Join Stonehill College for Forty Days of Lenten Reflections

The Catholic Church's season of Lent is a time for practicing Catholics to walk the path of Christ, much as he did in the desert for forty days. It is a time of sacrifice, discipline, prayer, and fasting in preparation for Easter Sunday. Today, the emphasis is more on acts of charity and renewal, rather than reflection on self-sacrifice and dwelling on the suffering of Jesus on the cross.

Catholics are encouraged to develop a Lenten Plan of Renewal, doing charitable works and inviting family, friends, co-workers and their communities to join them in their Lenten journey. Lent is a time to strengthen the bond with Jesus Christ and follow the way of the Lord.

In the past, worshipping Catholics used prayer books, rosaries, and personal prayers to find their way toward the Lord during Lent. The modern Church offers Catholics more communal methods of observing Lent.

Most Catholic parishes offer Lenten programs where parishioners can gather together for communal prayers of devotion, Parish Lenten missions, Mass with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Scripture Studies, and Charitable Giving using Rice Bowls as a method of self-denial and unity in the church.

Not only are these tradition Lenten observance methods used by Catholics, but the internet is now available for a unique opportunity for Catholics to observe Lent. In the February issue of The Anchor, the newspaper published by the Diocese of Fall River, it was announced that Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts will offer daily Lenten reflections on their website for all Catholics to take advantage of.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing through Easter Sunday, there will be a series of forty scripture passages with Lenten reflections written by the college students, professors, and alumni of Stonehill College. This is a way for the college community to share their faith with a large community of Catholics.

Father Thomas P. Clooney, CSC, vice president of the Mission at Stonehill College reported to The Anchor that, "One of the joys of being a priest is being able to share one's faith every Sunday in a homily...We thought it would be a great idea to give all members of the community...the opportunity to share their faith with one another by reflecting on the Gospel."

Sign into the Stonehill website any time of the day and spend a few minutes reading one of the forty Gospel passages that will be offered throughout Lent and the reflections posted. Reflect on how the passages relate to your own life and the world around you, preparing your heart and mind for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.

The reflections give students and faculty an opportunity to express their views on faith and how Jesus is relevant in their lives. Those Catholics who usually hesitate to speak about their faith in public may be inspired by the reflections written on the website to be more open about their own faith.

The link to the Lenten reflections is posted on the main Stonehill College website.

www.stonehill.edu/seasonalreflections.xml

The Anchor, Friday, February 27, 2009, Vol. 53, No. 8, Publisher Most Reverend George W. Coleman