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Prayer Sheets for Lent
Passion Sunday - Palm Sunday
Preparation:
Take a moment to affirm Jesus as your King. Bless Him, rejoice and thank
the Father for the triumph of His son over suffering and death.
Reading:
On the recovery of M. Martin, Thérèse' dad, from his second
attack of paralytic stroke, the Bishop set the ceremony of Thérèse
reception of the Habit for January 10. It was a wonderful celebration and
one of triumph for her father who had now given all his children to God.
It was, however, his last celebration on earth as not long after he had
to leave Lisieux to enter a mental institution.
January 10, as I have just said, was my King's day
of triumph. I compare it to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the day
of the palms. Like that of our Divine master, Papa's glory of a day was
followed by a painful passion and this passion was not his alone. Just
as the suffering of Jesus pierced His Mother's heart with a sword of sorrow,
so our hearts experienced the sufferings of the one we cherished most tenderly
on earth. I recall that in the month of June, 1888, at the moment of our
first trials, I said: "I am suffering very much, but I feel I can
still bear greater trials." I was thinking then of the ones reserved
for me. I didn't know that on February 12, a month after my reception of
the Habit, our dear Father would drink the most bitter and most humiliating
of all chalices.
(Story of A Soul: Clarke Pg 143-4)
Scriptural Echo:
The crowds who had come up for the festival heard that Jesus was on his
way to Jerusalem. They took branches of palm and went to meet him, shouting,
'Hosanna! Blessings on the King of Israel, who comes in the name of the
Lord.' John 12:12-13
The Lord has given me a disciple's tongue.
So that I may know how to reply to the wearied he provides me with speech.
Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord has
opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my
back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I
did not cover my face against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like a flint; I know I shall not be shamed. Isaiah
50:4-7
Questions:
1. What does the passion of Jesus mean to you personally? Are you able
to look beyond it and see in his sufferings the basis of his resurrection
and glorification?
2. Recall a time when your heart experienced the pain and humiliation of
another person. How did you see your way through it? Were you open to God's
presence and help then?
Quote for the week:
Each morning he wakes me to hear, to listen like a
disciple. The Lord has opened my ear.
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Preparation:
Welcome God to this quiet moment. Open your heart to
his love and mercy and enjoy His presence.
Reading:
On New Year's Day, 1888, the bishop granted Thérèse the permission
to enter Carmel. Her joy should have been great but she was once again
denied an early entrance, this time by Carmel itself which deemed it necessary
for her to wait till after Lent.
I was unable to hold back my tears at the thought of
such a long wait. This trial had a particular characteristic about it:
I saw all my bonds broken as far as the world was concerned, but this time
it was the holy ark itself which refused entrance to the poor little dove.
I really want to believe I must have appeared unreasonable in not accepting
my three months' exile joyfully, but I also believe that, without its appearing
so, this trial was very great and made me grow very much in abandonment
and in the other virtues.
How did those three months pass, those months so
rich in graces for me? At first the thought came into my mind not to lead
a life as well regulated as had been my custom, but soon I understood the
value of the time I was being offered. I made a resolution to give myself
up more than ever to a serious and mortified life. When I say mortified,
this is not to give the impression that I performed acts of penance. Alas,
I never made any. Far from resembling beautiful souls who practiced every
kind of mortification from their childhood, I had no attraction for this……My
mortifications consisted in breaking my will, always so ready to impose
itself on others, in holding back a reply, in rendering little services
without any recognition, in not leaning my back against a support when
seated, etc., etc. It was through the practice of these nothings that I
prepared myself to become the fiancée of Jesus, and I cannot express
how much this waiting left me with sweet memories. Three months passed
by very quickly, and then the moment so ardently desired finally arrived.
(Story of A Soul: Clarke Pg 143-4)
Scriptural Echo:
Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making
the most of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 NRSV
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
If I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:16-17
NRSV
Questions:
1. What value do you place on the time you have? How do you use it?
2. What mortifications could you practice in your daily life?
Quote for the week:
I understood the value of the time I was being offered.
Fourth Sunday in Lent
Preparation:
Be present to God: bring your thought and prayers to Him
who is with you at this time of prayer and reflection.
