Dear Friends and Parishioners,
My recent experience of Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament when Bishop Peter was here in February reminded me of how special time can be in the Eucharistic Presence of our Lord. I remember being a seminarian at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon when on some evenings I just needed to get away and be quiet. I would find myself drawn to the Lower Chapel to “sit with Jesus” and let His presence wash over me. Sometimes I would be there for a few minutes and sometimes a couple of hours.
Being in the presence of the Lord is hard work, that is somehow very easy. We sometimes think “I must be doing this wrong” because it takes a while to clean out the cobwebs of our mind and to pray away our scrambled and urgent thoughts. Psalm 46 says “Be still and know I am God…” In this sometimes difficult and distressing world of ours, “To be still” takes practice and a lot of grace from God.
But all that is available to us if we give it a try. As I write this on Thursday, I am looking forward to Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament tonight at 6:00 to 7:00. We are doing this on Thursdays during Lent to honor “The Year of the Eucharist.” On the First Friday of each month, we also have a 24 hour period of Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Finally, one of the best opportunities to pray with the Lord will be on Holy Thursday. All over the world the Blessed Sacrament is exposed until midnight. After midnight it is reserved in a separate tabernacle until the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday.Jesus is calling us. I hope my ears remain open so I can remember to take some time during this Lenten Season to “be still” in the presence of our Lord.
