Deepening Our Prayer During Lent

Dear Confreres,

We just began the holy season of Lent. In his Message for Lent this year, Pope Francis writes, "Let us not grow tired of praying. Jesus taught us to 'pray always without becoming weary' (Lk. 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion." These words are always applicable, but especially during Lent. So let us consider our life of prayer. During Lent, it is very common that religious communities pray the Stations of the Cross together. This year, I would encourage us to benefit even more from this devotion by praying with young people, especially young adults. I can remember being an altar server at the Stations of the Cross while in middle school and high school. The devotion of the parish priests still inspires me. This typical Lenten prayer invites the active participation of the young.

Another common practice during Lent is the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In fact, Pope Francis mentions it in his Message for Lent. "Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forgiving." Our schools will have penance services; many parishes will have "Confession Monday," when priests are available all day for the Sacrament. I know the Salesian priests will make themselves available to help in neighboring parishes and schools for Confessions. Let’s make sure we also celebrate the Sacrament.

I would like to add a few more ways of deepening our prayer during Lent, continuing to pray well throughout the year. All the confreres received the two books on meditation, The Practice of Meditation in the Prayer Life of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Pointers and Suggestions for Daily Meditation in the Society of St. Francis de Sales. We have a few more copies in New Rochelle if you need them. During Lent, we can give special attention to meditation in our personal and community prayer. As with the Stations of the Cross, we can also consider how we invite the young, especially young adults, to meditate. How can we take advantage of these two simple books provided by the Congregation to help young people grow in friendship with Jesus through mental prayer? Could you offer a short, experiential course on meditation and Lectio Divina or begin a "school of Salesian prayer?" This would be a great tribute to St. Francis de Sales, a master of the spiritual life. Additionally, all the SDB communities were sent copies of Religious Life at the Change of an Era by Fr. Pascual Chávez. It is an anthology of retreat talks and presentations he made which helps us become aware of this "kairos moment" for the renewal of religious life. It would be a great book for spiritual reading during Lent.

Recently, SDBs and FMAs have begun to gather on the 24th of each month for an online Rosary. The link is sent out to every confrere a day before or that same day. Here we have one more occasion for us to pray, in this case, with other Salesian religious.

Everyone received the registration forms for the 2022 annual retreat through email. This is a significant moment in our religious life to deepen our friendship with Jesus. The general theme this year is St. Francis de Sales and Salesian spirituality. Please complete the forms and email them back to Ann Cenname for the Stony Point retreats and to Fr. Sean McEwen for the Canada retreat. We already have the dates and preacher for the 2023 retreats and the dates for the 2024 retreats.

Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis invited everyone to take part in a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Ukraine in order to be near to the suffering Ukrainian people, be aware that we are all brothers and sisters, and implore God for an end to the war. This is a plea not just for a day. Let us continue to cry to Heaven for peace on earth. I remind the confreres that we will use the annual gift to the province to help our Salesian confreres in eastern Europe serve the orphans, refugees, and others suffering from the war. Once again, here is a meaningful way to share with the young and their families our Salesian spirit and mission. Please send donations to Fr. Mike Conway in New Rochelle.

At the end of the Message for Lent, our Holy Father turns to the Virgin Mary, who "pondered all these things in her heart" (Lk. 2:19). With true filial devotion, we, too, turn to Mary Help of Christians, asking her to teach us to pray.

Fr. Tim Zak