Lent is a good time to review our prayer life. How well are we praying? Do we keep God in mind even during our every day tasks? Prayer is essential; it is the lifting up of our hearts and minds to God. The greatest prayer that can be said is the Holy Mass. Christ is both Victim and Priest in every Mass. It is the perfect Sacrifice. Immeasurable graces and benefits flow from the Mass. The only thing that impedes its full effect is ourselves. The Mass is effective, but not everyone is as receptive to its effects as much as they can be.
So, daily Mass is a beautiful way to advance spiritually this Lent. There is also the Rosary. It is very powerful because Christ is the center. We meditate on the Mysteries as we say the Hail Marys. The Rosary along with our Lady’s intercession draw us deeper into life of her Son and give a greater understanding of the Redemption.
We cannot leave out the Stations of the Cross. As we pray and accompany our Lord along the Way of his Passion, we are opened to the love of God more and more. It is not pleasant to meditate on this prayer, but it bears much spiritual fruit. It helps us to see the redemptive value of suffering. We do not look for suffering. When we must undergo it and offer it to God, we are participating in Christ’s redemption of the world. Thus is our union with Him strengthened.
We can pray the Rosary or the Stations on our own. Yet, how much more helpful is it when we pray together. Jesus said that, when two or three pray together, He is there in the midst of them. In our Church, the Rosary is said Monday through Saturday each week throughout the year at 6:30 AM before the 7:00 AM Mass. During Lent, the Stations are said on Fridays after the Noon Mass in English and at 7:00 PM in Polish. May more of us take advantage of these times for the Holy Mass, the Rosary and the Stations so that we grow together in the love of the Lord and become a powerful prayer force of that same Love.
Fr. Stanley
