Lenten Mission: We all need this Spiritual Retreat for Our Parishes

 
              With all that is going on in our lives and in our world, we all need to be renewed in our awareness that Jesus is right here with us through it all. This is the theme that came out of my consultations with the Collaborative Pastoral Council (CPC) and the Pastoral Team (staff) as we were discerning the direction of our St. Martha & St. Mary Lenten Mission for 2022, on March 28, 29, and 30, 7-8pm in St. Martha church. We are blessed to have Father Dan O’Connell of CatholicTV fame as our mission preacher this year, and the title of our Mission is, Jesus in Our Midst: The Power of His Word Today.  

A “Lenten Mission” is like a spiritual retreat for the whole community in our collaborative parishes. In fact, Fr. Dan prefers to call our three-evening experience it a “Lenten Retreat” (a term several other parishes use). A spiritual retreat gives us the opportunity we especially need right now to take a step back, regain our perspective, and become more aware of God’s presence and action in our lives, here and now. Here is Fr. Dan’s introduction of his message for us:

Our God is constantly working, laboring for us. He is always surprising us with His presence and promise. His presence gives us strength; His promise gives us hope. In moments of grace, the truth and light of His message shine into whatever fear or darkness might be vying for our attention. Our Lenten retreat will assist us in hearing His voice and discerning the activity of the Spirit in our lives. In inviting us to be part of His community of faith, Christ draws all of us to times of listening and nurturing so that our hearts may beat with His. Through our faith and actions, prompted by love, the Lord constantly reveals Himself and His love. In, through and with us, His mission continues. The mission of our parishes continues! He is always speaking; all we need to do is notice.
 
Father Dan O'Connell has always had an avid interest in the strength and presence of God's Word and its power to build up the human person and transform their lives. In God's Word, it is true that we live, move, and have our being.  Fr. Dan was ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1983, and currently serves pastor of Corpus Christi - Saint Bernard Parish in Newton. He studied the art of Homiletics at the Institute for Preaching at Catholic University of America, and teaches Homiletics to future Permanent Deacons. He has served as an Associate Director of the Office of Worship and Spiritual Life, and continues to offer Retreats and days of Prayer throughout the Archdiocese and beyond.

In 1989, Father Dan shot the pilot episode of Catholic TV's award-winning show We've Got to Talk. It is currently the longest-running studio series in the history of The CatholicTV Network. He is the recipient of the 1997 Proclaim Award from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for Excellence in Catholic Television Broadcasting, and in 2012 he received YouTube's People's Choice award for excellence in TV.

So don’t miss this opportunity to be renewed through our Lenten Mission/Retreat with Fr. Dan! Block off all three nights from 7-8pm if you possibly can! The first night will include Adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist, Tuesday night will be focused on God’s love changing our hearts (and followed by an opportunity for sacramental Reconciliation), and we conclude on Wednesday night with a very special Mass celebration. We can’t help others if we don’t grow in our connection to the One who empowers us… so come to be recharged by Jesus the Word, speaking to you today!