St. Ignatius Parish - Portland, Oregon

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Novena of Grace

Novena of Grace 2010: March 4 - 12
Christ with Us: At Home and in the Wilderness

Speakers:
                 Fr. Chris Weekly, SJ
                 Fr. Tom Lamanna, SJ
                 Katie Hennessy

Weekday Services: 8:00am & 7:00 PM
Saturday March 6 Service 8:00am & 5:00pm
Sunday March 7 Service 8:00am & 7:30pm

                Listen to an MP3 of the reflection from each day here:

                    March 4 - Fr. Tom Lamanna, SJ          March 7 - Fr. Tom Lamanna, SJ           March 10
                    March 5 - Fr. Chris Weekly, SJ            March 8 - Fr. Chris Weekly, SJ            March 11
                    March 6 - Katie Hennessy                    March 9 - Katie Hennessy                     March 12

Christ with Us
Throughout Lent, scripture reminds us we are with Christ, and called to be his ambassadors – whether at home, or in the wilderness.

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled himself to us through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting our trespasses against us, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God, and does not come from us. (Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, 5:17-20; 4:7)

Questions for Reflection
“Home” is often the word we use to describe our own sense of the center – the place of familiarity, comfort, nourishment and safety. “Wilderness,” on the other hand, is a particularly Northwestern image suggesting the frontiers of our own lives and world – places of shadow, confusion, disorientation, and also alluring wonder. And often our daily lives are spent negotiating the territory between “home” and “wilderness.”

The prayers and presentations of this Novena will explore these type of questions:

     1.) Where is our “home” – personal, communal, geographical and spiritual?

     2.) How might Jesus be inviting us to “leave home,” and explore the “wilderness” with him?

     3.) How can the prayers and example of St. Francis Xavier help us to be ministers of reconciliation amidst all that is unsettled in our own time?

Through these nine days, let us pray with and for one another – that we might hear and respond to the graces given to us, as individuals and a parish community.

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