After this weekend’s Masses, the Peace Light of Bethlehem flame will be shared with those who wish to carry it to their homes. Keeping it going through the Feast of the Epiphany will be a challenge in your household! But a time of prayer each day, bathing yourself in the flame, will help you remain faithful to keeping the flame. Our Lady of Lourdes has been the point in Indianapolis from which the flame is annually carried to Chicago, Louisville, and multiple locations in Indiana.
The flame is dedicated this year to Peace in Ukraine.
In the United States, we think of the Boy Scouts as Boy Scouts USA. Truth be told, there are scouts connected to their ancestral homelands through scouting! One such is The Plast USA scouting organization (Ukrainian).
These folks have invited all Peace Light holders to join them in a Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine on January 8, 2023. Our Lady of Lourdes will host a time of prayer that day.
That day is the Feast of the Epiphany. Christ is made manifest to all peoples in the persons of the Magi. We can embody that gift manifestation by our taking time to pray for peace.
At the conclusion of Mass, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the main altar. It will remain there until 4:00pm, at which time this period of exposition and adoration will conclude with Evening Prayer and Benediction. We shall be concluded by 4:30pm.
This weekend a SignUpGenius portal will be activated. It will be divided into ½ hour increments beginning at noon. We need to have at least one person present each half hour so that there is someone present before the exposed Eucharist.
Please consider signing up for a half-hour — perhaps after you take in brunch after Mass, or following your Sunday afternoon nap, or between football games! One half hour is a small price to pay for seeking peace in Ukraine, indeed, in our world.