Young Adult Leadership in the Church
Living Liturgically Part 5: Living the Feasts
Photo By: Flickr/Lawrence OP- Our Lady of Sorrows
It was September 15th and I was filled with sorrow this day. God led me into intense reflection and prayer on my own deep wounds and suffering, and a long meditation on how my suffering and carrying of my own cross was united to Christ's.
I could see my own walk to Calvary, in a sense.
I couldn't make sense of what was happening on this Sunday and why God led me to this image of the suffering and cross of Christ, and His walk to Calvary. It wasn't Lent. What was happening?
Later that evening, I saw that it was the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. As I read about this feast, we are to contemplate the Passion of Christ on this day to cling more firmly to Mary's Son and to contemplate her great love as her Son suffered.
I was living the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows without realizing it.
This is not the first time I've lived a feast day of Church like this, but it was a reminder that on most feast days of our Church, if we are living liturgically, the Lord will make these feast days come alive for us. He will give us experiences of prayer, reflection and profound encounter that will help us connect with what we are contemplating and commemorating that day.
It's happened over and over again for me on Easter, Christmas, and Marian feast days, but also on smaller feast days.
To live liturgically is to let the feast days and seasons of our faith come alive and be made "real" as to unveil new meaning and significance, and to continually draw us closer to Christ and the beauty of His Church.
About the Author
Katie Zalany lives in Cleveland Ohio. She is a Third Order Secular Franciscan (OFS), spiritual director, benefits/wellness leader, and certified health and life coach. She volunteers with St. Vincent de Paul Society serving the poor, is an active mentor to many individuals, and a prolific writer. Her writing interests and focus areas include spiritual development, reflections on the Gospel life, Franciscian spirituality, prayer, and integration of faith and work/daily living. She is the published author of Called to Corporate: Lessons of Growing in Faith and Holiness from the Corporate Cubicle.
