Advent is a time of joyful anticipation and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas. Because of the winter break, though, we won’t be able to celebrate together.
So the Catholic Community is doing the next best thing: celebrating early.
I hope you can join us after 5 o’clock Mass this Saturday, Dec. 12 in the Chapel library for good cheer and good fun – and good food to whet your appetite for dinner at Harris.
I hope you can also be with us this afternoon, Tuesday, for Mass at 5 in the Chapel, celebrating the Holyday of the Immaculate Conception.
Advent and Christmas are about so much more than Jesus’ birth. Theologically, this season is a celebration of the incarnation – of God becoming flesh in Christ. That is the source of the hope we celebrate in the next few weeks. If you’re looking for more inspiration or more about the meaning of the season, visit our Web site at www.conncatholics.com. You might also find inspiration at Christmas Vespers: A Service of Lessons and Carols, Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the Chapel.
This can be a stressful time for many students. Our culture informs us at every turn that this is the season to be joyful, but often fails – intentionally – to remind us of the real reason for the joy. It can seem like a very hollow time. On top of that, papers are due, exams are coming up and we’ll all soon be separated from friends whose company we’ve come to truly enjoy.
If you would like to talk, please stop by my office in the Chapel basement or stop me if you see me in Harris, the library or walking across campus. I’m here Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and evenings; I’m always available after 5 o’clock Mass on Saturday. Our last liturgy of the year will be Dec. 19, on the second day of exams. You can also reach me by phone at 860-423-0856 or e-mail.
I hope to see you around campus, perhaps in the library, before you leave, but, if not, you will be in my prayers and in the prayers of the Catholic Community during the next few weeks. I wish you a joyful Christmas and all of God’s blessings for 2010.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Lasagna this Saturday!
Classes started just a few days ago and all of us are adapting to new schedules, meeting new friends and sizing up new classes. I still feel a little unsettled, perhaps because of the threat of a flu pandemic. As a child I was taught never to sneeze into my sleeve. Now… Who knew? Times change.
Sneezing or not, we are, all of us, spiritual beings. As we establish new routines this fall, I hope we will all have the courage to allow our spirituality to determine our path each day – to influence our time in class, with friends, in sports, volunteering at local organizations. This becomes more difficult, but also more important, as the world presses us in other directions. If you believe that there is no room for God in the life of a rational thinker, read a little of the writings of Karl Rahner. “One cannot think enough,” he said “think intensively enough, courageously enough, and precisely enough.” Clearly being Catholic doesn’t mean leaving your brain at the gates of the college…or your heart…or your hands.
I’m writing to welcome you to campus and to let you know that the Catholic Community is here to help you settle in, make new friends, explore your faith and live by your convictions. You are always welcome to join us for Mass in Harkness Chapel on Saturdays at 5 p.m. Please check out our web site at www.conncatholics.com. You’ll find resources to deepen your faith life, biographies of the “heroes of faith” we hear about at Mass, the latest announcements, suggestions about how to get involved, photos, and information about where you can go to Mass if you can’t make it to Harkness Chapel.
I hope you can be with us this Saturday, September 19, for Mass and supper after Mass – lasagna, salad and bread. What a great way to meet other students and get the year off to a fresh start. Supper will be in the Hood Dining Room of the Blaustein Humanities Center. Bring your friends, whatever their faith. Our hero of faith this week, by the way, will be Professor Rahner – one of the 20th century’s most influential theologians.
You are receiving this e-mail because you indicated when you began at Conn that you have some connection with the Catholic faith. Maybe you do currently, maybe you did, maybe you’re not sure right now. The Catholic community welcomes you to join us, regardless of where you find yourself today in your faith journey. Whether you’re interested in liturgy, have questions or just want to talk, we’re here for you. If you’d like to talk with me, I am on campus most Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and evenings. Please feel free to drop by my office in the basement of the Chapel.
I look forward to seeing you in Chapel on Saturdays at 5 and around campus. Please let me know of any ideas you have for activities you’d like to see us work on this semester or next. For example, we are currently trying to get an a cappella group off the ground to sing Renaissance and Baroque Church music in a liturgical setting. Together we can make beautiful music. Together there’s little we can’t do.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Sneezing or not, we are, all of us, spiritual beings. As we establish new routines this fall, I hope we will all have the courage to allow our spirituality to determine our path each day – to influence our time in class, with friends, in sports, volunteering at local organizations. This becomes more difficult, but also more important, as the world presses us in other directions. If you believe that there is no room for God in the life of a rational thinker, read a little of the writings of Karl Rahner. “One cannot think enough,” he said “think intensively enough, courageously enough, and precisely enough.” Clearly being Catholic doesn’t mean leaving your brain at the gates of the college…or your heart…or your hands.
