{"id":2886,"date":"2018-02-13T19:22:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T00:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/?page_id=2886"},"modified":"2022-02-17T08:44:19","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:44:19","slug":"god-loved-world-lent-2018","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/god-loved-world-lent-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"For God So Loved the World &#8211; Lent 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"youtube-responsive-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/s1FMc2BaYHQ?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"564\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Father Thomas Quinn talks about a disposition of Lent that we often fail to recognize. He shares his insights on how Lent should be seen as an opportunity to receive God\u2019s gifts of healing and mercy and discusses some anecdotes from the scriptures. He also encourages us to go through the sacrament of reconciliation and to continuously work on our prayer life that will prepare us to receive and encounter Christ. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you for watching and participating in this retreat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not Registered, yet? Don\u2019t miss the rest of the talks! Register for the Pray More Retreat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/2018-lent-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click Here to Register!<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"downloads\">Downloads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"audio-mp3\">Audio MP3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/audiolent\/14%20-%20Fr.%20Thomas%20Quinn%20-%20For%20God%20So%20Loved%20the%20World.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to download audio file.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-study-guide-pdf\">Printable Study Guide PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-so-loved-the-world.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the printable study guide.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"printable-transcript-pdf\">Printable Transcript PDF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Fr.-Tom-For-God-So-Loved-the-World.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Click here to download the transcript of the video presentation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"reflective-study-guide-question\">Reflective Study Guide Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.\u201d <\/p><cite><em><em> John 3:16<\/em><\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Now is a good time to reflect on how your Lent has been going. How has it been? Have there been any spiritual fruits? Have I been faithful to my Lenten resolutions? Has your Lent been too much about your endurance or a test or has it also been a time of receiving God into your life? <br><br><\/li><li> In addition to being a time of penance, Lent is also an opportunity to receive the gift of the Lord\u2019s healing touch and mercy. Just as Christ revealed Himself to Nicodemus, he also reveals Himself to us. Where in your life do you need the Lord\u2019s healing touch? Where do I need Him to make me whole? <br><br><\/li><li> When we come to the Lord, intimately, face-to-face, our minds and our hearts are opened and we can receive His healing. Going to confession is a great opportunity to receive this grace. Make time, this Lent, to do a good examination of conscience and go to confession in order to <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/seeking-receiving-peace-advent-2021\/\">receive the Lord\u2019s peace<\/a> and grace. <br><br><\/li><li>Your, \u201chomework\u201d from Fr. Tom is: EAR = Encounter, Acknowledge, Receive. Make time to Encounter Jesus in prayer, Acknowledge everything going on in your heart and give it to Him, Receive the Lord\u2019s consolation and inspiration to you. Making time to encounter, know and receive the Lord into your life is also an important aspect of Lent. Try to make time for this during this <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/walking-through-holy-week-lent-2022\/\">week of Lent<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"text-for-god-so-loved-the-world\">Text: For God So Loved the World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello friends. My name is Father Tom Quinn, and I\u2019m a priest of the archdiocese of Newark in Northeastern New Jersey. I\u2019m stationed at a parish called St. Michael\u2019s, which is in the town of Cranford, and I\u2019m very happy to be with you on this Pray More Lenten Retreat, to be one of your presenters, but also, hopefully, one who journeys with you through this retreat, that together we might pray for each other, that together we might allow the Lord to speak to the inmost recesses of our hearts, right in a new way, to receive a new gift of His grace, and to allow Him to bring us into an ever more fruitful discipleship with Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And so, for this purpose, <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/let-servant-go-peace-responding-god-prayer-lent-2018\/\">let us begin our time together now with prayer<\/a> by entrusting ourselves to Our Lady and her powerful intercession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hail-mary\">Hail Mary<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-has-my-lent-been\">How Has My Lent Been?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So, as we begin, I think we might do well to ask ourselves, you know, one question: \u201cHow has my Lent been?\u201d And here we are, it\u2019s the fourth week of Lent, right, this Laetare Sunday. And looking back now, over the past few weeks, we might do well to ask ourselves, right: \u201cHow has Lent been for me. Has there been spiritual fruit throughout this season? Have I been faithful to my Lenten resolutions?