Reading:
In November 1887 Thérèse arrived in Rome, believing she would
receive the permission required to enter Carmel from Pope Leo XIII. Despite
her confidence, it was not to be so. Writing from within Carmel, years
later, she looks back on the mysterious will of God.
"At eight o'clock in the morning our emotion was
profound when we saw him enter to celebrate Holy Mass. After blessing the
numerous pilgrims gathered round him, he climbed the steps of the altar
and showed us through his piety, worthy of the Vicar of Jesus, that he
was truly "the Holy Father." My heart beat strongly and my prayers
were fervent when Jesus descended into the hands of His Pontiff. However,
I was filled with confidence, for the Gospel of the day contained these
beautiful words: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." No, I did not fear, I hoped
the kingdom of Carmel would soon belong to me; I was not thinking then
of those other words of Jesus: "And I appoint to you a kingdom even
as my Father has appointed to me …." In other words, I reserve
crosses and trials for you, and it is thus you will be worthy of possessing
this kingdom after which you long; since it was necessary that the Christ
suffer and that He enter through it into His glory, if you desire to have
a place by his side, then drink the chalice He has drunk! This chalice
was presented to me by the Holy Father and my tears mingles with the bitter
potion I was offered….
At the termination of the audience, my dear Father was grieved to find
me in tears, He did his best to console me but without success. In the
bottom of my heart I felt a great peace, since I had done everything in
my power to answer what God was asking of me. This peace, however, was
in the depths only; bitterness filled my soul, for Jesus was silent. He
seemed to be absent, nothing served to reveal His presence…. The final
words of the Pontiff (Go…go…You will enter if God wills it!)
should have consoled me, for were they not a real prophecy? In spite of
all obstacles, what God willed was really accomplished. He did not allow
creatures to do what they willed but what He willed."
(Story of A Soul: Clarke Pg133, 135-6)
Scriptural Echo:
To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just
as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on this throne. Revelation
3: 21 NRSV
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed,
"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not
what I want but what you want." Matthew 26: 39 NRSV
Questions:
1. What are your expectations of the Holy Father as a worthy Vicar of Jesus?
2. How do you discern God's will for you?
3. What bitter chalice is being offered you at this time of your life?
Quote for the week:
If you desire to have a place by his side, then drink
the chalice He has drunk!
Third Sunday in Lent
Preparation:
Enter this quiet moment with the confidence that God
is near, very near to your heart.
Reading:
On her pilgrimage to Rome, Thérèse came to a deeper understanding
of the need to pray, not only for sinners, but also for priests.
The second experience I had relates to priests. Having
never lived close to them, I was not able to understand the principal aim
of the Reform of Carmel. To pray for sinners attracted me, but to pray
for the souls of priests whom I believed to be as pure as crystal seemed
puzzling to me!
I understood my vocation in Italy and that's not going
too far in search of such useful knowledge. I lived in the company of many
saintly priests for a month and I learned that, though their dignity raises
them above the angels, they are nevertheless weak and fragile men. If holy
priests, whom Jesus in His Gospel calls the "salt of the earth,"
show in their conduct their extreme need for prayers, what is to be said
of those who are tepid? Didn't Jesus say too: "If the salt loses its
savour, wherewith will it be salted?"
How beautiful is the vocation, O Mother, which has
as its aim the preservation of the salt destined for souls! This is Carmel's
vocation since the sole purpose of our prayers and sacrifices is to be
the apostle of the apostles. We are to pray for them while they are preaching
to souls through their words and especially their example. I must stop
here, for were I to continue I would never come to an end!
(Story of A Soul:Clarke Pg122)
Scriptural Echo:
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things
pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself
is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for
his own sins as well as for those of the people. Hebrews 5:1-3 NRSV
First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions,
so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
1Tim 2:1-2 NRSV
Questions:
1. How do you identify with the role of Carmel and the need for prayer
in the salvation of souls?
2. Do you expect perfection in priests? Why or why not?
3. What can you do to uphold priests in their vocation of leading souls
to God?
Quote for the week:
Jesus wills that the salvation of souls depend on the
sacrifices of our love.
Second Sunday in Lent
Preparation:
Take a few moments to still yourself. Be aware of the
presence of God before beginning your heartfelt conversation with Him.