I’m writing to welcome you to campus and to let you know that the Catholic Community is here to help you settle in, make new friends, explore your faith and live by your convictions. You are always welcome to join us for Mass in Harkness Chapel on Saturdays at 5 p.m. Please check out our web site at www.conncatholics.com. You’ll find resources to deepen your faith life, biographies of the “heroes of faith” we hear about at Mass, the latest announcements, suggestions about how to get involved, photos, and information about where you can go to Mass if you can’t make it to Harkness Chapel.
I hope you can be with us this Saturday, September 19, for Mass and supper after Mass – lasagna, salad and bread. What a great way to meet other students and get the year off to a fresh start. Supper will be in the Hood Dining Room of the Blaustein Humanities Center. Bring your friends, whatever their faith. Our hero of faith this week, by the way, will be Professor Rahner – one of the 20th century’s most influential theologians.
You are receiving this e-mail because you indicated when you began at Conn that you have some connection with the Catholic faith. Maybe you do currently, maybe you did, maybe you’re not sure right now. The Catholic community welcomes you to join us, regardless of where you find yourself today in your faith journey. Whether you’re interested in liturgy, have questions or just want to talk, we’re here for you. If you’d like to talk with me, I am on campus most Wednesday and Saturday afternoons and evenings. Please feel free to drop by my office in the basement of the Chapel.
I look forward to seeing you in Chapel on Saturdays at 5 and around campus. Please let me know of any ideas you have for activities you’d like to see us work on this semester or next. For example, we are currently trying to get an a cappella group off the ground to sing Renaissance and Baroque Church music in a liturgical setting. Together we can make beautiful music. Together there’s little we can’t do.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Palms, Bagpipes, Supper
This Saturday evening we begin the most important week of the Christian calendar, a week for immersion in the central mystery of our faith: through suffering and death, we experience transformation and renewal. It culminates, of course, in Easter – a celebration of new beginnings and new life.
For us, it all starts with the blessing of palms on the steps outside the Chapel this Saturday, April 4 at 5 p.m. The weather is supposed to be overcast but fair and warm – mid-50s – and there’s only a 30 percent chance of rain. So leave the umbrella in your room and enjoy some time outside feeding your soul, so to speak.
After the blessing we’ll follow the music of bagpipes inside for the Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday. Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will celebrate mass with us. Stay around afterward for soup, bread and fresh-baked hot-cross buns in the Hood Dining Room – a tradition for the Catholic Community.
We continue our observance of Holy Week with four special services. The first is a Service of Penance and Reconciliation on Wednesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in the Chapel. After a communal service, Monsignor Richard LaRocque, a long time friend of the Catholic Community at Connecticut College, and I will be available to hear individual confessions. Why confess your sins to someone else? In a word, it is cleansing. To experience God’s forgiveness in this tangible way can be a powerful experience. Not sure what to say or do? This video walks you through the steps of confession.
We will observe the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) with a series of services that explore the paschal mystery – the Passover of the Lord. Christ showed us how to live this mystery through his teachings and in his life and death. We experience it daily in virtually every aspect of our lives. God often asks us to give up our familiar ways, our old selves, in order to respond with grace and courage to a new reality. During Holy Week, we ask how we can more fully incorporate this lesson into our lives. At Easter we celebrate the new beginnings – new life – that emerge from suffering and death.
You can find a schedule for all the services of Holy Week and links to more information at our web site, http://www.conncatholics.com/. You can also pick up a schedule from the table at the back of the Chapel. Remember, there will be no 5 p.m. mass at the Chapel on Saturday, April 11. We will celebrate the Solemn Vigil of Easter at 8 p.m. with a joyous service that is rich in symbolism of life and hope. If you can’t be there, you are welcome to participate in the Easter liturgy at 9 a.m. Sunday in the Coast Guard Academy chapel.
If you find yourself struggling to comprehend the events these services commemorate, remember that there’s a reason it’s called the paschal mystery. As someone once said, “If I understand something, it’s no mystery.” Faith, so often, is more a matter of trust than belief.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
For us, it all starts with the blessing of palms on the steps outside the Chapel this Saturday, April 4 at 5 p.m. The weather is supposed to be overcast but fair and warm – mid-50s – and there’s only a 30 percent chance of rain. So leave the umbrella in your room and enjoy some time outside feeding your soul, so to speak.
After the blessing we’ll follow the music of bagpipes inside for the Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday. Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will celebrate mass with us. Stay around afterward for soup, bread and fresh-baked hot-cross buns in the Hood Dining Room – a tradition for the Catholic Community.
