Inbox Inspiration: April 1, 2020: Living Through This - 2

Living Through This - 2

Dear Friends,
In last week’s Inbox, I recommended five things to help us live through this coronavirus crisis.
The first of these five actions is to pray.
Today I am listing some ways to pray and some sources to help us with that.

• Read a passage from the gospel each day. This week, I recommend Matthew 26:14-27:66. This is the account of Jesus’ Passion that is scheduled to be read at Mass this coming Sunday, Palm/Passion Sunday. Slowly read a section of this long passage each day. Ask yourself: what is this telling me about Jesus? What is this saying to me personally? This can be a great prayer experience! 
• Check out your parish website. Many parishes are livestreaming Sunday Mass or making a previously recorded Mass available. 
• Check out this website of the Archdiocese of Baltimore: www.archbalt.org/online-mass. This gives a list of links to Masses being broadcast from the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and from parishes and other locations.  
• I recommend the monthly missal Give Us This Day. This is available as a print publication from Liturgical Press or as a digital subscription that you access as an App and can download on your laptop or smartphone. For each day of the month, it gives a Morning and Evening Prayer, a short bio of a saint or holy person, the readings for daily Mass and a reflection on them. Could be a big help to assist you with praying at home these weeks! 
• The rosary. This prayer has been a strong part of our Catholic tradition. If you want to add some freshness to it or if you need a refresher on how to pray the rosary, there are a number of helpful internet Apps available. 
• Pray As You Go. This is a 15-minute daily reflective prayer. It includes some beautiful sacred music, a reading of one of the Scripture passages for the Mass of the day, some pointed words of guidance to get us to apply the passage to our own lives, some silence, a re-reading of the passage and a closing prayer. Again, it is available as an App on your smartphone or through their website on the internet: https://pray-as-you-go.org

May the peace and healing action of Jesus Christ come upon us! Amen.
Father Michael Schleupner