\u201d You know, if you\u2019re anything like me, you will see a mixed bag of results. You will see areas where you have been faithful to the inspirations of the Lord\u2019s grace and to the action of the Holy Spirit, and you\u2019ll see areas where, perhaps, you haven\u2019t been so faithful to the resolutions and to the various disciplines that you intended to undertake during this Lenten season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, as we begin, I think we might do well to ask ourselves, you know, one question: \u201cHow has my Lent been?\u201d And here we are, it\u2019s the fourth week of Lent, right, this Laetare Sunday. And looking back now, over the past few weeks, we might do well to ask ourselves, right: \u201cHow has Lent been for me. Has there been spiritual fruit throughout this season? Have I been faithful to my Lenten resolutions?\u201d You know, if you\u2019re anything like me, you will see a mixed bag of results. You will see areas where you have been faithful to the inspirations of the Lord\u2019s grace and to the action of the Holy Spirit, and you\u2019ll see areas where, perhaps, you haven\u2019t been so faithful to the resolutions and to the various disciplines that you intended to undertake during this Lenten season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"a-disposition-of-receiving\">A Disposition of Receiving<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>But perhaps even if you\u2019ve kept everything perfectly through God\u2019s grace, you know, that\u2019s a beautiful thing. But either way, I think for all of us, I want to refocus our disposition to adjust our Lenten disposition just slightly. Because I think for many of us, you know, as Ash Wednesday comes around each year, that preeminent question, right, you know, \u201cWhat are you going to give up for Lent?\u201d Is so prevalent. And so I think the danger in that is I think that our Lenten focus can become too much a test of our own endurance, a test of our own resolve, than in the disposition of receiving, a disposition of allowing God to free us and to give us the gift, most abundantly, of His mercy. Lent can become too much of a test, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">There is a, you know, as a kid, there was a show on TV called American Gladiators, and it was a show of various obstacle courses where the contestants would have to battle it out for the win. Well, one of these obstacle courses was called the gauntlet, and I think for too many of us Lent becomes the gauntlet, it becomes this test of resolve and endurance more than anything else. Now, certainly, you know, sacrifice is an important part of the spiritual life, right. Prayer and sacrifice are a couple of the most fundamental pillars of this spiritual life. So we can discount sacrifice, right, because sacrifice helps to give us a freer heart, right, freeing us from all of our little disordered attachments, it makes more room in our hearts for the sanctifying action of the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/how-to-be-led-by-the-holy-spirit-lent-2020\/\">Holy Spirit<\/a>. So we can\u2019t discount sacrifice, it\u2019s an important thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, last year I gave up coffee and tea for Lent, and I\u2019m a huge coffee drinker, I\u2019m a huge tea drinker. But at the beginning of the season, a friend of mine came back from a business trip from Chicago, and while he was there he went to a place called intelligentsia Coffee. Perhaps some of you watching are familiar with the business. I think it\u2019s sort of a haven for coffee snobs like myself in the greater Chicagoland area. But he brought me back this bag of coffee, and of course, it being Lent, he didn\u2019t know I gave up coffee for Lent, but I couldn\u2019t do anything with it, right, you know. So what did I do? I brought it back to the rectory, I put it on the kitchen counter, and there it sat for weeks, for days, all throughout the season of Lent it just sat there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And each time I passed through the kitchen in the rectory, it mocked me. It just sat there and it mocked me, because I knew I couldn\u2019t drink it, and it drove me crazy, right. I was squirming, I was uncomfortable, right, but that was a good squirming, it was a good uncomfortableness, right, because it allowed God to help give me a freer heart in that sacrifice. It gave me a more open heart to receive the gift of God\u2019s divine life, which He wishes so much to give to all of us. Isn\u2019t it amazing how even such little things can hold such sway, right, over our hearts, and over our affections. You know, such really, in the grand scheme of things, such trivialities can hold such control and such influence over our affections, right. But God wants to give us free hearts, right, and sacrifice is an important part in that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-gift-of-receiving-of-the-lord-s-healing-and-mercy\">The Gift of Receiving of the Lord&#8217;s Healing and Mercy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>So we don\u2019t want to discount sacrifice. But as we adjust our Lenten focus a little bit, we want to focus on another aspect of that. And for that, another story. During my second year at the seminary, I became friendly with an Eastern Catholic priest by the name of Father Phillip chk. Once a week, my classmates and I would make a visit to a place called Saint Joseph\u2019s Home for the Elderly, which is run by The Little Sisters of the Poor. And among the residents was this retired Eastern Catholic priest, a Melkite Catholic priest named Father Phillip chk. And while there, you know, we became friendly. And as time went on, I began to visit him even outside of our scheduled visits from the seminary. I\u2019d go and visit him and, you know, we talked about many things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">But one year, during the season of Lent, we began to talk about the differences between Eastern practices with Lent and the Western church\u2019s practices with Lent. And, as you know, for us Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with the marking, the customary marking with ashes, right, on our