Thursday, 28th March 2024

Lent at PIC

Posted on 26. Mar, 2011 in Carousel

The Celebration of Lent at the Pontifical Irish College

 Dear Brothers and Sisters, through the personal encounter with our Redeemer and through fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the journey of conversion towards Easter leads us to rediscover our Baptism. This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us at that moment, so that it may illuminate and guide all of our actions.’ Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for Lent 2011

On Ash Wednesday Cardinal Robert Sarah, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for Human and Christian Development, presented a reflection on Pope Benedict’s message for Lent 2011 to the Irish College community to begin our period of preparation for Easter.

The College community organised the following activities during Lent.

Prayer: 

A renewed sense of devotion to Christ in the Eucharist, can only enrich every aspect of the Church’s life and mission in the world.”

Our college community held a ‘Forty Hour’ Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 8.30pm on Thursday 24th March to 12.30pm on Saturday 26th.
 
Staff, students and visitors to the college were invited to write petition sheets so that prayer requests and intentions would be remembered during adoration. A sign up sheet was available to staff and students where they could volunteer to take responsibility for one hour of adoration. 
 
Our time of adoration concluded with a votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist, celebrated by Fr Billy Swan. In his homily, Fr Billy reflected on life as a gift from our loving Father, hence the importance of self acceptance. With this as our starting point, we can then appreciate our individual need for inner conversion and transformation. Receiving the Eucharist at Mass and spending time in adoration are moments of encounter with God, moments of inner conversion and communion with our Father. Moreover, he said, we cannot overestimate the importance of adoring the Blessed Sacrament, knowing that worship is the highest act of the People of God.

The 40 Hours Devotion was introduced to Rome by St Philip Neri in 1548 and recalls the 40 hours recalls the time Our Lord spent in the tomb.

Fasting: On Fridays during Lent the College students are invited to forgo lunch and spend the time in the College chapel. The cost of lunch is donated to charity.

Almsgiving: Each year the residents of the College select a charity which will benefit from the money raised by their Lenten sacrifices and donated by the members of our Sunday Mass congregation and other visitors to the College. The charity chosen this year is Aid to the Church in Need which is an international Catholic charity. This charity seeks to give a voice and provide  relief to Catholics persecuted and oppressed for their Faith.