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Sunday, April 3, 2016
Reflection 2-4pm
Mass 4pm

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic spiritual writer of the twentieth century. He was a Trappist monk at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Merton is the author of more than seventy books that include poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, social criticism, and writings on peace, justice, and ecumenism. His writings include such classics as The Seven Storey Mountain, New Seeds of Contemplation, and Conjecture of a Guilty Bystander.

“Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions.” Pope Francis

Program presented by Dr. Michael Downey, Director, Theological and Spiritual Formation, Mater Dolorosa

Free will donation welcome.

Fr. Christopher Gibson, CP

Renewal through Compassion within our own lives

I find it important to include the spirit of the “Seventh day” in my life. This basically means slowing down to find time to nurture the spirit through contact with the Lord through prayer and spiritual reading, resting, caring for my health, cleaning up around me to make my environment more dignified to live in, get into some hobby, take a walk, etc.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage.

Renewal through Compassion within our Ministries and Mission

Working with Food for the Poor helps me to be constantly aware of those who are struggling to survive, who lack the most basic needs in life. Food for the Poor meets the physical and spiritual needs of people by providing food, housing, emergency relief and more to the poorest of the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America.  I will not only go out to preach on their behalf, like the coming weekend when I travel to a parish in Indianapolis, but also go over some of the printed matter on the plight of so many, or watch a video clip on YouTube after typing in “Food for the Poor” and taking all this to prayer.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion through our global community 

I try to keep abreast of what is going on at a global level. Catching up with the international news is important for me. I am no doubt very concerned about the thousands of refugees pouring into Europe and realize the challenge that the Europeans face given the impressive numbers. To see the Prime Minister of Canada receiving personally a group of refugees with a warm welcome, accompanied by a group of kids singing in Arabic for them as they were met at the airport, is truly an expression of compassion!

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion toward our environment 

Use but not abuse. We are administrators of God’s creation and not owners. Giving name to creatures is being respectful. We can learn a lot from the first nations of our land in this sense. I try to live this out in my own life and will carry on doing so to use everything with moderation, be it water, electricity or paper, recycling but also avoiding producing a lot of garbage, avoid as much as possible throwing food away, etc. But along with this, it is important to develop a spirit of gratitude and prayer: ” thank you Lord for the gift of water which is readily available to me with the option of hot and cold…for the gift of shelter…for food…for heating or cooling…for eyes to see…ears to hear…etc. How many lack these things and so much more that we take for granted?

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion within our communities 

There are so many little gestures we can do to be sensitive to those around us from picking up after someone who accidentally left a plate unwashed, from moving to the center of a pew in church so that people don’t have difficulty getting in if we sit at the end of an empty pew, from being patient with the cars in the parking lot who are waiting to leave after Mass, from not only greeting and smiling at a person nearby, but also asking how they are, how they are feeling or showing empathy in other ways. The important thing is to have a true sense that the other matters and deserves my attention to reach out to them: the Spirit suggests concrete actions to take at every moment of the day. These are countless gestures that add up over time.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion through vocations

s a vocation director, I have to be attentive to where the Holy Spirit is leading a particular young person with whom I am journeying. To help that young person become aware of what concretely the Lord is asking of them is my task. I never encourage young men to join the Passionists, for instance, if the Spirit is leading them elsewhere, but when there is an identification with the Passionist charism and style of living, then I help develop that vocation to become explicit and enthusiastic, preparing the way for the young person to enter in one of our communities to reside with us if they have the requirements needed.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion in education

As a formator, I try my best to give all the time a candidate needs to be formed in the Passionist way of life, even if this means being pressed with time and having to make sacrifices to be present to those needs that a candidate deserves. Special care I would give to a young person who is just new in residence: making sure that he has all that is needed

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Fr. Christopher Gibson, CP

Renewal through Compassion within our own lives

I find it important to include the spirit of the “Seventh day” in my life. This basically means slowing down to find time to nurture the spirit through contact with the Lord through prayer and spiritual reading, resting, caring for my health, cleaning up around me to make my environment more dignified to live in, get into some hobby, take a walk, etc.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage.

Renewal through Compassion within our Ministries and Mission

Working with Food for the Poor helps me to be constantly aware of those who are struggling to survive, who lack the most basic needs in life. Food for the Poor meets the physical and spiritual needs of people by providing food, housing, emergency relief and more to the poorest of the poor in the Caribbean and Latin America.  I will not only go out to preach on their behalf, like the coming weekend when I travel to a parish in Indianapolis, but also go over some of the printed matter on the plight of so many, or watch a video clip on YouTube after typing in “Food for the Poor” and taking all this to prayer.

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion through our global community 

I try to keep abreast of what is going on at a global level. Catching up with the international news is important for me. I am no doubt very concerned about the thousands of refugees pouring into Europe and realize the challenge that the Europeans face given the impressive numbers. To see the Prime Minister of Canada receiving personally a group of refugees with a warm welcome, accompanied by a group of kids singing in Arabic for them as they were met at the airport, is truly an expression of compassion!

Click here to return to our Lent 2016 webpage. 

Renewal through Compassion toward our environment 

Use but not abuse. We are administrators of God’s creation and not owners. Giving name to creatures is being respectful. We can learn a lot from the first nations of our land in this sense. I try to live this out in my own life and will carry on doing so to use everything with moderation, be it water, electricity or paper, recycling but also avoiding producing a lot of garbage, avoid as much as possible throwing food away, etc. But along with this, it is important to develop a spirit of gratitude and prayer: ” thank you Lord for the gift of water which is readily available to me with the option of hot and cold…for the gift of shelter…for food…for heating or cooling…for eyes to see…ears to hear…etc. How many lack these things and so much more that we take for granted?

Mercy is the compassionate love of God.  We have all known it and experienced it, either as the one shown mercy or the one extending mercy to others.  Pope Francis consistently urges us to live our faith in action, especially in showing mercy to others.

The mercy of God is beautifully depicted in Jesus the Good Shepherd.  He is the one who goes out of his way to find the lost.  He is the one who comforts the brokenhearted, who forgives sins.  He is the one who reconciles us to one another and to the Father.

Being merciful toward others begins first with the experience of being shown mercy. Was it a parent, a spouse, a priest or friend who was the face of mercy?  When we were feeling lost, alone or unloved, how did God reveal his face of mercy?  For many of us, it was a Passionist priest or brother.  The “heart” of the Passionist congregation is an outward sign of their mission to bring the compassionate heart of Jesus to all in need.

More than ever—in a world torn asunder, where human lives are discarded and communities are divided by color or religion—we need faces of mercy.  We need more Passionists and more young people inspired by Passionists to be God’s love and forgiveness for others.

The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign invites you to consider a gift or pledge to the campaign in support of these Passionists who walk with us in our human frailty. They offer compassionate hospitality, spiritual counsel, words of hope and prayers for our needs.  Each Passionist is the face of God’s mercy.

We ask you now to make a gift or pledge to our Campaign that supports our senior Passionists who have increased health care needs, and the formation and education of young Passionists and a new generation of lay Passionist leaders.

To support the campaign, use the enclosed envelope or call Angela Kwasinski, our Director of Donor Relations, at 800-295-9048 ext. 206.

Please consider helping us get us to our Transformation Goal. Through your gift to the Passionists, you truly are supporting these missionaries of mercy.