Praying With The
Church
When The Passion of the Christ, by Mel
Gibson, was released in local theatres at the beginning of the Lenten Season,
many Church leaders joined in supporting and encouraging their members to attend
this moving portrayal of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.
Advance tickets were sold out and the theatre was full to overflowing.
There were rave reviews by people who attended.
As Paul Harvey said in his commentary, “You do not view this film; you
experience it.”
Year after year, in our Catholic churches, the same drama
is re-enacted liturgically. Even without the panoramic portrayal of Gibson’s
movie, the celebration of the Triduum, or “Three Days,” at the climax of the Lenten season is the
richest and most moving liturgical celebration of our Church Year.
Through it we enter into the prayer of the Church at its finest.
It is the celebration, the experiencing of the whole Paschal
Mystery: the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
At the Easter Vigil, we hear a series of readings that point out the
history of God’s promise to us from Creation through the Incarnation,
reminding us that the story is a long one that continues to unfold in our daily
lives. As the Liturgy continues, Jesus Himself becomes present in our midst.
In fact, each time we celebrate the Eucharistic Liturgy
together we re-enact the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Each Mass draws us into the mystery again and allows us to experience
it. We listen to the Word of God in
Scripture, we participate through the Eucharistic Prayer and reception of the
Eucharist. We are united with the
prayer of the Church throughout the world in what Vatican II called “the
source and summit of our faith.”
One way of extending the Paschal Mystery as it unfolds in
our lives is through the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer of the Church that
marks the hours of the day through Scripture readings and the recitation of
psalms and prescribed prayers following the liturgical season. Monks and nuns
recite the entire Liturgy of the Hours each day in the name of all the People of
God, all members of the Church.
Each moment of
each day is sacred and is a part of Christ’s Paschal Mystery for every
baptized Catholic. Vatican II
encouraged all Catholics to recite the Liturgy of the Hours, if only on a
limited basis. In some churches
small groups do gather for Morning Prayer and/or Evening Prayer, the two most
important Hours of the Liturgy of the Hours.
The Poor Clares invite anyone to join them in their praying
of the “Hours”, especially Morning Prayer (6:50 AM) and Evening Prayer.(5:15
PM). During the Advent-Christmas
season and the Lent-Easter season, we have been praying Evening Prayer each
Sunday in St. Joseph Church in Great Falls at 5:30 PM.
The Evening Prayer for this Easter season will continue each Sunday
through Pentecost, May 30th.
All are invited, free of charge, to enter into any of these
experiences of the Paschal Mystery of Christ.
Sister Maryalice Pierce, OSC