Reading:
Three days after her disappointing visit to the Bishop in Bayeux, Thérèse
embarked on a pilgrimage, with her father and sister Celine, to Rome. Her
travels gave her the opportunity to contemplate the grandeur of nature,
the marvels of art and religion and also the vanity of humanity.
Having never lived among the great of this world, Celine
and I found ourselves in the midst of the nobility who almost exclusively
made up the pilgrimage. Ah! Far from dazzling us, all these titles and
these "de" appeared to us as nothing but smoke. From a distance
this had sometimes thrown a little powder in my eyes, but close up, I saw
that "all that glistens is not gold," and I understood the words
of the Imitation "Be not solicitous for the shadow of a great name,
nor for acquaintance with many, nor for the particular love of individuals."
I understood true greatness is to be found in the soul, not in a name,
since as Isaiah says: "The Lord will call his servants by ANOTHER
NAME," and St John says: "To him that overcomes I will give a
white stone, and on the stone a NEW NAME written that no man knows but
the one who receives it." It is in heaven, then, that we shall know
our titles of nobility. Then shall every man have praise from God and the
one who on earth wanted to be the poorest, the most forgotten out of love
of Jesus, will be the first, the noblest, and the richest! (Story of A
Soul:Clarke Pg121-122)
Scriptural Echo:
For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose
the things that please me and hold fast to my covenant, I will give, in
my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and
daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 56:4-5 NRSV
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded
as the greatest. But Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles
lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the
youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. For who is greater, the
one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the
table? But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:24-27NRSV
Questions:
1. In your daily life, how do you measure greatness and what importance
do you place on it?
2. Do you relate differently to the people you meet: those with titles,
riches, achievements, ordinary folk, children, the disabled, the poor,
the sick, the worker etc? How differently and why?
3. What 'new name' would you aspire to?
Quote for the week:
True greatness is to be found in the soul, not in a
name.
First Sunday in Lent
Preparation:
Leave behind your anxieties and concerns. Calm your
mind and heart and be aware of God with you at this time of reflection.
Reading:
Despite obtaining permission from her father to enter Carmel on the Feast
of Pentecost, May 1887, Thérèse had to wait almost a year
before it became a reality. During this time, she had to face a number
of objections to her vocation and several delays - it was truly a difficult
period for her to be so near and yet so far from her heart's desire. Ten
years later she reflects on the price she had to pay to obtain it:
Before my entrance into Carmel I had many experiences of
life and the miseries of the world … October 31 was the day set for
the trip to Bayeux. I left alone with Papa, my heart filled with hope,
but also rather scared at the thought of meeting the Bishop. For the first
time in my life, I was to make a visit unaccompanied by my sisters and
this visit was to a Bishop! I had never had any reason to speak unless
in answer to questions addressed to me, and now I had to explain the purpose
of my visit, to develop the reasons that made me seek entrance into Carmel;
in a word, I was to show the firmness of my vocation. Ah! what that trip
cost me! God had to give me a very special grace to overcome my timidity.
It's also very true that "love never finds impossibilities, because
it believes everything is possible, everything is permitted." It was
surely only love of Jesus that could help me surmount these difficulties
and the ones that followed, for it pleased Him to have me buy my vocation
with very great trials.
Today, when I am enjoying Carmel's solitude (resting
in the shadow of him whom I have so ardently desired), I find I paid very
little for my happiness, and would be ready to bear with even greater trials
to acquire it if I still didn't have it!
(Story of A Soul:Clarke Pg114)
Scriptural Echo:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing
with the glory about to be revealed to us … we know that all things
work together for good for those who love God, who are called according
to his purpose.
Romans 8: 18, 28 NRSV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NRSV
Questions:
1. What does your heart ardently desire? Would it be a help or hindrance
to your embracing and living out the vocation God has called or is calling
you to?
2. Looking back on your own life, was there ever a trial worth bearing?
3. How do you now view the inconveniences, obstacles and difficulties that
crop up in your life?
Quote for the week:
Love never finds impossibilities, because it believes
everything is possible, everything is permitted.
(Imitation of Christ III, 5:4)
[Later prayer reflections - Easter 2002]
[Earlier prayer reflections - 2002]
[Archived prayer reflections 1]
[Archived prayer reflections 2]
[Background information on these prayer sheets]
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