All Things Lent!
Welcome to our 2021 Lenten page! Here you will find all that we are offering during this blessed time, as well as registrations. It will be updated as things expire or new things are added. Make it a great Lent!
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross will held every Friday during Lent, February 19 – March 26, after the 8:30 am Mass in the church. Register here. It will also be live-streamed at this time and can be viewed on our website or Facebook page at your convenience.
The meditation to be used each week (with permission from Belmont Abbey College) can be found here.
Due to current COVID restrictions, we will not provide a soup supper during Lent.
Adoration on Saturdays during Lent
The parish will offer Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the Saturdays of Lent beginning February 20, 2 to 4 pm, in the Guadalupe Chapel. Please register HERE or simply come. Registration will help us ensure that Our Lord is kept company. Our Confessions will be also be held beginning at 3 pm each Saturday as normal. Please follow social distancing guidelines for both Adoration and Confession. No registration is necessary for Confession.
Lenten Prayer Books
The parish will not be distributing the “little black” Lenten prayer books like normal due to pandemic restrictions. The Rockford Dioceses has directed parishes to not hand out bulletins or other paper materials to limit transmission of the virus. You can order a copy for yourself from the web site at littlebooks.org. In addition to the print version, the publisher, the Diocese of Saginaw, has available an e-book and an app for your smartphone. Other Lenten prayer book options include Bishop Robert Barron’s Lenten Reflections Book available at www.wordonfire.org, the Magnificat’s Lenten Companion at us.magnificat.net, and a host of other print and online resources. The parish will feature a list of online Lenten prayer and formation resources in an upcoming bulletin.
Fr. Peck on Lenten Traditions
Father shared with us the beauty and truth of Catholic Lenten traditions on Monday, February 15. Here is the recording of our gathering.
Lent Faith Group
Therese Stahl leads prayer and discussion of the Sunday readings for the weeks of Lent and the first week of Easter. Format: opening prayer, lectio divina (or holy reading) of the Sunday scripture, and discussion. Tuesdays from February 23 through April 13, 7 pm to 8 pm on MS Teams. Register HERE.
Blessed Palms
Here are some ideas on what to do with your dried up palms from last year. (Taken from Nativity Catholic Church)
Burn or Bury: We live in a society where most things are disposable. However, sacramentals, such as palm branches, should be treated with special reverence. Therefore, the normal “rule of thumb” is that anything that has been blessed should be burned (and then the ashes buried) or simply buried. This type of disposal honors their sacred purpose and returns them to the earth in a dignified way. If you are unable to burn and bury your old palms, the parish has placed a basket in the vestibule of Door #1 to collect the dried palms. We will dispose of them properly.
Decorate: When we use the palms as decoration in the house, it serves as a constant reminder of Palm Sunday and is a beautiful way to stay connected to Holy Week throughout the year.
Online Lent Resources
- Daily Lenten Reflections from Formed.org (be sure to sign up for a free parish account)
- Lent Resources from Loyola Press
- Catholic Relief Services Lenten Activities for Families
- Strong Catholic Family Faith Lenten Resources
- Best Lent Ever from Dynamic Catholic
- S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Lent Resources
- Lent #Pray40 Challenge from Hallow Catholic Prayer and Meditation App
- Praying Lent Resources from Creighton University’s Online Ministries
- The Ignatian Workout for Lent: An Online Retreat from IgnatianSpirituality.com
- Daily email Lenten reflections from Ven. Fulton Sheen
- Resources from St. Mary’s Press for young children and older youth
Bring Lent to Life at Home!
Lent is a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This 2021 our St. John Neumann Community will put our faith-in-action by partnering with Catholic Relief Services in their Lent program called Rice Bowl. Since 1975 Rice Bowl has helped the work of Catholic Relief Services in more than 100 different countries each year, supporting hunger and poverty alleviation efforts. Twenty-five percent of donations stay in the local diocese.
We want to invite you to start this 40-day journey during Lent. You will have opportunities to engage with your family in daily activities that will bring you together as you practice the works of mercy with our neighbors and our brothers and sisters around the world.
Click here to find resources throughout the 40-day journey of Lent and donate here to help those most in need.
God of mercy,
You call us to recognize you in our sisters and brothers and to care for those most in need. “For whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me“. Matthew: 25:40-45
This Lent, ignite your love in us so that through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we may support all who experience hunger in body, heart, and spirit.
AMEN
