The theme of our upcoming Parish Mission; Come Encounter Jesus appears to lead the faithful to a life-changing encounter with Jesus. This Lenten Parish Mission will begin on the Third Sunday of Lent, which is the 15th of March, 2019. The mission preacher, Fr. Blaise Czaja, C. P., who is a Passionist Priest, will preach about the Parish Mission at all the Masses on Sunday March 14th, and 15th. Then, the Parish Mission is going to take place in the evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday (15th of March) through Tuesday (17th of March). Fr. Blaise will focus particularly on healing, forgiveness, and encountering Jesus.
Any Parish Mission is a major spiritual event and a special time in the life of the parish. It is a time when its community gathers together to gain further insight into a faith filled life. It is also a time to revitalize the Parish in its mission and to be sustained as a community by the love of Jesus. Then, it is a time for encountering the Lord and a time to experience His healing love for us. Also encountering Jesus is an invitation to go deeper in our surrender to Him and a moment of grace to discern His perfect plan for our life. Most of the Parish Missions promise to be moving and a great opportunity for spiritual enrichment.
It is good to know that Parish Missions have a traditional past and they began in the eighteenth century. St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist Order, made significant contributions to the development of parish missions. Some years later, the Redemptorists brought parish missions to America. A parish mission is a preaching event, which is centered on the Word of God and Catholic teachings on consecutive evenings. The preaching usually emphasizes a deepening of our personal relationship with God, our sense of belonging to the parish community, and our awareness of a greater service of one another in Christ. Just like a retreat, a parish mission calls us to take some time to look into our inner lives, to strengthen our relationship with God, and to experience forgiveness and healing.
The word, “retreat” offers “a period of time to step back from the course of our daily lives and to go back to God with a renewed heart.” Spiritual retreats have a long history of providing a positive effect on stressful issues of everyday life and disturbed emotions in persons. Jesus Himself often withdrew and retreated to a remote spot like the desert or wilderness for prayer and reflection. He was led by the spirit of God to experience a prayerful communion with His Heavenly Father and to prepare for His ministry. Also, He was able to find time to pray for the people who came to Him for comfort and consolation.
Sometimes, as we live in this rapidly changing society, we can live with divided selves due to stress, tensions, and demands. When our selves are divided, we may live with fearful thoughts, confusing feelings, imaginary anxious thoughts about the future, and so on. Then, as a result, we may find ourselves stressed out, which is a state that can create a chronic state of anxiety and a sense of ‘something is always missing in life.’ In order to find relief and healing from these stressful feelings, we need to step back from our worldly activities and then simply be with God as we are.
In this way, a Parish Mission can be a great means to experience the healing and the comforting presence of God. Father Blaise Czaja had been preaching parish missions for many years. This shows that Fr. Blaise has much experience of preaching the Gospel for many years and for many people. Therefore, we hope that through this Lenten Parish Mission, some of us may experience healing and reconciliation in some areas of your lives. Everyone is welcome to attend and there is no cost to attend. Please, make use of this opportunity to enrich your journey of faith through Christ.
— Fr. Niranjan Rodrigo, Ph.D.
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You can get a preview of Father Blaise’s preaching on his YouTube channel where he talks about “The Interior Castle.” “The Interior Castle” is a book written by Saint Teresa of Jesus in 1577. It is still a masterpiece of spiritual self development and part of the several written works that made St. Teresa worthy to be named a Doctor of the Catholic Church. The series takes you through each mansion of castle and is an excellent overview of Carmelite spirituality. You can watch the series here.
If you wish to attend this year’s Lent Parish Mission please contact the Church of the Infant Saviour Parish Office at (845) 744-2391 for more details.
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