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About Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.

Ronald Raab, C.S.C.,serves as religious superior at Holy Cross House, a medical and retirement home for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Indiana

On The Margins – First Sunday of Lent, Mark 1:12-15

fr_ron_and_kbvm_readingBWListen to  “On the Margins”. This broadcast comes from KBVM 88.3, Catholic Broadcasting Northwest. We begin Lent in the desert. The deserts within are even more brutal than on the earth. Lent is springtime, where we offer our lives, our choices back to God.  First Sunday of Lent, February 22, 2015.

Listen now: [audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/75239779/On%20The%20Margins/On%20The%20Margins%20Feb%2022%202015%20LENT.mp3]

Stream live On The Margins on KBVM 88.3FM on Saturdays at 8am and Sundays at 8am.

Lent 2015: Friday, Fasting, Food Insecurity

Gospel for Friday after Ash Wednesday:

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” ( Matthew 9: 14-15) 

On this Friday of Lent, we reflect on fasting as a way of prayer. Click here to an article from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the spirituality of fasting. 

Also, please reflect prayerfully on the fact of food insecurity in the world. So often going without food is not an option for so many people even here in the United States. Please learn more about how hungry people really are in our own day and age. Click here to learn the connection of Catholic Social Teaching and Food from Catholic Relief Services. 

Click here to learn more about food insecurity in the United States.

Click here for some facts about hunger in Colorado.

Click here to learn more about Marian House Soup Kitchen from our local Catholic Charities in Colorado Springs

I hope you will pray for people who need food and take that awareness into your Lenten journey of fasting and realizing the importance of what is needed for all people to survive.

The Faces of Friday

I hope you will take time during the Lenten season to listen to and pray with these Stations of the Cross. Andrew Noethe and I produced this set of stations a few years ago. Each station is a separate video. Andy’s brilliant photography speaks beautifully of people struggling to connect their story with the larger story of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. My prayer will be with you as you journey through these stations as we begin Lent tomorrow.

Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.'s avatarBroken But Not Divided

The stations of the cross are a traditionally practiced prayer and meditation by which to view all human suffering. This version, The Faces of Friday, articulates the raw suffering we encounter daily at our parish here in Portland, Oregon.

Before viewing, you are invited to read an introduction to The Faces of Friday from an article in Celebrate! Magazine.

You can also read an article in today’s Catholic Sentinel about The Faces of Friday.

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Battles and Weapons

This article is based on the Collect (Opening Prayer) for Ash Wednesday. I wrote this for Ministry and Liturgy Magazine in 2012. I hope it will offer you some moments of reflection and prayer as we prepare for the Lenten Season this week. Let me know what you think.

Ronald Patrick Raab, C.S.C.'s avatarBroken But Not Divided

Originally published by Ministry & Liturgy Magazine, November 2012
– PDF version –

Ash Wednesday
Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting the campaign of Christian service, so that as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Our parish opens our daily hospitality center by first gathering staff and volunteers around a large table. We gather so people can introduce themselves, to learn names and basic information of other volunteers. We strive to build community with people who offer their presence to others in the morning. A staff member invites someone to read out loud the gospel passage for the upcoming Sunday. He invites people into silence and offers that silence in peace for the community who are still waiting…

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At-Home Lenten Retreat 2015

(Here is a little help preparing for the Lenten season and allowing the message of the gospels to rest in your heart. This retreat text was first published in 2006 in Portland, OR)

At-Home Retreat

Lent 2015

Rev. Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC

INTRODUCTION:

 Lent is a time to take seriously the love our God has for each and every one of us. It is a time to strip away the distractions that keep us from acknowledging love, to fast from the things that keep us numb and our real hunger suppressed, and to give of our real selves and not just out of obligation or rule keeping. This Lenten journey leads us to a revitalized understanding that Christ’s death and resurrection continues to give genuine life to us. Continue reading

Bread and Concrete: Where Ministry and Liturgy Meet, Ministry and Liturgy Magazine, March 2015

(This is the second in a year-long series published in Ministry and Liturgy Magazine, March 2015 issue. I am grateful for Ada Simpson, editor who made the decision that these reflections from my years at the Downtown Chapel in Portland should see the light of day in Ministry and Liturgy magazine.)

Processions on Concrete

“Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,

but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” Luke 24 Continue reading

On The Margins – Mark 1: 40-45

fr_ron_and_kbvm_readingBWListen to  “On the Margins”. This broadcast comes from KBVM 88.3, Catholic Broadcasting Northwest. Jesus’ presence with the lepers restores all relationships. Leprosy was thought to be evil, people lived away from the community. He does the same with our lives, our brokenness, our shame. “If you wish, you can make me clean.” He restores us to new life.   Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 15, 2015.

 

Listen now: [audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/75239779/On%20The%20Margins/On%20The%20Margins%20Feb%2015%202015.mp3]

Stream live On The Margins on KBVM 88.3FM on Saturdays at 8am and Sundays at 8am.

First International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking

Pope Francis is asking us to pray today for people who are victims of human trafficking across the globe. Here is a link to an article about the press conference this week. 

Also, here is a link for more information in Colorado.

“On the occasion of this first day of prayer and reflection, all dioceses, parishes, associations, families and individuals are invited to reflect and pray in order to cast light on this crime, as indicated by the theme of the initiative. In addition, prayer vigils will be held in different countries, culminating in the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on 8 February.

On the day, the faithful are invited to recite the following prayer”:

“O God, when we hear of children and adults

deceived and taken to unknown places for

purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, and

organ ‘harvesting’, our hearts are saddened and

our spirits angry that their dignity and rights are

ignored through threats, lies, and force.

We cry out against the evil practice of this modern

slavery, and pray with St. Bakhita for it to end.

Give us wisdom and courage to reach out and

stand with those whose bodies, hearts and spirits

have been so wounded, so that together we may

make real your promises to fill these sisters and

brothers with a love that is tender and good.

Send the exploiters away empty-handed to be

converted from this wickedness, and help us all to

claim the freedom that is your gift to your

children. Amen”.