dust we shall return.” Medieval artists depicted this reality on their tomb engravings. They often pictured a skeleton speaking to the viewer: “What you are, I once was. What I am, you will become.” The acrid smell of burnt fronds reminds us of our own decomposition and of this reality.
The St. Norbert Abbey thurible offers a fragrant sacrifice of praise.
Smell
The purpose of the use of incense during Lent is to carry prayer heavenwards, and in this sense it is a symbol of the priestly office. Incense, with its sweet-smelling perfume and high-ascending smoke, is typical of the good Christian’s prayer, which, enkindled in the heart by the fire of God’s love and exhaling the odor of Christ, rises up a pleasing offering in His sight (cf. Amalarius, De eccles. officiis in P.L., CV).
Fr. James Baraniak, O. Praem.
Color
Purple is the liturgical color of the Lenten season. The color purple is often a symbol for royalty, wealth, or status. In the Gospel of Mark (Mark 15:16), Roman soldiers clothed Jesus in purple before scourging him and crucifying him. In this sense, they were mocking his supposed royalty. Although they were clearly doing this as a mockery it’s also a bit ironic since Jesus was, in fact, royalty.
Sacrament of the Sick
Sacrament of the Sick
The Sacrament of the Sick is frequently celebrated during the season of Lent, especially for oneself or for those who are dear to us. In the anointing ceremony myrrh is used in the blessed oil. Myrrh is the gum or viscid white liquid that flows from the acacia tree, found in Africa and Arabia. It was a custom of the Jews to give it to those who were condemned to death by crucifixion. Myrrh is commonly interpreted as symbolizing kingship, due to its use as an anointing oil, or death, due to its use as an embalming oil. Its perfume will quiet one’s anxiety and impart calmness.
Fasting, abstinence, and almsgiving are long-standing traditions, as well as the practice of the corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy, which Pope Francis so enthusiastically encourages.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
The First Sunday of Lent features a message by Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem.
St. Norbert Abbey presents “Restless Hearts Returning to God”—a series of Lenten video reflections by Fr. Tim Shillcox, O. Praem., Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem., and Fr. Michael Brennan, O. Praem.
Ash Wednesday features a message by Fr. Bradley Vanden Branden, O. Praem.
Gaudete Sunday is the period in Advent in which we rejoice! We celebrate Christian joy in giving thanks and praise to all that God does for us. The reading from Isaiah this Sunday reminds us of our baptism. In our baptism we share in Christ’s redemptive action as priest, prophet, and king. The prophet proclaims, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners” (Is 61:1). In this opening verse we hear the prophetic author being described as one who possesses God’s spirit, who has been anointed as God’s own, and who has been sent by God to proclaim God’s word. We too, by virtue of our baptism, share in this call to assist in God’s saving work.
As a part of my formation I had the opportunity to minister as a hospital chaplain. One morning I had the opportunity to serve in the pediatric unit, offering pre-surgery prayer to patients. A conversation I had with one of the patients in the pre-surgery unit was a young girl between eight and eleven years of age. She said that she was “really nervous” about her upcoming surgery; however, after we prayed together the first words out of her mouth after saying “Amen” were, “I feel a whole lot better.” What a powerful experience! This little girl has faith. She has been gifted with the grace of trust—trust in our God who cares for the oppressed. To trust in our God’s hesed, that loyal, selfless love which binds God’s self to us. Surely, I was not the cause of this great faith, but like the prophet Isaiah—through my baptism—I was filled with the Spirit, anointed as God’s own, and was sent to proclaim God’s good news (Is 61:1). This pre-surgery prayer was an experience of freedom, of God loosening the bonds of this young girl so that she could be freed from all anxiety, despair, and doubt, and elevated to a state of newness, hope, and trust in God.
Recalling the promises that we made, or were made for us in our baptism, let us invite God to strengthen our faith, to share in Christ’s ministry as priest, prophet, and king—to serve God in holiness, to preach justice, and to lead people to God.
—Frater Jordan Neeck, O. Praem.
This freedom is not ours to give, but is given by God. Isaiah states in his mission that he is to, “Announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God” (Is 61:2). But what does this mean?! In the Jewish tradition the “Year of Jubilee” occurred every fiftieth year and during this year emancipation and economic restructuring occurred. Slaves were freed from their bondage and debtors from their debt. The celebration of the “Year of Jubilee” served as a symbol of a new era, a new beginning for those who have been disadvantaged.[1] We should keep in mind, however, that while this release of debt and slavery was meant to be carried out by people, it was ultimately God who gave the people everything, including freedom from the slavery of their enemies (i.e. Egypt in the Book of Exodus).
Isaiah proclaims, “I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice” (Is 61:10). Similar to the Israelites, we praise our God who frees us from the bondages of sin and slavery. If we learn to acclaim “Amen” and trust in God’s hesed, we too begin rejoicing for the grace God has given us. To be free of all debt and slavery truly brings in a new era, and in the midst of the darkness, a new light shines forth like a “bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with jewels” (Is 61:10). When we accept this grace, God places a robe of salvation and justice on us, to be God’s messengers to others, sharing and expressing God’s hesed to our world. Like a wedding, new life is meant to shine forth.
“As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations” (Is 61:11). Isaiah offers us an image of a hopeful future. He offers us God’s intentions, a new world in which all will live in justice and praise. But are we willing to permit the seed to be planted, to allow new life to sprout and grow? Often, it is our own wills that get in the way of preventing new life. Are we willing to let go of our own wills to serve God’s will?
In the hospital environment I generally found that it was the children who did the best of “letting go” of those things which prevented them from trusting and allowing God into their hearts. On the other hand, overall, the most challenging individuals in the hospital were the grown men, who found it difficult to trust in God and God’s hesed—God’s loyal love. Perhaps the grown men found the hospital environment difficult because they have always been in control of their lives. Now, being ill and stuck in a hospital, they recognized that they no longer had control; all they could do was trust others to help.
Often we do not like to admit that we are not in control. We try to control our destiny and our lives, but when faced with such a thing as our own mortality, we begin to recognize that we have no control over our own lives. It is children. Children are the ones who know how to trust. They trust their parents and their guardians. They rely so much on the care of others that it is the children who truly understand what it means to trust in God’s hesed—to know that God is always with them, always loving them.
If we wish for faith, if we wish for trust in God’s hesed, let us be open to the possibility of being more like children; to be open to a world flipped upside down. As we rejoice this day, Gaudete Sunday, let us recall the freedom God has granted us from our sins, so that we may have newness of life. Recalling the promises that we made, or were made for us in our baptism, let us invite God to strengthen our faith, to share in Christ’s ministry as priest, prophet, and king—to serve God in holiness, to preach justice, and to lead people to God.
[1] John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66, Vol 25, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville: Word Inc., 1984), 303.
