Denver Catholic

LENT I 5 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I FEBRUARY 19, 2014 ARCHBISHOP AQUILA'S SCHEDULE For news that touches Catholics everywhere, every day, we invite you to spend some time with us at WWW.DENVERCATHOLICREGISTER.ORG Seminary rector to help faithful reach love of God BY NISSA LAPOINT A deep and intimate relationship with God is not only for nuns and priests. Father Scott Traynor, rector of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, says a healing and abiding joy in Christ is within everyone's reach. This Lent, Father Traynor will lead a six-week series to give faithful the prac- tical tools to turn their hopes for a per- sonal relationship with the Trinity into reality. "I want every participant to know that a life of real, deep, personal in- timacy with God is for them," Father Traynor said. "And I want them to come away from these nights with practical tools and knowledge that will allow them to enter more deeply into the dai- ly adventure of growing intimacy with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." The sessions will be held Wednesday nights starting March 12 at St. Thomas More Church in Centennial. There is no cost or registration required. The new rector, who is an experi- enced spiritual director and seminary formator from South Dakota, has spent much of his priesthood helping people begin and deepen their prayer lives. Once Father Traynor shared his pas- sion for teaching people how to pray with Ben Akers, director of the Den- ver Catholic Biblical School, Akers suggested he offer a prayer series. The series will focus on practical tools to help begin, renew or deepen a daily habit of personal prayer. An intro- duction on Ignatian discernment will also be given to aid faithful's lived expe- rience of the presence of Christ. "Many people desire to grow in re- lationship with God in a daily habit of personal prayer, but don't know where to start," Father Traynor said. "Or they have tried to pray before and gotten stuck or discouraged and given up. The Church has a great wisdom in assisting each of us in a real lived experience of the presence, power and love of God in our daily lives." Christ himself has the desire to draw each person into real intimacy. Faithful can do their own part to respond by of- fering God all that's in their hearts. "If a person can say at the end of a period of prayer, 'I came to God and honestly offered him whatever I found in my heart,' they can rest assured they will be growing in real intimacy with God," he said. A person's felt experience of God's presence and love are gifts to be re- ceived graciously but are a "lousy mea- sure" of the real depth and intimacy of a relationship with God, he said. God has promised, as is read in Ro- mans Chapter 8, that nothing can sepa- rate people from the love of God. Father Traynor said these sessions will "encourage and equip the partic- ipant to place their hope in this great and precious promise of God." Nissa LaPoint: 303-715-3138; nissa. lapoint@archden.org; www.twitter.com/ DCRegisterNissa FIVE TIPS ON GROWING IN INTIMACY WITH GOD 1 Raise your awareness of what is going on in your heart; start paying atten- tion to your thoughts, feel- ings, desires and memories at any moment. 2 Grow in the habit of choos- ing to entrust what's in your heart to God honestly and consistently. 3 Strengthen your ability to understand which things in your heart are from God and which are not. 4 Learn how to generously receive what is from God and to vigorously reject what is not from God. 5 Grow in the assurance that God's love is uncon- ditional and is powerful to overcome any diffi culty or obstacle. -By Father Scott Traynor LENTEN SERIES: "GROWING IN INTIMACY WITH GOD" Father Scott Traynor, J.C.L., rector of St. John Vianney Theological Sem- inary, will lead a six-week Lenten series. Title: "Growing in Intimacy with God: Prayer, Dis- cernment and Healing" When: 7 p.m. Wednesday nights, March 12, 19, 26-April 2, 9, 16 Where: St. Thomas More Church, 8035 S. Quebec St., Centennial Cost: free, no RSVP required Info: Call 303-715-3195 CRS Rice Bowl is Catholic Relief Ser- vices' Lenten faith-in-action program for parishes, schools and families. The pro- gram invites Catholics to live in solidari- ty with our poorest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters through the three Lenten pillars of praying, fasting and almsgiving. Participants journey throughout the 40 days of Lent with the daily refl ections included in the Lenten Calendar, offering small, suggested sacrifi cial gifts to fi ll their Rice Bowls as they read and watch Stories of Hope from individuals and commu- nities whose lives have been changed by CRS Rice Bowl contributions. (Look for CRS Rice Bowl materials at your parish.) "Through Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl you are helping those in need both around the world and in your own com- munity," said Al Hooper, director of So- cial Ministry for the Denver Archdiocese. "75 percent of your donation to CRS Rice Bowl support Catholic Relief Services' programs in more than 100 countries around the world; 25 percent of your do- nation supports local hunger and poverty alleviation efforts within the Archdiocese of Denver." Make your Lenten contribution to Archdiocese of Denver and mail to: Arch- diocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Den- ver, CO 80210 and note CRS Rice Bowl in the memo line. CRS Rice Bowl helps faithful live Lent

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