Week Nine

Prayer Before Study and Reflection

COME, HOLY SPIRIT

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the Hearts of Your faithful and kindle in us the Fire of Your love.
Send forth Your Spirit and we shall be recreated
–And You will renew the face of the earth, (Ps 104:30).
Let us pray:
O God, Who did instruct the hearts of Your faithful people by the Light of Your Holy Spirit, grant that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Week Eight

The Benedictus

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father
Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Required Reading:

Compendium Questions 295-320

Suggested Reading:

Catechism of the Catholic Church 1420-1532

Formula of Christian Doctrine

The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit:

1. Charity
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Generosity
8. Gentleness
9. Faithfulness
10. Modesty
11. Self-control
12. Chastity

Reflection Questions:

1. Consider the names that are given to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation: sacrament of conversion, sacrament of penance, sacrament of confession, sacrament of forgiveness, sacrament of reconciliation. Which of these names do you most associate the sacrament with and which names broadens your understanding of it? Why?

2. Reflect and discuss the following quote from St. Ambrose: “in the Church, “there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance”

3. Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, “sackcloth and ashes,” fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance. (Cf. #1430)

4. Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). (Cf #1431) Reflect on a time that you felt this salutary pains and sadness.

5. Reflect on these means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one’s neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one’s neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity “which covers a multitude of sins.” Which of these might you focus on now and especially during Lent?

6. Read the story of the Prodigal Son slowly. Luke 15:11-14. Meditate on it and see the process of conversion.  Have you ever had a “prodigal Son” experience in your life?

 7. Meditate, reflect and pray the prayer of absolution. It serves as a little catechism on the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

8. Reflect on these words from St. Augustine:  “Whoever confesses his sins . . . is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear “man” – this is what God has made; when you hear “sinner” – this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made. . . . When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light”. (#1458)

9. How do you, as a Christian, view suffering in light of the following?“On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the “sin of the world,”.¹¹² of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.” (1505)

10. What changes have you seen in the Church’s understanding of the Anointing of the Sick and how and when it is administered?

11. Reflect on the words spoken to the sick person by the bishop or priest: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.”

12. “The first grace of the sacrament of anointing is one of strengthening, peace and courage to overcome the difficulties that go with the condition of serious illness or the frailty of old age. The Holy Spirit renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, the temptation to discouragement and anguish in the face of death. This assistance from the Lord by the power of his Spirit is meant to lead the sick person to healing of the soul, but also of the body if such is God’s will. Furthermore, “if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (#1520) Reflect on a personal experience of suffering – your own or someone close to you. Have you seen and experienced both the temptation and the grace that accompany illness. Describe it.

13. The sick who receive this sacrament, “by freely uniting themselves to the passion and death of Christ,” “contribute to the good of the People of God.”(#1522)  Comments?

 14. Consider and reflect upon the connection between the sacraments of initiation and the sacraments of healing. “Thus, just as the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a unity called “the sacraments of Christian initiation,” so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life “the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland” or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.” (#1525)