Agenda for Pope Francis today: Lenten spiritual exercises

 

File photo of Pope Francis at the start of Lent 

POPE

• POPE FRANCIS
• LENT
• ROMAN CURIA

Lenten Spiritual Exercises underway for Pope, Roman Curia in Vatican

This first week of Lent, Pope Francis' engagements are suspended as he and top Roman Curia officials dedicate these days to private, prayerful Spiritual Exercises.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis and the Roman Curia are dedicating this first week of Lent to Spiritual Exercises, focused on private, personal prayer.

Last month, the Holy See Press Office announced the Pope had invited all Cardinals residing in Rome, heads of Dicasteries, and Superiors of the Roman Curia to take the week for prayer.

Pope Francis’ engagements are suspended this week, including the Wednesday General Audience of tomorrow, 1 March.

His next public event will be his Sunday Angelus.

The Holy Father urged top officials of the Roman Curia to “experience in a personal way a period of Spiritual Exercises.”

In order to facilitate their personal retreat, he requested them to suspend their “work activities and engage in prayer from the afternoon of Sunday, 26 February, to the afternoon of Friday, 3 March."

Time passages

I love this song; loved just about everything Al Stewart did.  This song resonates more and more with each passing year.  I think often of the lyrics: "the years run to short and the days too fast".  Well indeed the years are running short.  Yet with this being truth, the years and the days have much to experience, much to see.

On this date some 15 years ago a very close neighbor, suddenly and without any warning, passed away.  Wayne was the ultimate neighbor; an incredibly good guy.  What stands out about that day to me is that his youngest daughter was spending the weekend with my own daughter, good friends then, good friends now.  In fact I will play a small role in Wayne's daughters wedding this summer and I will once again think of Wayne.  Wayne was only 50, his daughters in their teens.  I remember him, and his leaving us as if it were yesterday.

Much has transpired in those 15 years.  The girls were giddy 8th graders back then, among many things, teammates on a junior high dance team.  Now they are both incredible young ladies, my daughter a new mom, Wayne's daughter, who fully entered the Catholic Church just last year, about to become a stunning bride to a great young man we have all come to love; a super nice guy.  Wayne would love this guy, and really love how much he loves his little girl.

I feel the pain of getting older everyday, but I would never trade anything that God has placed in my life, even the rickety knees.  In the 15 years since Wayne has left us, I have gone from a newly selected inquirer/aspirant in potential formation for the diaconate to a now almost 10 year serving Permanent Deacon.  Wayne would have loved that I found a way to serve others through my faith because Wayne found ways to serve others by being a great guy, the best neighbor I have ever known and a great family man.  In those same 15 years I have witnessed the marriage of both children and the birth of three grandchildren.  I love life.

"Life like a river, beginning to flow, I felt the beat of my mind go drifting in to time passages; time passages, buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight."

"Just now and then, my line gets cast into these time passages.  There's something back there that you left behind, time passages, buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6TsYypBpY