Lent on the Weekend

I met someone at my Carmelite meeting this weekend who is in battle with the devil. I believe the devil is real.I believe her battles with the evil one are real. She seems to be praying every prayer under the sun and fasting and still she is at war. I do not pretend to understand why this is happening to her. By reaching out to the Carmelite community she is asking for and hopefully accepting our prayers. We are praying rosaries for her. When I wake in the night I think of her and her battle and I pray Mary and Michael  be at her side. I pray the Holy Name of Jesus. I do not know what else to do. The guys in our group want to 'fix it.' So do I. How do you 'fix'  someone of faith in a war like this? I think we will reassess our actions next month and see if what we are doing is enough; or if we feel our actions should be different. Perhaps take a page out of Ignatius of Loyola. We were discussing this Sunday's Gospel and the temptations of Jesus in the desert before she shared with us. In Lectio two of us were struck by the angels ministering to Jesus after the devil moved on til another day. Perhaps we are her angels

At Sunday's celebration of Holy Mass the Catechumens spent time with their sponsors at the front of the church in declaring their wish to join the faith and their readiness to attempt the final instructions. They signed their names in a large book that was visually shared with the congregation. Our choir, 40 some voices strong, sang a spiritual, Sign Me Up. The only woman in our choir who has the voice to carry this song sang the lead. It is not often we hear spirituals in our northern Indiana church. There were smiles on lots of faces and toes were tapping. That is pretty enthusiastic for us. There was no hand clapping, swaying or shouts of hallelujah, but oh, it was grand! I have only seen gospel singing in the movies, you know, like Forest Gump. Someday I am going to attend such a service. I hope I am brave enough to shout and clap and sing along.

I finished Fr. Calloway's book: No Turning Back, a Witness to Mercy.