We continue our observance of Holy Week with four special services. The first is a Service of Penance and Reconciliation on Wednesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. in the Chapel. After a communal service, Monsignor Richard LaRocque, a long time friend of the Catholic Community at Connecticut College, and I will be available to hear individual confessions. Why confess your sins to someone else? In a word, it is cleansing. To experience God’s forgiveness in this tangible way can be a powerful experience. Not sure what to say or do? This video walks you through the steps of confession.
We will observe the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) with a series of services that explore the paschal mystery – the Passover of the Lord. Christ showed us how to live this mystery through his teachings and in his life and death. We experience it daily in virtually every aspect of our lives. God often asks us to give up our familiar ways, our old selves, in order to respond with grace and courage to a new reality. During Holy Week, we ask how we can more fully incorporate this lesson into our lives. At Easter we celebrate the new beginnings – new life – that emerge from suffering and death.
You can find a schedule for all the services of Holy Week and links to more information at our web site, http://www.conncatholics.com/. You can also pick up a schedule from the table at the back of the Chapel. Remember, there will be no 5 p.m. mass at the Chapel on Saturday, April 11. We will celebrate the Solemn Vigil of Easter at 8 p.m. with a joyous service that is rich in symbolism of life and hope. If you can’t be there, you are welcome to participate in the Easter liturgy at 9 a.m. Sunday in the Coast Guard Academy chapel.
If you find yourself struggling to comprehend the events these services commemorate, remember that there’s a reason it’s called the paschal mystery. As someone once said, “If I understand something, it’s no mystery.” Faith, so often, is more a matter of trust than belief.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Monday, February 16, 2009
Lent 2009 -- A Letter from Fr. Larry
February 2009
Last Thursday, oddly enough, was the 200th birthday of two people who’ve had immeasurable influence on 21st-century spirituality – both of them, I imagine, in ways that would have surprised them. One was Abraham Lincoln. The other Charles Darwin.
Darwin’s theory of evolution gave us a breathtaking new way to understand how God’s creative love is revealed to the world over time. (Unfortunately, some people concluded that evolution leaves no room for God. But that’s a topic for another day.)
And Lincoln, admirably, gave us a new way to infuse spirituality into public life. The result was an uplifting of the presidency and of America. His was a questioning, hard-won, pragmatic faith, summed up as “charity toward all and malice toward none.” If Lincoln truly is one of Barack Obama’s hero-models, there may well be reason for hope. Lincoln, it has been said, found peace – and the ability to take on the work that lay before him – by acknowledging his own powerlessness. He understood the need to act, and to base his actions on his faith as he understood it.
We are asked to do the same in our lives. Lent is just a few days away. Why not start it by contemplating how – not how well, but how – we live our own principles in our daily life on campus? Lent is a time for us to think again about how we can live our faith, to recommit to it and to be renewed. This is the Easter promise: that hope and new life are available to us perennially, and that we enter a renewed world through the revival of our own spirits. All we have to do is want it.
I hope you will join us for our annual Mardi Gras celebration after mass this Saturday, Feb. 21 (does that make it Samedi Gras?). Mass is at 5 in Harkness Chapel. Our celebration, with a world class lasagna, will be in the Hood Dining Room of Blaustein. Bring your friends, whatever their faith – or no faith.
After inaugurating Lent with the Mass and Distribution of Ashes at 5 pm on Wednesday, 25 February, in the Harkness Chapel we will continue to celebrate Mass each Wednesday and Saturday at 5 pm in the Chapel except during spring break. I hope you can join us.
Bishop Michael Cote will be with us April 4 for the Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday. We will observe Holy Week with a series of services that focus on the meaning of this extraordinary season. A full schedule is posted on our web site, www.conncatholics.com. You can also find links to some inspiring Lent sites there.
Spring semester is often stressful, especially for seniors. If you begin to feel pressured, remember what Lincoln once said: “the best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” I am on campus at least every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon and evening. Please don’t hesitate to stop by my office in the basement of the Chapel or call me at extension 2452 if you’d like to talk.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Last Thursday, oddly enough, was the 200th birthday of two people who’ve had immeasurable influence on 21st-century spirituality – both of them, I imagine, in ways that would have surprised them. One was Abraham Lincoln. The other Charles Darwin.
Darwin’s theory of evolution gave us a breathtaking new way to understand how God’s creative love is revealed to the world over time. (Unfortunately, some people concluded that evolution leaves no room for God. But that’s a topic for another day.)
