Extraordinary Year of Mercy #9

Some Special Proposals for the Year

# 24 HOURS FOR THE LORD

The Holy Father has a set of special proposals to make this year of mercy, a true celebration of God's immense mercy and love. One of those concrete proposals is to dedicate an entire 24 hours for the Lord...which is done from March 4th (incidentally today) to March 5th. In Rome, the Holy Father himself will initiate the hour at their local time 17 hours to end in his presence tomorrow at the same 17 hours.

Dubbed as 'the vigil to dry tears', this 24 hours are presented to us by the Holy Father in these words:

          The initiative of “24 Hours for the Lord,” to be celebrated on the Friday and Saturday preceding the Fourth Week of Lent, should be implemented in every diocese. So many people, including young people, are returning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation; through this experience they are rediscovering a path back to the Lord, living a moment of intense prayer and finding meaning in their lives. Let us place the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the centre once more in such a way that it will enable people to touch the grandeur of God’s mercy with their own hands. For every penitent, it will be a source of true interior peace. (in Misericordiae Vultus)

So, we can underline the following three as salient features of this proposal

1. Spending Time with the Lord: Just being there with the Lord and to tell the Lord I am here just to be with you - that is in itself a beautiful moment to feel the consoling presence of the Lord with us.

2. Sacrament of Reconciliation: The whole event is centered around the sacrament of Reconciliaion, a privileged moment to experience the tender loving mercy of God. 

3. Solidarity with the Universal Church: This is not left to individual churches to see the feasibility of arranging it but it is mandatory that every diocese in the world celebrates these 24 hours for the Lord on these very two days. It is a sign and experience of praying as One people of God invoking the mercy of the Lord on the entire humanity!

In front of the Eucharistic Lord let us drink in the Mercy of the Father and experience it concretely at the Confessional today!

MERCILENT 2016 - 4th March

BE LOVING : the typical Christian life style

Friday, 3rd week in Lent

Hos 14: 2-10; Mk 12: 28-34

The twofold love that Jesus speaks of today is a message that we are used to hearing so much - Love of God and love of the neighbour. But what makes the difference here is the first reading which provides a slightly different context in which we read the commandments from the Lord. What is the context: Hosea speaks of returning to the Lord. 

The whole of Lent is a time we reflect on returning to the Lord, repentance and reforming our lives. Jesus seems to suggest, be truly loving and you would have returned to the Lord much faster than you imagined! Loving God and loving neighbours is the Christian lifestyle and it provides the fundamental way to reach the Lord. Here we can make two statements and that will explicate the teaching clearer:

You make all your sacrifices, gives all the alms that you can, spend all the time that you find in prayer and adoration, speak about God and be passionate about your religious duties, but if you do not love your brother and sister, beginning with those in your family- You are far from a truly Christian life.

Instead, you find it so hard to fast or so difficult to mortify yourself, you find it difficult to find even half an hour together to sit in front of the Lord and you find it so difficult to go to Church... but you love your brother or your sister genuinely, with a sincere heart and godly sense...you are so close to the Lord and the Lord's way of life!

The Mercilent Attitude for today: Be loving - in your thought, word and deed, love everyone whom you meet, offering it up to the Lord consciously.