1. Offer a heartfelt confession to your spiritual father.  Pray first that God may help you to see your sins.

2. Attend the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday and Friday and receive Holy Communion.

3. Begin to read the morning and evening prayers in full or at least increase your prayer rule a bit and resolve to pray with greater attention than usual.

4. Read at least one Gospel in its entirety. During Great Lent the faithful try to read all four Gospels, but if you have not succeeded, then you should manage to read at least one.

5. Complete whatever pressing business you have kept putting off, so that you will be completely free on Great Thursday and Great Friday of Passion Week.

6. Visit your relatives and give some attention to your household: at least talk with them and listen to them lovingly and without haste.

7. Fulfill at least one long-standing promise: nail a picture to the wall, sort through the mess in the closet, or do whatever else you have been promising to do for weeks but have kept putting off.

8. Limit your online communication: using will power or a special program, control the amount of time you spend on a particular site; minimize your use of social sites and online diaries for at least these two weeks.

9. Ask forgiveness and be reconciled with whomever you have offended, either long ago or recently.

10. Take part in some act of charity, at least something within your powers or that does not take too much time; most importantly, take the first step towards someone who is having a hard time and stands in need of your help.

The original article was accessed at http://www.pravmir.com/ten-important-things-to-do-before-the-end-of-lent/ on Apr 02, 2012.

Flyer for our upcoming 2012 Lenten Retreat with Guest Speaker, Fr. Don Hock.

As we celebrated Great Compline by candlelight, I was struck by how completely counter-cultural it was.  The iphones were turned off.    There were no televisions in sight.  The services were neither shortened nor rushed.  Instead, we prayed.  We prayed for Sioux City, for our country, but–more than anything–we prayed for our own souls.

It was something quite different. We asked God to remove our weaknesses, to soften our hearts, and to see our own shortcomings.  We didn’t advance political agendas.  We didn’t discuss the economy.  Instead, we asked for God to heal our heart and to mend our broken spirits.

To many, it may seem like a waste of time.  Almost no money was left in our collection trays.  Although we had double digit attendance to all of the services, it was nothing close to a usual Sunday morning.  But to the dozens of people that came to worship at St. Thomas during Clean Week, it was something different.

Our hope is that as God heals us, and the Light of Christ grows within us, we can radiate that Light to others.  St. Thomas can be that “city on a hill” for all of Sioux City.  We can be healing balm for all of Siouxland–but, it must start with the humble offering up of our brokenness.  It must begin in weakness and that . . . is something radically different.

Fr. Lucas Rice

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ridgway, IL

Early this morning, a tornado ravaged through the Ohio Valley area of Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana, and Southeastern Missouri.  Saline and Gallatin counties in Southern Illinois were particularly affected.  Perhaps worst of all, Harrisburg, IL–the town right next to our hometown of Eldorado–is mourning the loss of 10 people.

Kh. Nicole’s paternal family is from Ridgway, another town devastated by the tornado.  We both used to work in Harrisburg.  The extent to which our friends and family have been affected by this tragedy remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, God is with us.  In Ridgway, although St. Joseph Catholic Church lay in ruins, the beautiful high altar remains a testament to God’s presence in the midst of destruction.

Your prayers are requested.

Fr. Lucas Rice