What a busy week this is: we begin with the Ascension of our Lord, we celebrate Memorial Day, and we close this week with the feast of Pentecost! Each of these celebrations offers us a ready opportunity to welcome the Lord into our homes, lives, and relationships. Use some of these ideas to connect with your families and loved ones and reflect how we’re rendering glory to God this week.
Individually:
Encounter: Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
Join the daily prayer of the Church by praying one of the Liturgy of the Hours. Clergy and religious individuals are required to pray these prayers daily, but lay people are encouraged to pray them as well. The Liturgy of the Hours helps us enter into the rhythm of the liturgical seasons. The Liturgy of the Hours comprises the Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer. Using prayer and Scripture, they are a meditative reflection on the life of Christ. Download a free app such as iBreviary or find the prayers here.
As a Family:
Witness: Laugh Together
Inspired by St. Philip Neri, a faithful saint who would share jokes with people, spend time laughing together as a family. Have a family comedy show with jokes, stories, and skits. Each family member can do something. Recall a funny memory you all shared, and thank God for those moments and for this opportunity to reflect on them.
As a Couple:
Grow: Reflect, Share, Pray
Busyness can make it hard to grow in faith as a couple. The Holy Father offers some advice to couples to renew their zeal and devotion to their marriages in his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of Love. Read this short article from The Word Among Us, pray with the questions, and then take some time as a couple to discuss your insights. Close your time together in prayer.
As a Church:
Worshipping from Home on Sunday, May 24th: Set a seat for Jesus
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension, where Jesus gives his final instructions to his disciples and then ascends into heaven. His final instructions are called the Great Commission, which not only outlines the mission of the Church, but reminds that Jesus is still with us: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20) When preparing for Mass today, make a visual spot for Jesus to sit. Then reflect on how Jesus is present in the Mass.