Communication with Visitors* Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us! March 1 (P.S. March 22) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, How are you? Here is a Lenten thought to share concerning the marvel of God's love for each of us: There is a sentence in the prophet Isaiah which reveals in a forceful and telling way the marvel of God's love for his people. It is this: As a young man marries a virgin so will your builder marry you. It is a forceful verse for it reveals to us the marvelous way in which God makes for himself a loved one; and also a telling verse for it describes the strength and the depth of God's love for us, of the builder for his bride. He has revealed to us the bond of unity which is to exist between a man and a woman when they enter the married state: the two shall become one flesh. While God is not flesh yet his oneness with his loved one is such as is exemplified in the union of man and wife. Little wonder, then, that Augustine writes that God is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. God fashioned and made us, building us, as Isaiah declares in the verse cited above, to be his bride, to be his chosen one, to be his treasure. Our Lenten desire and focus might well be to make ourselves more worthy of such an amazing gift. Yours sincerely in Christ, Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J. P.S. (March 22) On Monday 19th March of this third week of Lent in this year, 2001, we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. It may seem strange to us that this feast is usually held in the time of Lent and is not set in a more joyful and festive period. Yet we must remember that in the first preface of Lent this very season is called a joyful season, "each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed." Celebrating the feast of St. Joseph can only add to joy as we reflect upon his life and his mission in God's plan for our redemption. And another reason for celebrating it at this time may quite well be that the Church desires to be mindful of this great servant of God at the time in which we are preparing to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God in which St. Joseph plays in God's design such an important role. But whatever the reason it is undoubtedly a time of special of rejoicing for all Christian men and women when we recall that this great saint is the husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus her Son, the patron of the universal Church, the patron of workers, the patron of a happy death and especially for Canadians since he is the primary of our country, Canada. We may wish to pay him a signal honor this year by taking and reading the apostolic exhortation of John Paul II, entitled St. Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church. * The editor and Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., are currently taking part in this column. While the latter is doing January, March, May, etc., the former is partaking in February, April, June, etc. As each is completely free to write on any topic without restriction, we would like to apologize for any confusion and inconsistency. Thank you for understanding.
March 1 (P.S. March 22)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
How are you? Here is a Lenten thought to share concerning the marvel of God's love for each of us:
There is a sentence in the prophet Isaiah which reveals in a forceful and telling way the marvel of God's love for his people. It is this: As a young man marries a virgin so will your builder marry you. It is a forceful verse for it reveals to us the marvelous way in which God makes for himself a loved one; and also a telling verse for it describes the strength and the depth of God's love for us, of the builder for his bride. He has revealed to us the bond of unity which is to exist between a man and a woman when they enter the married state: the two shall become one flesh. While God is not flesh yet his oneness with his loved one is such as is exemplified in the union of man and wife. Little wonder, then, that Augustine writes that God is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. God fashioned and made us, building us, as Isaiah declares in the verse cited above, to be his bride, to be his chosen one, to be his treasure. Our Lenten desire and focus might well be to make ourselves more worthy of such an amazing gift.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J.
P.S. (March 22)
On Monday 19th March of this third week of Lent in this year, 2001, we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph. It may seem strange to us that this feast is usually held in the time of Lent and is not set in a more joyful and festive period. Yet we must remember that in the first preface of Lent this very season is called a joyful season, "each year you give us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed." Celebrating the feast of St. Joseph can only add to joy as we reflect upon his life and his mission in God's plan for our redemption. And another reason for celebrating it at this time may quite well be that the Church desires to be mindful of this great servant of God at the time in which we are preparing to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God in which St. Joseph plays in God's design such an important role. But whatever the reason it is undoubtedly a time of special of rejoicing for all Christian men and women when we recall that this great saint is the husband of Mary, the foster father of Jesus her Son, the patron of the universal Church, the patron of workers, the patron of a happy death and especially for Canadians since he is the primary of our country, Canada. We may wish to pay him a signal honor this year by taking and reading the apostolic exhortation of John Paul II, entitled St. Joseph in the Life of Christ and of the Church.
* The editor and Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., are currently taking part in this column. While the latter is doing January, March, May, etc., the former is partaking in February, April, June, etc. As each is completely free to write on any topic without restriction, we would like to apologize for any confusion and inconsistency. Thank you for understanding.