Lenten JourneyOf all the liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church, Lent is my favorite. It is the time when Holy Mother Church tells us to slow down. We are to remember that the joy we celebrated at the birth of Our Lord is going to end in His death and resurrection. I’m convinced that if I have a lousy Lent, the whole rest of the year will not unfold as it should.
The Church has these liturgical seasons for a reason. If left to our own devices, we would wander about and waste lots of time trying to figure out how to grow in holiness. Each year we are able to follow and meditate on the life of Our Lord. And each year the Church provides us with the means to expand and enlarge our understanding of the mysteries of our faith.
Lent represents a time of growth for us. The church maintains an attitude of quiet. Bells are silenced and alleluias are not heard. There is less to distract us from our mission of prayer and fasting. In the quiet, hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, acting through the Church, as it calls you to conversion of heart and mind.
5 comments:
"In the quiet, hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, acting through the Church, as it calls you to conversion of heart and mind."
This is so true. I think you have just described monasticism with that quote.
But the bells should be only silenced after the Gloria Holy thursday until the Easter Vigil Mass.
I've tagged you for a Bloggers of the World Award.
alleluias are not heard... thanks you for that reminder!
re: bells....I LOVE bells. One thing that really bothers be every Holy Week is the CLAPPER in place of the bells. (audial 'ouch'.)
Great post, Adrienne. I wish I had written that! But only you could say it with such genuine reflection.
Post a Comment