Lenten Rewind: 40 Days of Prayer, Fasting, and Penance

Lent this year seems like it never ended. The lockdown and quarantine happened in the middle of the Lenten season, and we didn’t get to really properly celebrate Holy Week. And now, it seems like this political season that is upon us is threatening to divide us and unsettle us. We need the spiritual benefits of Lent even more. The Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville is offering a “Lenten Rewind”, a sort of do-over, when we most need these spiritual opportunities. I would like for us here at the Basilica to join this great idea and movement as much as we can, and make use of the spiritual goods our Church offers us to lead and guide us and give us wisdom in these trying times. To that end, we will be offering the following, beginning September 25th and concluding on Election Day, November 3rd.

Develop a Discipline of Prayer—Spend time listening to God using the traditional prayers of the Church as well as meditation. 
Pray the Rosary—individually, as a family, via Zoom with others. Do it at home, or come to the church. 

• We will be live-streaming a Virtual Rosary sponsored by our American Heritage Girls, at 8 pm EDT on Wed., Oct. 7, the Feast of Our Lady of The Rosary

• Pray the Liturgy of the Hours—You can find the Liturgy of the Hours prayers on iBreviary.com, and install the iBreviary app on your phone. You are invited to pray them in common with us at the Basilica. We offer the following:
  • Morning Prayer in English weekdays at 7:30am (using the prayers on the iBreviary) and 
  • Evening Prayer in Latin daily at 5pm (6:30pm on Saturday), using the monastic edition of the breviary prayers found at divinumofficium.com. 
  • In addition, Fr. Valentin and I also chant the Office of Readings every morning in English at 6:15am, Tuesday through Friday, and you are welcome to join us.
• Try the Hallow app—A great primer for contemplative prayer, this will teach you how to meditate in a Christian way. 

• Stations of the Cross—The church is open every day from 7:30 am—5:30pm. Feel free to say the Stations of the Cross when you come in. We will have pamphlets set out at the entrance.

Go to Confession—We now once again have confession available every day, 30 minutes before each Mass except the 7am Mass. Take advantage of the opportunity for healing.

Fast and Do a Penance—You can do traditional fasting from food and abstinence from meat, just like in Lent. I also recommend fasting from social media, and committing to saying a decade of the Rosary each time you speak out on social media.

Study Resources on Catholic Social Teaching—We have created a new Catholic Social Teaching page on our parish website, that consolidates many of the Church’s timeless social teachings, as well as current articles that you can study as you prepare to exercise your conscience and vote in this election and participate in society in general.

Attend our Parish Virtual Town Hall Meeting :  Catholics and Elections, on Wed., Oct. 21 at 6pm, which will be a live-streamed Zoom meeting 

Pray for Members of Service Professions—A time-honored tradition of the Church is the annual celebration of Masses that are known by the color associated with the profession of those we remember and pray for in a special way. These Masses are being celebrated at the Cathedral in Knoxville on the following Sundays this fall, and our parish will be joining with the Cathedral in honoring and praying for the members of these professions. On those Sundays, feel free to come in the uniform of your profession. I will be giving a special blessing at the 9:00 Mass:

• Sept. 27 - Blue Mass for those serving in Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, and all First Responders
• Oct. 4 - Red Mass for those serving in the Judiciary and Legal Profession
• Oct. 18 - White Mass for those serving in the Health Profession
• Nov. 8 - Green Mass for those who have served and are serving in the Armed Forces

November 3rd Election Day—On election day itself, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration from 7:30am—Midnight, with a 12pm Mass in between, and you are invited to stop in for Adoration and prayer at any time until 5:30pm. If there is interest, I am open to an all-night Adoration vigil starting after Vespers on November 2, All Souls Day. If you are interested in committing to this, contact the parish office. We will only offer it if there are enough to cover the hours. 

As Catholic Christians, we know the cross is a part of our lives. But we also understand it to be our only hope: Ave, o crux, spes unica! When adversity strikes, we are taught to respond by embracing the cross even more closely. I hope that these offerings for our “Lenten Rewind” will bear the fruit that is promised to those who take up their cross and follow Christ.

Fr. David Carter, Pastor and Rector