Lenten Resources

   I should have made this list in the beginning of Lent.  But here it is, at least ready for Holy Week, and maybe for next year, right?  One advantage of doing this now is that I’ve had all of Lent to remember and discover and use these, so they are fresh in my mind.

   MYSTERIUM FIDEI - This source has been a soul saver for me this year.  As you may or may not know, I came down with whooping cough a couple of weeks before Lent.  Tomorrow will be my first Sunday Mass in about two months (I was able to get to Mass and Confession this morning, too.  Yay!)  One of the things I tried to do every Sunday to keep it holy was to listen to Msgr. Cook’s homily from the corresponding Sunday from last year and the year before.  I would also get this year’s homily usually later in the week when it was posted. There are many, many excellent sermons on here - I haven’t listened to any without feeling I learned something.  (A note: I usually attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, and I know many of my readers do the same, so I want to point out that these are from Msgr. Cook’s Ordinary Form Sunday Masses and the corresponding readings. Sadly, he doesn’t do a homily at his beautiful Extraordinary Form Saturday morning Masses.) THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS BY ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI 
 
There are many meditations on the Stations of the Cross, but my favorite are the ones written by St. Alphonsus Liguori. There is such beautiful prose and repetition in it.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to use these meditations, I encourage you to do so.  Especially an older translation with the “Thee”s intact.  Did you know that Thees and Thous were terms for loved ones, not formal?  There is also a recording of these meditations produced by David Phillips, featuring Robert Kochis and Seraphim.  The music added is so lovely - I only wish it was possibly to listen to the hymns without the meditations. 
BENJAMIN’S BOX:
I love this book.  Yes, it is a children’s book, and yes, there is one page that needs to be edited a bit (on page eleven, when telling about the last supper it says the wine was “like” His blood, and the bread “like” His body. A bit of marker fixes that easily.) I think this copy has a little "parents guide" that is geared toward the "saved" thinking, too. But what better way to bring children closer to the story of Christ’s Death and Resurrection than through the eyes of a child? If you have children, I recommend reading this book with them during Holy Week.  You can buy the eggs that go with it, but my brothers enjoyed putting together their own boxes and improvising. 

That's all for now, folks!  Oh, and you can check out my YouTube Playlist for Lent.  It's a little short, but maybe I'll add a few more songs.

May God Bless and Keep You this Holy Week!