Discovering Courage

Gather in your Living Room, with a lighter a candle. 

Prayer leader:  Let us pause for a moment and remember that we are loved by a God who is love.  Let us pray…

In the name of the Father …

All:  Amen. 

Let us pray:

God, help us on the road to courage that we might in this Lenten season use the everyday channels of grace you have given us to prepare us to fully celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. We ask this in your holy name.

Read this reflection

A story about Courage by Dan Millman found in the Chicken Soup for the Soul book. many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at the Stanford hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the necessary antibodies to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and ask the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “yes, I’ll do it if it will save Liza”.

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returned to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up to the doctor and with a trembling voice, said, “will I start to die right away?”

Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.

Light your candle  

Perhaps you have heard Msgr.  Connolly talk about this–.  He describes a time when a mentor of his told him, “if you want to live more than one life—you must die more than once.”  All of us in this call have lived more that one life.  Thinking on your life, consider how many lives you have lived.  Maybe your childhood is one, and high school another, the terrible time still another… Consider the various chapters of your life. 

Prayer leader:  Let us pause for a moment and remember that we are loved by a God who showed great courage.  Let us pray…

Jesus, you faced unimaginable events and faced them with exquisite courage.  You promised to send your spirit to be with us offering us courage.  Help us to use this gift, help us to follow your path.  Help us to be more like you.    We ask this in your holy name.

Amen.

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