You, Lord, are near to all who call upon you, to all who call upon you in truth.
Psalm 145:18
Being Church in Our Homes
We are now into the twelfth month of our journey
with COVID 19. Each of us has had to reinvent our lives, and our routines during
this time. Staying at home, and social distancing are still part of our daily
existence.
For most of us, our new ways of being have included
our inability to come to Pax Christi physically. Most of the routines and
rituals we loved were suspended or at least changed, particularly gathering for
Eucharist in community and experiencing the rich and meaningful rituals of our
faith and liturgical practices. How much many of us probably took all of this
for granted before COVID!!
I think about what, if anything, I gained from all
this loss, emptiness and sadness as our Pax Church building suddenly emptied. One
of the things I came to appreciate was that rather than being “in” church I was
called to “be” church in my home, condo building and neighborhood - to live out
my faith in the ups and downs of my daily life.
In early Christianity, Christians gathered in their
homes to break bread together and to hear stories of Jesus. St. John Chrysostom
referred to the family as the micra ekklesia or “little church.” Our family
home is the place where many of us had our first experience of God through our
parents’ teaching and modeling patience, love and forgiveness. In Vatican II
the image of the family as the “Domestic Church” reemerged. Most recently, Pope
Francis, in Amoris Laetitia, shared how families can continue to build
the Domestic Church and raise their children in faith. Pope Francis suggests
that parents “need symbols, actions and stories”- moments of family prayers and
acts of devotion . . . which can be more powerful for evangelization than any religious
education class or sermon.
As we enter this season of Lent, we have a myriad of
opportunities to renew our commitment to build our “little Church” where we can
nourish our own and our children’s faith through providing experiences of prayer,
love, forgiveness, and stories of Jesus.
Since we will
not be distributing palms for Palm Sunday this year, for safety reasons, the
Worship Council is inviting you, and/or your family, to participate in a simple
ritual for Palm Sunday. Find a tree branch (any branch will do such as an
evergreen, a pussy willow, a branch with spring blossoms from a grocery store
or your yard, even a small twig with new growth will work.) Invite your children
or friends into the project or, everyone could decorate their own branch. Use
whatever you have - ribbons, yarn, flowers, birds – whatever brings joy and
meaning to you. When you’ve completed your creation, make a special place for
the branch in your home. You might display it on your door, on a wall, or a
table. If you are attending the live stream Palm Sunday mass you can parade
with your branches through your home during the processional song. As we create
our branches, may they be joyful reminders of our glory, praise and honor to
God for Jesus’ great love for us.
We invite you to continue Holy Week using the symbols
of these special days in your “home church”. For Holy Thursday, set out a bowl
of water and towels and wash each other’s feet; on Good Friday place a cross in
your prayer space to venerate with those gathered at church; on Holy Saturday
set out candles to light to help dispel the darkness as together we light the
Paschal Candle and celebrate the Light of Christ.
Written by Community Member Phyllis Olson
AN INVITATION TO CELEBRATE PALM SUNDAY IN YOUR HOME
Find a tree branch (any branch will do such as an
evergreen, a pussy willow, a branch with spring blossoms from a grocery store
or your yard, even a small twig with new growth will work.) Invite your children
or friends into the project or, everyone could decorate their own branch. Use
whatever you have - ribbons, yarn, flowers, birds – whatever brings joy and
meaning to you. When you’ve completed your creation, make a special place for
the branch in your home. You might display it on your door, on a wall, or a
table. If you are attending the live stream Palm Sunday mass you can parade
with your branches through your home during the processional song. As we create
our branches, may they be joyful reminders of our glory, praise and honor to
God for Jesus’ great love for us.
We invite you to continue Holy Week using the symbols
of these special days in your “home church”. For Holy Thursday, set out a bowl
of water and towels and wash each other’s feet; on Good Friday place a cross in
your prayer space to venerate with those gathered at church; on Holy Saturday
set out candles to light to help dispel the darkness as together we light the
Paschal Candle and celebrate the Light of Christ.
AN EASTER VIGIL PRAYER BY FR. ERIC HOLLAS
An Easter Vigil Prayer
Loving Father,
We gather around this candle whose flame pierces the darkness
and proclaims by our faith that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We
thank you for your Son, our Savior, and ask You to bless us and grant these
petitions:
May this candle be our Easter candle in troubled times.
May Christ’s light warm the poor and heal the sick.
May Christ’s light caress the lonely and embrace the lost.
May Christ’s light reach into the corners of our hearts and
dispel our darkest fears.
May we, by our charitable words and deeds, be Christ’s light to
others and so light up the world.
And may we draw ever more closely to Jesus Christ, our light and
risen Lord.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.