Lent 2024
Parish Lenten Group for 2024
St Mary's Parish is offering two Lenten groups this year: evening and daytime. Both have commenced, but new attendees are welcome.
The evening group is meeting on Mondays at 7.30 pm. The final meeting will be in Holy Week on 25 March.
The daytime group is meeting on Tuesdays at 10.45 am (which allows those wishing to attend the 10.00 am Mass in St Mary's Basilica to do so). The final meeting will be in Holy Week on 26 March.
The Lenten groups now meet in the Hibernian Room (ground floor, parish office building, 150 Yarra Street, Geelong).
Each week the groups focus on the Scripture readings for the coming Sunday. We use the Lenten book produced by the Diocese of Wollongong, which this year has the theme, "Pietà".
For further information, please email kevin@stmarysgeelong.com.au
About the Pietà Lenten Book
Please note: We have now been able to obtain a few additional copies of the printed book. Please contact the parish office as soon as possible if you wish to purchase one.
You can also order a downloadable and printable PDF version directly from the publisher: click here.
Embark on a transformative Lenten journey with Pietà, an exquisite 80-page, full-color book containing short daily reflections (from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) perfect for individual devotional reading in addition to the longer-form Sunday Scripture readings, reflections, prayers, questions and visio divina that traditionally form part of Lenten group gatherings.
For those journeying together in Lenten groups, we are honoured to welcome Katherine Stone MGL (Missionaries of God’s Love sisters) as our spiritual director throughout the program.
Participants are also invited to reflect on the Sunday readings through art with the popular Monsignor Graham Schmitzer. This year’s program includes breathtaking religious artworks from the Masters, and for the first time, we will be offering visio divina (“divine seeing”) — an ancient form of Christian prayer in which we allow our hearts and imaginations to enter into a sacred image, in silence, to see what God might have to say to us.
As an additional treat, and at the request of the National Liturgical Commission, Monsignor Graham Schmitzer has written “A Conversation About Confession” — a short formational reflection on the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The daily reflections in Pietà have been crafted by 20 extraordinary contributors, including clergy, religious, and lay individuals from around the world. Their profound insights will surely inspire and challenge us this Lenten season.