foreheads, right. Ashes, that ancient symbol of repentance and of conversion of heart, right, of coming back to the Lord with remorse for our <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/overcoming-shame-and-sin-lent-2021\/\">sins<\/a>, right. But Father Phil would tell me, you know, for Eastern Christians, Lent doesn\u2019t begin on Ash Wednesday, it begins the Monday prior. And really, the Sunday Evening prior, with the celebration of what\u2019s called forgiveness vespers. And he would tell me, you know, that Eastern Christians don\u2019t receive ashes for Lent, but he would tell me that the priest would anoint them, the priests would anoint the people with oil. Oil, another ancient symbol that comes down to us through the centuries, right, that symbol of healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And the difference between the 2 struck me, and I really marveled at the beauty of the Eastern practice of anointing with oil, right. That, as Lent is beginning, the disposition isn\u2019t necessarily one of entering the gauntlet, but it\u2019s one of receiving the gift of the Lord\u2019s healing. It\u2019s one of receiving the gift of the Lord\u2019s mercy. And I couldn\u2019t help but think to myself how beautiful, right. This certainly doesn\u2019t discount the reality of sacrifice, and certainly, if you\u2019re familiar with Eastern discipline, you know that their <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/lenten-practices-prayer-fasting-and-almsgiving-lent-2022\/\">fasting regulations throughout the season of Lent<\/a> is quite stringent, that it\u2019s quite severe compared especially with the Western practice. But the disposition to enter into Lent with this disposition of receiving, of one of seeking out the Lord\u2019s merciful and healing touch, how beautiful. So I think that\u2019s good for us, right. Here we are, halfway through Lent, let us maybe shift our disposition a little bit. One that takes into account also the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/god-makes-all-things-new-beauty-healing-and-redemption-from-pain-healing-2019\/\">things that God wants to give us His healing<\/a> for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">So we\u2019d do well to ask ourselves another question, right. \u201cWhere do I need the gift of the Lord\u2019s healing touch? Where in my life do I need the gift of the Lord\u2019s mercy? Where do I need Him to make me whole?\u201d I think to allow the Lord to answer this question for us, we needn\u2019t look further than the <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/the-good-news-ization-part-i-healing-2020\/\">gospel<\/a> passage for this fourth Sunday of Lent. And that dynamic of encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. It\u2019s so crucial, isn\u2019t it, right? The encounter. The encounter between Christ and the individual. We see this all throughout the gospels, right, and they\u2019re some of the most beautiful passages. They\u2019re passages that I personally like to call, for myself, I call them irresistible. There is just something irresistible about those passages, a certain quality about them that draws you right in, that draws you right in into that intimate encounter between Christ and the person, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we see this, again, throughout the gospels in many locations, right. We see this in the encounter between Christ and Bartimaeus, right, the blind man, right. Jesus is passing by on the road, and Bartimaeus is calling out really with all of his heart \u201cJesus, Son of David, have pity on me.\u201d Right. And the people are telling him, right, to be quiet, they\u2019re hushing him, right, to leave Jesus alone. But Jesus hears him, doesn\u2019t He, and Jesus leaves the crowd, goes over to Bartimaeus. And the passages is so well-known to us. What do you want me to do for you? And Bartimaeus\u2019s heartfelt reply, Lord, that I may see. Jesus gives him the gift of his sight back, He heals him from that infirmity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"intimate-encounter-with-christ\">Intimate Encounter with Christ<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>And then I think, really, the most beautiful aspect about that encounter, right, because we have to imagine, when Bartimaeus received his sight back, what was the first thing he saw? Well, the first thing he probably saw was the face of Christ, you know. Was the face of our Lord, looking upon Him, looking upon Him in love. How beautiful, right, and how irresistible that is for you and for me, that intimate encounter with Christ, right. That\u2019s what we are called to, we\u2019re called to enter into that intimacy, those moments of that face-to-face encounter with Christ. And we see this elsewhere in the gospels too, right? We see this in the healing of another man, right, of another man born blind, right, as Jesus enters Bethsaida, right. Some people bring to Him a man born blind, and what does Jesus do? Does He heal him on the spot? No, right. What does Mark tell us in that gospel? That Jesus led the man out of the village, He leads him away from the crowd, and again, that intimate encounter, face-to-face with Christ, one-on-one, Jesus heals him, restores him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see this again, right, when Jesus is passing through The Decapolis on His way to the Sea of Galilee, some people come out and bring to Him a man who has a speech impediment, and who is deaf. Does Jesus heal him on the spot then? No. Again, He brings that man away from the crowd, right, and the passage is so wellknown to us, isn\u2019t it? That Jesus spits, right, and He touches that man\u2019s tongue, He puts his fingers in the man\u2019s ears, right, and He says \u201cEphphatha\u201d. \u201cBe opened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we come before the Lord face-to-face, when we come before Him in the intimacy of the encounter, in prayer, our minds and our hearts are opened, and we can receive His healing touch. Even in our gospel today with Nicodemus, we see this dynamic. It\u2019s a little different, right, because Nicodemus doesn\u2019t need Christ\u2019s physical healing, but he needs His healing nonetheless, right. John gives us that little detail in the gospel, that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, right, the symbolic gesture, that Nicodemus was still laboring in the darkness in some way, right. He acknowledged certainly that Jesus came from God, right. He said \u201cWe know that You are a man sent by God. How else could You have done all of these miraculous signs? How else could You have done all of these great miracles? So we know You come from God.