What would you do if you were forced to relive the same day over and over again? In this offbeat, romantic comedy, Phil Connors, an unhappy weatherman, is forced to relive groundhog day discovering that the way of conversion is to learn to be more loving, more giving, and more honest. The film stars Bill Murray and Andie McDowell.
Come and experience how contemporary film can be a source for prayer and reflection this Lent.
February 16, 2010 in Community life, Faith formation, Film, Prayer and spirituality | Permalink
February 16, 2010 in Community life, Faith formation | Permalink
February 16, 2010 in Prayer and spirituality | Permalink
Instead of doing an all-nighter studying for an exam or finishing a paper, why not begin your Lent by staying up with Jesus Christ.
The Chapel will be open all night for private adoration and prayer while downstairs in the Newman Student Lounge we will have conversations about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, a meal, and movies to nourish our celebration of Lent.
Come and pray with us for guidance, insight, and peace as we begin this season of conversion.
Schedule
7:00 pm- Liturgy and distribution of ashes
8:00 pm-6:00 am- Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and private prayer in the chapel
8:00 pm-8:45 pm- conversation on prayer in the lounge
9:00 pm-9:45 pm- conversation on fasting in the lounge
10:00 pm-10:45 pm- conversation on almsgiving in the lounge
11:00 pm-6:00 am- movies in the lounge.
6:30 am-7:30 am- breakfast
8:00 am- liturgy
February 16, 2010 in Announcements, Liturgy, Prayer and spirituality, Worship | Permalink
The liturgical season of Lent has its origins in the ancient Church's preparation of the catechumenate for baptism at the Easter Vigil. Since Vatican II and the renewal of the catechumenate, the Church has reemphasized Lent's ancient connection to baptism and new life.
In baptism, we go down into the waters with Christ in order to rise again with Christ, to come out of the water cleansed, re-born, redeemed, changed. We die with Christ in order to live with Christ. These forty day of Lent (We don't count Sundays because Sunday is always a little Easter, a celebration of the resurrection.) are an opportunity each year to live in a more intentional way our baptismal call to conversion and to profoundly experience the possibility of redemption. It is an opportunity to be born again.
Perhaps if we remember that the word Lent means springtime, we can better understand and experience Lent's connection to baptism and new life. Spring is a season of hope and anticipation, the passing of the dreariness of winter. With the first warm day, we throw off our winter coats and walk the campus free and unburdened. By living Lent with baptism in mind, by practicing the three pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we make our way to the springtime and joy of Easter.
Though not a holy day of obligation, most Catholics will make their way to church this day to be marked with a cross of ashes. The ashes remind us of our own mortality and the need for repentance but they also in a profound way illustrate that our conversion is worked out here in the messiness of this world.
Prayer at its basic level is the paying attention to the movement of God in our hearts and in our world. It is recognizing the love of God stirring within us the desire to move beyond ourselves to a loving communion with God and others. Lent is an excellent opportunity to recommit yourself to prayer. Here our some ways Holy Trinity can help you pray this Lent:
Attend daily Mass: We gather for liturgy Monday-Thursday at 12:15pm.
Busy Person's Retreat-Go on retreat without packing a suitcase! You will meet with a spiritual companion once a week and commit to 15 minutes of daily prayer.
Join MOCHA for faith-sharing: Every Tuesday at 8:00pm, we pray and reflect upon the upcoming Sunday's readings.
Reflect upon the Paschal Mystery: The community will pray the Stations of the Cross each Friday at 7:00pm during Lent.
Use the Little Black Book: The Little Black Book is an excellent resource to help you incorporate prayer into your daily routine. It asks you to find just six minutes of quiet reflection a day and it gives you scripture readings and meditations to help focus your prayer. You can pick one up in the atrium of the John XXIII Campus Center at Holy Trinity.
Make a retreat: Our undergraduate student retreat is March 19-21.
Discernment of Spirits with Fr. Phil: Fr. Phil will once again lead the community in reflecting upon Ignatian spirituality every Monday evening at 7:00 pm.
Taize prayer: Join us March 31st for this unique service of candlelight prayer, meditation, and song.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline where we traditionally forgo food for a proscribed period of time. We make ourselves hungry so that rather than reaching for food to feed that hunger we allow God to feed us. Fasting is never an end in itself but should always lead us towards God.
What do you normally reach for when you are bored or lonely or distracted from God? It might not be food but something else. This is what you can fast from this Lent.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the only days that adult Catholics (18-60) are obligated to fast and abstain. This means we only eat one full meal and two smaller snacks plus abstain from all meat. Those who are sick, pregnant women, and the elderly are not obligated to fast. Though we are only obligated to abstain from meat during the Fridays of Lent, the Church encourages us to practice this spiritual discipline throughout the year.
Here are some other suggestions for fasting this Lent:
The Church has always encouraged us to practice the corporal works of mercy (feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, visiting the sick, sheltering the homeless, and burying the dead) as a way to proclaim God's kingdom of love, justice, and peace. By giving alms, we pay attention to God and our reminded of our dependence on God's goodness. But almsgiving must move beyond the act of writing a check or dropping a dollar bill in the collection basket and lead us to being in relationship with those who are suffering.
Here are some suggestions for almsgiving this Lent:
Lenten resources from the American bishops
Creighton University: Creighton's On-line Ministries are an excellent source of prayers, reflections, and readings to help you make a meaningful Lent.
American Catholic: St. Anthony Messenger Press provides many resources to help you celebrate the season of Lent.
Busted Halo: They have a relevant and inspiring Fast, Pray, Give Calendar to help you practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Visit it each day for helpful suggestions in how to be renewed this Lent.
February 15, 2010 in Announcements, Prayer and spirituality, Worship | Permalink
February 17-April 8
January 31, 2010 in Announcements, Prayer and spirituality | Permalink
Rachel Thelen, the director of 1Cup, will share how you can put your faith into action this summer right here in Ypsilanti through this new and exciting volunteer program.
January 31, 2010 in Announcements, Catholic Social Teaching, Service | Permalink
January 31, 2010 in Announcements, Community life | Permalink
Share how Sunday's gospel is alive in your heart with other college students at our faith-sharing group.
January 31, 2010 in Announcements, Prayer and spirituality | Permalink
Listen to a diverse group of speakers share why they are Catholic and how they live their faith in the relaxed setting of our student lounge. We hope that this will be an ongoing series which will bring a wide variety of people to campus and offer you unique perspectives on being Catholic.
January 20, 2010 in Announcements, Community life, Faith formation | Permalink