Fr. Roger J. Landry
St. John the Evangelist Parish, Encinitas, CA
Lenten Day of Recollection
“Preparing to Follow Jesus Up Close During Holy Week”
April 13, 2019
To listen to the homily from Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent that began the retreat, dedicated to the theme of how Christ wants to gather us, and through us, gather others, with him during this holiest of weeks, please click below:
To listen to the first Conference, dedicated to prayer on the theme of “Can you stay awake and pray with me for one hour?,” please click below:
The second Conference, dedicated to the theme of receiving God’s mercy under the theme of “Father, Forgive Them For They Know Not What They Do,” didn’t record. The following points were attempted:
- Jesus’ first words on the Cross summarize his entire life: to give his life to save ours through mercy.
- He did this because we need his mercy, for we have committed far more than peccadilloes, but have “greatly sinned” by our own “most grievous fault.” To appreciate our Savior, we must recognize our sins.
- Pope Francis’ words about the “O Felix Culpa,” the “happy fault” of the Exultet of the Easter Vigil and St. Ambrose’s words about how our state after having deeply experienced God’s mercy is greater than the state we would have had had we never sinned.
- The illustration of these truths in the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
- Becoming devoted to Jesus’ merciful love through the Divine Mercy devotion revealed to St. Faustina Kowalska.
- Being so transformed by God’s mercy that we share it. The condition given to the Our Father. The Parable of the Two Debtors. Becoming merciful as the Father is merciful by sharing the riches of his mercy. How to draw people back to share God’s mercy.
The third Conference, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, was on the importance of living a truly Eucharistic life, under the theme of Jesus’ words from Holy Thursday, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. To listen to an audio conference of these words, please click below:
