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February 11th, 2023

Embrace the Grace - Weekly Reflection

How important is daily prayer in the spiritual life?

Hmmm! Well, how important is oxygen for your daily breathing? Yup. Prayer is spiritual oxygen for the soul, and as human beings, we are body and soul. We know we need oxygen to stay alive physically. Prayer keeps us alive spiritually.

And yet, there are times we struggle to pray. We make excuses. We promise to pray “later on,” and later on never comes. We find ourselves claiming we are so busy that we don’t even have time to stop and spend intimate time with the One who first loved us.

Prayer is time with God. Prayer is a lifting of the mind and heart to the Creator. We remember that God does not need our prayers, but God desires to spend time with the beloved; to hear from you. Prayer can be a time to share what’s on your mind, but more importantly what’s on your heart.

Mother Teresa wrote, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.”

The season of Lent is just around the corner. If your prayer life has waned, prepare for Lent to be a time of re-awakening for your prayer life. If we wait until we feel like it to pray, odds are we’ll never get around to praying.

Prayer becomes part of our daily life; like inhaling our next breath. Prayer keeps us alive.

Fr. Bob

Ever try to pray only to soon find out you don't know what to do? Ever visit a Holy Hour in front of the Monstrance and become frustrated because you didn't know what to do? Here are a few suggestions as to how to make a good holy hour.

MINUTES 0-5: Meditate on the following quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, God's initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response." (no. 2567)
MINUTES 5-10: Look in your heart; look at your life. What do you want? What do you really want from God? Tell God right now what you need from Him during this time of prayer.
MINUTES 10-15: Find a passage from the Bible. Maybe it's a Psalm; maybe it's the readings from daily Mass; maybe it's the readings at the upcoming Sunday Mass. Find a passage from Scripture. Read the passage slowly. Get familiar with the text. Read the passage a second time, this time read it even slower. Very, very slowly read the passage a third time. Pay attention to which word, words, or phrases "tug" at your heart or get your attention.
MINUTES 15-25: Think about your life; think about the reality of your life. What are the word, words, or phrases from the Bible speaking to in your life? How does the Bible passage connect to your life? Look deep within.
MINUTES 25-35: Talk to God. Talk to God as if He were a real person. Talk to God like Moses did: "The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another." (Exodus 33:11)
MINUTES 35-45: Listen. God will speak to you. Maybe God will speak to you through a thought in your head ... or a song in your heart .…. or a memory ... or a feeling in your body. Listen with all your senses. MINUTES 45-50: Return to the Scripture passage again. Read it slowly one more time. Is there any word, words, or phrases that speak to you again?
MINUTES 50-55: What can you do today, this week, to act on what God has revealed to you? Practically speaking, in your real life, what can you do?
MINUTES 55-60: Thank the Lord. Blessings are specific and so should our gratitude. Tell God specifically what you're thankful for.

However you pray, make an effort in 2023 to spend time with Christ at Holy Hour. He's waiting for you to join him!

"He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”"
Mt 26:40-41

Introducing our new Family Room at our St. René Goupil Church!

We are happy to announce that we have set up the day chapel at our St. René Goupil Church for families with children! Don't miss out on the Sacred Liturgy because of an active child. Families will be able to still participate in the Mass and not worry about impacting others.
We are a parish that welcomes your family to celebrate Mass!

Masses at St. René Goupil are as follows:
Saturdays - 4 PM
Sundays - 7:30 AM & 10:30 AM

MASS INTENTIONS

It is an ancient and noble practice to pray for the living and the dead at Mass. The greatest and most powerful prayer we have is the Mass since the fruits of the Mass are the very fruits of Jesus' redemption made present to us. Therefore, many of us seek to book a Mass intention for our loved ones. In our parish, there are many requests for scheduling Mass intentions.

Guidelines for Mass Intentions

A Mass intention may be requested for a Mass for the following reasons:
1. A deceased loved one.
2. A living person who is sick or suffering.
3. A living person who is celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or other special moments in their life.
4. In thanksgiving to God (including the Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit).
5. In thanksgiving for a prayer from a Blessed or a Saint.
6. Or for a prayer intention (so long as the intention does not contradict Church teaching).
A Mass intention may not be requested for a prayer intention that contradicts Catholic moral doctrine.
There is a limit of four (4) intentions per Mass. If a given Mass has four intentions on a given day, please choose another Mass.
Lengthy intention listings cannot be published in the Bulletin and must be edited for brevity. Since publishing the intention in the Bulletin is to notify the family and friends of the intention, we suggest omitting middle initials, titles, etc. Each intention is limited to either two names or one group. Please indicate if the person for whom the Mass is requested is living or deceased.
A $10 donation is to accompany each Mass request. Intentions will not be recorded until the stipend is received. Canon Law requires that all stipends taken for Mass Intentions be said for the intention as designated.
Please note that Mass intentions may be requested for Sundays, most holidays, and weekdays throughout the year. Mass intentions cannot be scheduled for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, Easter, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, News Years Day. One Mass every Sunday and one Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation must be scheduled for the intentions of our parishioners, known as Pro Populo (For the People), as required by Canon Law.
Announced Mass requests will be granted as close to the requested date and time as possible. If it is not possible to comply with the primary request, the next closest date and time will be scheduled.

**Mass intention requests to be published in the bulletin must be submitted to the parish office by Monday at 12 PM before the proceeding weekend’s liturgy.**

Sign-up online! Once we have enough volunteers committed to any ministry, follow-up communication will be sent out. Thank you for your interest!

The 2022-2023 Faith Formation Calendar is available here and on our website. Families should look at all upcoming events, Family Masses, and class dates. For questions, please contact the Faith Formation Coordinator, Peggy at (773) 767-1523 ext. 226.

For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
Romans 14:8