Last night I participated in a special Holy Hour for right to life. It was our parish's way of responding to Roe v Wade and the resulting deaths of so many innocent babies. It was inspiring to be a part of this Holy Hour. There we were at 7:00 at night with five willing altar servers (who should have been home doing homework) cheerfully serving and assisting. Total attendance was close to 100 people - not bad for a Monday night service. Normally if a church holds a function immediately following the weekend - attendance is predictably low - but not last night. The entire Hour was filled with prayer and psalms - time for silence and a brief homily. It was very spiritual and in a way much different from ordinary Mass.
I noticed - the people in attendance noticed. Here we were at an odd hour of the evening in prayer - asking God to bless our country, our civil leaders and those who make laws. At one time we were a really great country - but today many will agree that we no longer hold that claim to fame. Why have we experienced so much difficulty in our lives in the past years? The financial crash that ruined so many lives - that cost so many jobs. The high rate of unemployment. The loose morals that are so easily accepted as "normal". A thought came to me as I sat there in silence - maybe we have lost favor with God and His blessings or lack of blessings because we have strayed so far from Christian values of 50 or 100 or 200 years ago. Perhaps if we all repented - stopped doing or ignoring bad things and returned to God in prayer and action - He would once again bless this great country with prosperity - with a new richness of the land - improved economics - improved health - improved way of life. Just maybe...
Deacon Dale
I noticed - the people in attendance noticed. Here we were at an odd hour of the evening in prayer - asking God to bless our country, our civil leaders and those who make laws. At one time we were a really great country - but today many will agree that we no longer hold that claim to fame. Why have we experienced so much difficulty in our lives in the past years? The financial crash that ruined so many lives - that cost so many jobs. The high rate of unemployment. The loose morals that are so easily accepted as "normal". A thought came to me as I sat there in silence - maybe we have lost favor with God and His blessings or lack of blessings because we have strayed so far from Christian values of 50 or 100 or 200 years ago. Perhaps if we all repented - stopped doing or ignoring bad things and returned to God in prayer and action - He would once again bless this great country with prosperity - with a new richness of the land - improved economics - improved health - improved way of life. Just maybe...
Deacon Dale
