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Lenten Journey
Week 1
- Our world is filled with constant noise. As individuals and as a society we have become estranged from silence. And yet it was not in the loud thunder but rather in the silent breeze that God was revealed.
- This Lent we might do well to make time for silence in an intentional and prayerful way.
- The kind of silence we pursue is not simply the absence of noise or a suspension of speech. We seek the kind of stillness where the Word of God is revealed, the voice of God is recognized and the love of God is experienced.
- This type of Contemplative Prayer is a perfect companion to our attempt to fast from noise. Centering Prayer is the prayer of silence. In this deep silence, reaching beyond thoughts, words and emotions we open our mind, heart and soul to God.
- For more information on Centering Prayer we invite you to visit:
Charity: Being a Simon of Cyrene for someone
- A simple and silent way to train ourselves in acts of kindness is through the exercise of being a Simon of Cyrene. Like Simon helped to buttress Jesus’ cross we are asked to help others.
- Put the names of your family and/or friends into a bag. Each Sunday in Lent draw a name and keep it a secret. Try to do something kind for that person during the week without letting them know who did it. At the end of the week, you might try to guess who your “Simon of Cyrene” was.
The Catholic Services Appeal Foundation of the Saint Paul and Minneapolis Area provides funding to the 20 collective ministries that no one parish can support on its own. All gifts are restricted gifts to the Designated Ministries. Please join us in supporting those most in need. There are many ways to give to help others.
The Season of Lent
Prepare for a fruitful celebration of the Season of Lent.
Prayer
Lent Schedule: Join us online or in-person during the Season of Lent.
Pray the Stations of the Cross: these stations were commissioned by The Basilica from local artist Lucinda Naylor to mark the second millennium of Christianity. The Meditations were inspired by the art.
Lectio Divina: Lectio Divina invites us into scripture, meditation, prayer, contemplation and action.
Pray the Rosary together either in person or virtually: we have made a virtual Rosary available on our website.
Art
Visit the online Lent and Easter Art Collection
40 Days of Lent
Lent is an Invitation by Johan van Parys, Ph.D.
Symbols that Surround Us: Ashes and Ash Wednesday
Basilica Community,
I hope this message finds you and your family continuing to stay well during these challenging times.
Today I have three things I would like to mention. First, next Wednesday February 17, is Ash Wednesday. We will have three Masses at 7:00am, Noon, and 5:30pm. The Noon and 5:30pm Masses will be livestreamed and ashes will be offered at each of these Masses.
Due to the pandemic, we won’t be making the sign of the cross with ashes on people’s foreheads. Instead we will drop a few ashes on the crown of each person’s head. This is the custom in much of Europe and it was suggested by our Liturgy Office as a way to distribute ashes this year. After the Noon and 5:30pm Masses ashes will also be offered to those who want to come to The Basilica.
The process will be the same as we have in the past. People will drive up 17th Street, stop at the rectory to receive a prayer card, and then drive to the front of the school to receive ashes. Given the logistics of offering ashes to people in their cars, we will use Q-tips to offer these ashes. Certainly none of this is ideal, but we want to do everything we can to ensure people’s safety and security.
The second thing I want to mention is that after the 9:30am Mass on the First Sunday of Lent, February 21st, we will once again distribute communion to those who want to come to The Basilica after livestreaming Mass at 9:30am. As on Ash Wednesday, we ask you to stop at the rectory to receive a prayer card and then drive to the front of the school to receive communion.
The third thing I want to mention is that, as is clearly evident, Lent will be very different this year. If you are not able, or don’t feel comfortable joining us in-person for any of our liturgies, we invite you join via our livestream. Also on our website you will be able to find suggestions for celebrating Lent and Holy Week at home this year.
Finally, as always, if you have questions or concerns about anything that is happening at the Basilica, please contact me at the parish office or send me an email. My contact information is available on our parish website.
Let me close today in prayer.
Loving God, Your desire is for our wholeness and well being.
We hold in tenderness and prayer the collective suffering of our world at this time.
We grieve precious lives lost and vulnerable lives threatened.
We ache for ourselves and our neighbors, standing before an uncertain future.
We pray: may love, not fear, go viral.
Inspire our leaders to discern and choose wisely, aligned with the common good.
Help us to practice social distancing and reveal to us new and creative ways to come together in spirit and in solidarity.
Call us to profound trust in your faithful presence,
You, the God who does not abandon.
Amen.
News and Resources
We dedicated our newest icon of Saint Josephine Bakhita today, by local iconographer Deb Korluka. We also premiered Bakhita Hymn, a new composition by our composer-in-residence, Donald Krubsack, Ph.D. Krubsack hopes the "musical intent and message [of the hymn] is something that can live in the hearts of the people who sing and hear it." May this hymn help us enter more deeply into the life and holiness of Saint Josephine Bakhita.