And Lincoln, admirably, gave us a new way to infuse spirituality into public life. The result was an uplifting of the presidency and of America. His was a questioning, hard-won, pragmatic faith, summed up as “charity toward all and malice toward none.” If Lincoln truly is one of Barack Obama’s hero-models, there may well be reason for hope. Lincoln, it has been said, found peace – and the ability to take on the work that lay before him – by acknowledging his own powerlessness. He understood the need to act, and to base his actions on his faith as he understood it.
We are asked to do the same in our lives. Lent is just a few days away. Why not start it by contemplating how – not how well, but how – we live our own principles in our daily life on campus? Lent is a time for us to think again about how we can live our faith, to recommit to it and to be renewed. This is the Easter promise: that hope and new life are available to us perennially, and that we enter a renewed world through the revival of our own spirits. All we have to do is want it.
I hope you will join us for our annual Mardi Gras celebration after mass this Saturday, Feb. 21 (does that make it Samedi Gras?). Mass is at 5 in Harkness Chapel. Our celebration, with a world class lasagna, will be in the Hood Dining Room of Blaustein. Bring your friends, whatever their faith – or no faith.
After inaugurating Lent with the Mass and Distribution of Ashes at 5 pm on Wednesday, 25 February, in the Harkness Chapel we will continue to celebrate Mass each Wednesday and Saturday at 5 pm in the Chapel except during spring break. I hope you can join us.
Bishop Michael Cote will be with us April 4 for the Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday. We will observe Holy Week with a series of services that focus on the meaning of this extraordinary season. A full schedule is posted on our web site, www.conncatholics.com. You can also find links to some inspiring Lent sites there.
Spring semester is often stressful, especially for seniors. If you begin to feel pressured, remember what Lincoln once said: “the best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” I am on campus at least every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon and evening. Please don’t hesitate to stop by my office in the basement of the Chapel or call me at extension 2452 if you’d like to talk.
Devotedly yours,
Father Larry
Monday, January 19, 2009
Lent and Easter at Harkness Chapel
Hope and new life are available to us perennially: that is the Easter promise. By reviving our own spirits, we create and enter a renewed world.
It is in that spirit that the Catholic Community at Connecticut College observes Lent and prepares for Easter. All are welcome to join us for services in Harkness Chapel through the spring. Our schedule for 2009:
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25
A mass with the blessing and distribution of ashes begins at 5 p.m.
Lent
Father Larry says mass every Wednesday during Lent when classes are in session (March 4, March 25 and April 1 this year). Mass starts at 5 p.m.
Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday, Saturday April 4
We celebrate the vigil on Saturday, April 4, with palms, a procession and, after mass, traditional hot cross buns. Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will join us. Mass starts at 5.
Holy Week
Service of Penance and Reconciliation. Wednesday, April 8, 5 p.m. After a communal penance service, Father Larry or a visiting priest can hear your confession.
Liturgy of the Lord's Supper. Holy Thursday, April 9, 5 p.m. We commemorate the Last Supper and remember how great a gift the Eucharist is.
Liturgy of the Lord's Passion and Death. Good Friday, April 10, 5 p.m. We "stand beneath the cross" with Christians around the world.
Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 11
A joyous celebration begins at 8 p.m. We start with the blessing of the new fire at the Chapel pit and then process into the Chapel for mass. Mass will be followed by a reception in the Chapel library. There is no mass at 5 p.m.
Watch our web site, http://www.conncatholics.com/, for more details starting in mid-February.
It is in that spirit that the Catholic Community at Connecticut College observes Lent and prepares for Easter. All are welcome to join us for services in Harkness Chapel through the spring. Our schedule for 2009:
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25
A mass with the blessing and distribution of ashes begins at 5 p.m.
Lent
Father Larry says mass every Wednesday during Lent when classes are in session (March 4, March 25 and April 1 this year). Mass starts at 5 p.m.
Vigil of Passion (Palm) Sunday, Saturday April 4
We celebrate the vigil on Saturday, April 4, with palms, a procession and, after mass, traditional hot cross buns. Bishop Michael Cote of the Diocese of Norwich will join us. Mass starts at 5.
Holy Week
Service of Penance and Reconciliation. Wednesday, April 8, 5 p.m. After a communal penance service, Father Larry or a visiting priest can hear your confession.
Liturgy of the Lord's Supper. Holy Thursday, April 9, 5 p.m. We commemorate the Last Supper and remember how great a gift the Eucharist is.
Liturgy of the Lord's Passion and Death. Good Friday, April 10, 5 p.m. We "stand beneath the cross" with Christians around the world.
Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 11
A joyous celebration begins at 8 p.m. We start with the blessing of the new fire at the Chapel pit and then process into the Chapel for mass. Mass will be followed by a reception in the Chapel library. There is no mass at 5 p.m.
Watch our web site, http://www.conncatholics.com/, for more details starting in mid-February.
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