Ash Wednessday

     Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. 
     According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.   Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.
     Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.
     This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and some Baptist denominations.
cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday

The Sanctuary for Lent 2012

     As the followers of Jesus considered his life, death, and Resurrection, they concluded that to be in Jesus' presence was to come alive in ways that they had never before known, and they were willing to give up everything else in order to embrace this new life with Christ.  In The Sanctuary for Lent, 2012, Robert Dodd helps us reflect upon Jesus as life-giver. 
     As we make the spiritual journal from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, we will see how the life that Jesus offers us expands the boundaries of possibility. 
     ...The devotional readings....will help you experience the eternal life that only Jesus can give.

cf. Parish Bulletin, Feb. 19, 2012

Image cf. Google Images

Jesus Heals a Paralytic Mark 2: 1-12

^{Image cf. Google Images}

¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Heals a Paralytic Mark 2: 1-12
1.  How would you feel if you were the paralytic when your friends decided to help you "drop in on Jesus"?
2.  Why did Jesus say to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are fogiven"?
3.  Why did the teachers of the Law get so upset?
4.  What exactly is the miracle here?
5.  What new insight about  himself and the Kingdom is Jesus revealing?

cf. Parish Bulletin, Feb. 19, 2012

The Man with Leprosy Mark 1: 40-45

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy. Image cf. Google Images

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  ⁴¹ Jesus was indignant.  He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.  ⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Today's Gospel -

1.      When caught in a crowd (rush hour, Christmas crunch, etc.,) what    do you do?

2.      Why is the leper unsure of Jesus’ desire to help? ( Leviticus 13) What is significant about Jesus touching him prior to healing him? What do the crowds expect?

3.      Where do you need His special touch this week? How can you “touch lepers” in your community?

cf. Parish Bulletin, Feb. 12, 2012

The Church

The church, a living body, containing all the parts-
It lives, it moves, it functions, and it touches many hearts;
When each part is committed to do the Saviour’s  will,
His members are united, His purpose they fulfill.

– Fitzhugh

cf.  Parish Bulletin Feb. 12, 2012

The Church

The church, a living body, containing all the parts-
It lives, it moves, it functions, and it touches many hearts;
When each part is committed to do the Saviour’s  will,
His members are united, His purpose they fulfill.

– Fitzhugh

cf.  Parish Bulletin Feb. 12, 2012

Eight Ways to a Strong Prayer Life

Above from Google Images

1. Time – You must have definite, regular, frequent, adequate time. You will not find time, you must make time. Real prayer will save time!
2. Place – Find the best place to get your praying done for deepest concentration.
3. Detach and Relax! – Detach from all distractions and release all mental, emotional, and body tension caused by doubts, fears, guilt, resentments and false attitudes.
4. Selection – You can’t pray about everything at one time. Life is too complex. Select one item each time you pray.
5. Concentrate – Glittering generalities are as worthless in praying as in thinking. Be focused in prayer as well as in thinking.
6. Presence – Without real Presence there can be no real praying, only auto suggestion and subjective delusion. So learn how to realize the Presence of God whenever you wish to pray.
7. Communion – Prayer is a heart-to-heart conversation with God. Make your time count!
8. Practice! – Everyday, every hour do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, for apart from Him you can do nothing.

(Sharing magazine, A Journal of Christian Healing, Jan/Feb 2012,  reprinted{with revisions} from the June/July 1982 issue.)

cf.  Parish Bulletin, Feb. 5, 2012

Bishop Susan Moxley - first female bishop to preach at Westminster Abbey in London

‘God can call whoever God wants to call’

http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2012-02-05/article-2886692/God-can-call-whoever-God-wants-to-call/1

by Chris Shanon cshannon@cbpost.com - Cape Breton Post - Published Feb. 5, 2012

     Bishop Susan Moxley of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island became the first female bishop to preach at Westminster Abbey in London  on Sunday, according to Rev. Laura McCue.
     It was just another first for Moxley, who became the first mother to be appointed bishop within the Anglican Church worldwide in 2007, she said.
     “I don’t believe anyone should exclude someone on the basis of gender from serving in church,” McCue said Sunday.
     “I think I can say with certainty that Bishop Sue would feel somewhat the same way. If you have all the gifts required for the job, and you’re a good leader, I don’t see why you couldn’t fullfil the job requirements.”
     Women holding leadership roles in the Church of England has become a hot topic in recent years.
     While women in Canada have had the right to be ordained as an Anglican bishop since 1993, it remains against church doctrine in England.
      Although diocesan voting on draft legislation to allow women to be ordained as bishop has shown overwhelming support from 42 of the church’s 44 English dioceses.
      A final vote on the proposed legislation will take place at a meeting of the church’s legislative body, the general synod, in July.
      Members of the synod will be debating the results of the diocesan consultation this week.
      Moxley, who is based in Halifax, will be a key member of a panel today discussing women’s roles within the church at the opening of the four-day February general synod at the Anglican church of St. Margaret, Westminster Abbey, the parish church of the British House of Commons.
     She will speak on her experience in the episcopal ministry, as will Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island. They will be joined by four high-ranking female members of the Church of England.
     The group Women and the Church has been campaigning to allow women to serve at every level of the church.
     However, the tradition of having only men serve in high-ranking positions in the church can be hard to break in some instances, McCue said.
     “Even in this diocese, we still have parishes that do not want a woman priest,” she said.
     “It doesn’t really have much to do with whether she can do the job or not, they just don’t want a woman priest. I don’t take it personal.
     “But I do believe that God can call whoever God wants to call.”

Related Story:

Church of England has 'no plan B' on female bishops

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/06/church-of-england-female-bishops?newsfeed=true