Lenten Reflection & 2022 Resource Guide

A Lenten Reflection and Prayer

Rev. Paul Rourke, S.J., Vice President of Mission and Ministry

On Wednesday, March 2, the Church begins the holy season of Lent with the conferral of ashes. The “forty days” are a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, as we journey toward the solemn celebration of Easter on April 17.  This year our penitential pilgrimage occurs during the Ignatian Year and invites us “to see all things new in Christ.”  Of course, this year our journey must include solidarity with the suffering people of Ukraine, whose land, already bloodied with the historic genocides of Hitler and Stalin, cries out with the death and suffering of new innocents. The Holy Father has called us this Ash Wednesday to fast and pray for peace in Ukraine. We cannot ignore the power of evil, but the brave defiance of so many Ukrainians and the world community’s near-universal condemnation of the Russian invasion shows us reason for hope. Of course, our true hope is not in the success of any army, but in the One who has conquered death and sin for all time. Our Lenten journey is above all an opportunity to walk with Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen. Liturgically we journey toward an event, but existentially we journey with a person: our Savior, our friend, our God.

We pray in the words of the hymn:

Lord, who throughout these forty days,
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us with you to mourn our sins,
And close by you to stay.

As you with Satan did contend,
And did the vict'ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight,
In you to conquer sin.

As you did hunger bear and thirst,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self, and always live
By your most holy word.

And through these days of penitence,
And through your Passion-tide,
Forevermore, in life and death,
O Lord, with us abide.

Abide with us that when this life
Of suffering is past,
An Easter of unending joy
We may attain at last!

Amen.

Fairfield University Campus Ministry: Lent 2022 Resource Guide

“Return to Me With All Your Heart”

March 2 - April 13, 2022 

Ash Wednesday Services: March 2 | Egan Chapel

(Distribution of ashes at all services.)

• 8:30 a.m. Liturgy of the Word Service
• 12:30 p.m. Mass
• 4:45 p.m. Ecumenical Service
• 8:00 p.m. Mass

“Know Justice, Know Peace: an Anti-Racism Retreat” | Begins March 2

• Each week, starting on Ash Wednesday, participants will be sent two pre-recorded talks, courtesy of the Jesuit Post, with prompts for reflection on our own participation in racist structures. Campus Ministry staff members will be available to meet with participants throughout the retreat to process the experience. Email Kevin Molloy - kmolloy@fairfield.edu - to register.

Agape Latte Speaker Series: 7:30 p.m. on March 8 | BCC Lower Level

• Over coffee, tea, and desserts, Professor Phil Lane will offer a reflection on his faith journey and how it has helped him prepare for all the twists and turns of life. 

A Women’s Lenten Retreat – “The Grace of Accompaniment”: 6-9 p.m. on March 15 | DSB Event Hall

• Hosted by the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality (MCIS), this retreat will offer women a chance to gather and reflect on how we are being called to companionship. Register on Eventbrite.

“Busy Person’s Retreat”: March 21-25

• Hosted by the MCIS, this retreat will entail five days of individual prayer for the retreatant and five meetings with a spiritual companion. Interested faculty, staff, and students (undergrad or grad) can contact Colleen Gilberston at cgilbertson@fairfield.edu for details.

Lenten Reading Group: First Session on March 22 | Zoom Webinar

• Join Fr. Gerry Blaszczak, S.J., special assistant to the president and alumni chaplain, for a prayerful discussion of A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola.  Learn More & Register here

Student Retreat Opportunity: Kairos 41 | April 1-3

• Kairos is a three-day weekend experience, for students and led by students, that invites close examination of our relationships with others, ourselves, and God in a communal and reflective setting. Kairos welcomes students of all faiths as well as those who are spiritual searchers. Sign up on Life@Fairfield or email Marc Alibrandi at malibrandi1@fairfield.edu for more information.

Palm Sunday Masses: April 10 | Egan Chapel

• 11:00 a.m.
• 7:30 p.m.

Weekly Liturgy and Prayer:

• Sunday Masses: 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Daily Mass (Mon. - Fri.): 12:30 p.m.
• Stations of the Cross, Fridays at 4:30 p.m.: 3/4, 3/11, 3/25, 4/1, 4/8 
• Confessions, Lenten Fridays: 12-12:30 p.m. 

Evening Offerings:

• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Confessions (8:00pm) with Mass following (8:30 p.m.)
• Wednesdays: Eucharistic Adoration with Confessions 8-9 p.m.

Local Service Opportunities:

• Visit the Service tab on Life@Fairfield 

Other Drop-in Opportunities for Students:

• Christian Student Fellowship: meetings on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., Langguth Classroom
• Fairfield Companions student group: meetings every other Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (first meeting during Lent is 3/9), Campus Ministry
• Weekly Bible study: email Rev. Jay Glover, Protestant chaplain, for details: jglover@fairfield.edu