Reflection from Fr. Karl
I grew up in a parish dedicated to the Good Shepherd. As a Church it is a little over sixty years old. The weekend after Easter dedicated to the Good Shepherd was always the occasion of the annual forty hours adoration.  It is a practice that has largely fallen by the wayside.  When I was a kid every parish and community had its Forty Hours.  Firstly, it was an opportunity to honor the Real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  It reminded us of Jesus’s promise to be with us all days.  It gave us an opportunity to express our love and to spend time with Jesus in prayer and quiet reflection.  In many ways our time of Adoration in our Parishes have replaced it.  The Forty Hours was also a time of rivalry as parishes competed to see who could on the best display of flowers and decorations.  For those who were altar servers it could mean a few hours off school or it the timing was right a whole day.  The rivalry or the competition were part of the Forty Hours but they in no way took away from the genuine devotion that was very much the heart of the practice.

In these troubled times we need to be reminded of these practices and devotions for they tell us that Jesus is on the journey with us.  He feels our pain and our frustrations.  He knows there are tensions and fears and a wish to get back to “normal”.  He carried His cross for us.  He has told us that he is with us.  His presence in the Eucharist even though we are unable to receive at the moment is a sign that He is with us.  As we celebrate every week over the airwaves we remember, we celebrate and we believe that all is well, all will be well and that we will all be together again soon.

Parish Activity – What are you Grateful for?

This week’s God, Family, Friends issue (click on the image below) asks us to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives.

• What do you most appreciate about each family member?
• What are you most grateful for in your life?
• Who/What has helped you the most during this crisis?
• What are the gifts that God has given you or our family recently?

Tell us in a few words, send us some pictures or video of what you are grateful for.  We’ll put everyone’s ideas into a video that will be shown before an upcoming Mass.   Your ideas will be accepted up until Thursday night, 5/7.
Tell Us

God, Family, Friends resource for families

Lectio Divina

See this week’s Lectio Divina and Children’s Liturgy of the Word here