Lent III
✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Behold, all wonders in one week. Winter left and Spring served only to introduce sultry Summer. Still, those fine mornings and now prolonged evenings offer beauty, a beauty from the hands of God which beckons us to a bit of quiet and prayer. Well, maybe more than a bit, for Lent must be a time of prayer if it be anything at all. The penance should serve the prayer; clear the way, and our distracted minds and wills as well.
All this week we’ve been watching and waiting for Fr. Valerii, praying. He is near a big city close to the Polish border, which I hope he will soon be able to cross on his way to Ireland. A good soul offered immediately to receive him when I put the question out on the internet. If it be God’s will he will relocate to Knock in County Meyo, where once Our Lady appeared to second and support a priest of hers, a man most devoted to the Immaculate Conception, but caught up in the controversies of the day.
Our Lady of Knock is Our Lady of Silence, for she said nothing, but held her hands out as a priest would at the Mass. St. John standing next to her preached but no one heard a word. The Word of God, a Lamb, appeared with angels over an altar. It seems a good home, Knock does, for a priest in these perilous times.
The Communist ruler of Ukraine has announced the coming of the all digital, all controlled economy, “social credit” along with the “vaccination passport.” This is the purpose of the war, the second stage of the Great Reset. Just so you know.
Thank God we have the Mother of God, and such great Saints as St. Joseph of Nazareth and St. Patrick to intercede for us, and to teach us by their example. Prayer, the Mass, silent virtue, and never compromise the Faith.
We always have a lovely Mass for St. Patrick’s, and two days later, St. Joseph. These observances are traditionally linked with food, even, especially, in Lent. Such is Catholic life. So much more than just “making” Mass, though it’s a start! Our Lady of Knock is most of all Our Lady of the Mass. It is the Mass that matters.
For the Mass, you need priests. Some of us are working so hard to make next week’s Seminarian Sunday a grand success. But you must come, and participate! These fundraisers, we like to say, are “fun raisers” as well. That too is the Catholic way.
Lent is already half over come Thursday. Feel a pang of regret, and rededicate yourself to a good finish. In the Mass, Jesus Christ offers Himself to the Father. Our Mass must see us bring our sufferings as well as our joys to the altar, silently.
Blessed Lent!
– Bishop Dola