Diocese of Ogdensburg

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‘From the rising of the sun to its setting let the name of the Lord be praised” Psalm 113:3
Issue #38 March 2010
Diocese of Ogdensburg Office of Evangelization
Sister Mary Eamon Lyng, SSJ, Director

Phone: 315-393-2920 E-mail: elyng@dioogdensburg.org

Pope Benedict XVI continues to speak about his theme for Lent on the virtue of justice. Where there is such political and social upheaval today, there seems to be no justice. And where there is no justice, there is no peace. Our world seems more individualistic and materialistic. Our Lenten readings invite us to look at the face of Jesus. The face of Jesus invites us to let go of our self-sufficiency and recognize that we need to learn the way of Jesus. He has shown us the way of justice through His mercy, forgiveness, and compassion. The way to learn justice is to pray for justice and then to act with justice.
The journey of Lent is through prayer. The Small Community faith sharing groups are now gathering to share the gift of their relationship with God through the many forms of prayer. The Faith Formation Workshops have been rescheduled to May 15-20, 2010. Anne Scanlan, from RENEW International, will return to facilitate the workshop. All are invited to attend: Prayer: Many Methods, One Purpose. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to grow in their awareness, understanding, and appreciation of prayer forms of meditation and contemplation as helpful and meaningful ways of praying. Anne will also explore the challenges of true listening and praying during times of dryness. Encourage all your parish members to attend the workshop. Attached are posters that you may begin to advertise for the Workshop.

Jesus, High Priest

Our New Bishop—What many blessings that have been bestowed upon our Diocese during this Year for Priests with the appointment of Bishop-elect Terry R. LaValley! The ordination and installation of Bishop- elect is Friday, April 30 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral. As he continues to transition into his new Office as Bishop, let us offer our prayers and support that his ministry of service will bear much fruit for the life of the Church in the Diocese of Ogdensburg.
Stories of Priests—We would like to hear your story of how one of the priests in your life have helped you on your journey of faith. As we are more than half way through the Year for Priests, your story would be an inspiring way to remember his witness of love for his priesthood and an opportunity to thank him for his gift of his presence to you. Your story is important to the priests and to the people of the Diocese. Your story has a message for all of us that brings gratitude and blessings upon all of us in the Diocese. Please send your story and picture of the priest if you have one to elyng@dioogdensburg.org. as soon as possible. The stories will be compiled into a booklet for the parishes. How blessed we are to have priests who are “the person of Christ” for each one of us and for the whole people of God. Let us continue to pray for our priests and for more vocations to the priesthood.
The Chrism Mass will be celebrated on Monday, March 29, 2010 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Ogdensburg at 11:00 a.m. You are strongly encouraged to attend this beautiful Liturgy whereby the priests along with Bishop Cunningham will renew their priestly commitment. The Bishop will also bless the oils, which the priests will use for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Anointing of the Sick in their local parish. You are invited to witness the beauty and richness of the Liturgy of the Chrism Mass. The gift of your presence is a way of showing your gratitude for the gift of our priests to the Diocese and to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

God created us to be in relationship with one another. The gift of marriage is the sacrament that deepens the covenant relationship of love between a man and a woman. This relationship is more than friendship. It is one of being a “soul-mate” to one another. It is a relationship of being able to share one’s thoughts and feelings on the deepest levels of love, especially on the spiritual level. Each one has to know how to listen to the other. It could be so easy to blame the other when true listening or true presence does not take place. The art of communication is being able to listen with compassion and understanding, not always agreeing, but knowing that each one cares about the other.
Some action steps for reflection:

Has your spouse commented about feeling not heard or ignored? How have you responded? What are some of the causes of inattentive listening?
How can you and your spouse resolve to be present to each other? To be more attentive when feelings are ignored?

The Council of Religious is pleased to announce and invite you to a Spring Workshop Spiritual Revitalization to be held at St. Mary’s Social Hall, Massena on Saturday, May 22, 2010 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The presenter is Sister Ann Billard, OLM, Ph.D. This workshop is designed to offer adults a spiritual model of revitalization in their desire to:

Re-vision/revitalize their call to holiness in all stages of life
Find meaning and purpose beyond active ministry
Become a spiritually transcendent person

COME, SPEND A MORNING OR A DAY AT THE WORKSHOP: “SAYING YES TO SPIRITUAL REVITALIZATION
and like a former participant, you can say …“Transformative Aging gave me hope and a whole new way of looking at the life stages of transition and transformation”.
The Workshop is open to all priests, religious and laity. Attached is the poster and registration form and will also be posted on the Pastoral Documentation.

Someone says, “I am having surgery”. You respond, “I will keep you and the surgical team in my prayers”. Go visit the person after the surgery.
Share with a friend how God is at work in your life.
Attend a lecture or workshop on an aspect of the Catholic faith.
Visit with a shut-in and listen to their stories. Offer to pray with them.
Buy extra groceries and give them to the local Food pantry.
Be a witness of joy e.g. answer the phone cheerfully, listen with empathy, be thankful.

A Priest Forever: Nine Signs of Renewal and Hope by Alfred McBride, O. Praem. reflects on the meaning of the priesthood and explores a priest’s commitment to feed the people of God and to witness the Church’s social teachings, to spend time in daily prayer, to find solutions to the crisis of priestly identity plaguing today’s priests, and to become a man of personal mercy in all one’s dealings as a priest ($12.95) www.AmericanCatholic.org.
The Untapped Power of the Sacrament of Penance: A Priest’s View by Fr. Christopher Walsh makes clear that priests cherish the sacrament of Penance as a powerful movement of God’s healing love. This a helpful book for those who have abandoned the sacrament of Penance and will aid in getting the penitent back on track ($12.99) www.AmericanCatholic.org.
The Catholic Prayer Bible Lectio Divina Edition, New Revised Standard Version, invites the readers, whether individually or in groups, to read the Bible more completely and prayerfully. Lectio divina, the reflective reading of scripture, consists of four steps: read, reflect, pray, act ($29.95) www.paulistpress.com.
Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI by Scott Hahn contends that when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected it brought a world-class theologian to the papacy. Hahn documents the Pope's concern for the authentic interpretation of sacred Scripture and explores his limited acceptance of historical criticism ($21.99) www.brewerbookstore.com.