St. John Cantius Parish

Station - St. Mark

Details:

Mar. 16, 1:00 am

MONDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
STATION – ST. MARK

In the historic center of the city, near Piazza Venezia, stands the elegant Basilica of St. Mark. St. Mark had a very important role in the evangelization work in the Rome of his time, and, after the death of the Apostles, it was in this city that he wrote the Gospel of Mark.

The more sincerely we enter into each Lenten day, the more perfectly will the Holy Eucharist transform us and the more pleasing to God will be our Lenten efforts. Our spiritual life will take on a freshness, like that of a child, or, rather, it will glow in the very freshness of Christ Himself. The branch will receive daily a new portion of vital energy from the infinite freshness and vitality of the Vine.

Spring experiences not only the coming forth of new plants but also the renewal of old ones. In like manner this spiritual Springtide will witness not only the birth of new Christians “out of water and the Holy Spirit,” but also the re-birth of the entire Christian body.

We are looking forward to the “renewal of our baptismal life” at Easter. But let us not think for a moment that this renewal will be done only then. Easter means completion, the sealing of a process begun on Ash Wednesday and reaching its culmination of the “Day which the Lord hath made.”

Let us pray: Pour forth in Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that as we abstain from carnal food, may we also restrain our senses from harmful excesses. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.