\u201d But nonetheless, Nicodemus was still laboring in the dark a little bit, right. He still needed to come to the light. He still needed the clarity of Christ\u2019s teaching. He still needed to come to the light of true faith, and move away from the darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-sacrament-of-reconciliation\">The Sacrament of Reconciliation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll finish up our time together now, but first, I\u2019m going to give you some homework, if I may. And the first part of the assignment is, if you haven\u2019t done so already, or if you don\u2019t already have a habit of it, go to confession. Go to confession and make a good one. Get yourself a good examination of conscience, and go receive the gift of the Lord\u2019s healing and His mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation, right. Perhaps this is something that might fill you with some trepidation. But take it from me, any sense of anxiety, any sense of embarrassment or shame is outweighed by the gift of the Lord\u2019s healing. By the peace and the consolation that the sacrament brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I say this not only as a priest, but I say this as a penitent myself, right. Because priests can\u2019t absolve ourselves, right. I can\u2019t take out my phone, or look in the mirror, you know, reverse the camera on my phone and say \u201cOh, well, hey Father Tom, I absolve you from your sins.\u201d Right. No, I have to go to confession, I have to go to confession myself. And so I say this to you as a penitent myself, right, the peace and the freedom that the sacrament brings outweighs any shame, any embarrassment, any anxiety, right. And the priest is there to help you, right. He\u2019s not there to make you feel bad, he\u2019s there to help you through this, right. So be brave, be bold, be courageous in loving Christ in this way, right. Go to confession. Go make a good, good confession. You know, especially if it\u2019s been a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"ear\">EAR<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-ast-global-color-8-color has-text-color\">And the second part of the assignment I\u2019m going to give you is to make time in your day-to-day <a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/amp-up-your-prayer-life-with-these-resources\/\">life for prayer<\/a>, for that intimate encounter with Christ, right. To come before Him, face-to-face, allowing the light of His face to shine upon you. And for that, I think we\u2019d do well to take into account maybe this little acronym. EAR, right. EAR. So all of you who have them, listen up, right. EAR. Encounter, that first E, to encounter. We have to come before the Lord, right, we have to make the time for prayer, we have to come before Him, to encounter Him, right. So E, Encounter. A is Acknowledge. When we come before the Lord, we need to acknowledge, right. Acknowledge what\u2019s going on in our hearts, in our lives, right bring before Him all of that stuff, right. Spill our guts before Him, to acknowledge, to acknowledge what\u2019s going on in our hearts. And finally, the R. To receive, right. After we\u2019ve spilled our guts, then we need to zip our mouths and to receive, to listen for the Lord\u2019s voice, to have an open heart, to receive the gift of the Lord\u2019s light, and His consolation, and His inspiration as well. So EAR. Encounter, Acknowledge, and Receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So that\u2019s the second part of your assignment, right. First part, go to confession. And the second part, if you\u2019re not doing so already, make time in your daily life for prayer, right. There is nothing that replaces that, there\u2019s no substitute for that, for the work of prayer. We need to do it. But even in that, to rely on the Lord\u2019s grace for that as well. As we end our time together, you\u2019ll see beside me a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And so as we end our time together, let us ask Him to take us into the abode of His heart, the abode of His love and His mercy. And we\u2019ll pray together now the prayer to the Sacred Heart by John Henry Cardinal Newman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"prayer-to-the-sacred-heart\">Prayer to the Sacred Heart<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Most sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, You are concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and You beat for us still. Now as then You say, \u201cWith desire I have desired.\u201d I worship You with all my best love and awe, with fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. For a while You take up Your abode within me. O make my heart beat with Your Heart! Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with You, that neither the events of the day, nor the circumstances of the time, may have the power to ruffle it; but that in Your love and Your fear, it may have peace. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"about-fr-thomas-p-quinn\">About Fr. Thomas P. Quinn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:30% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Fr.-Tom-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Fr.-Tom-Headshot.jpg\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/speaker-fr-thomas-quinn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Fr. Thomas P. Quinn<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/a>is from Montclair, New Jersey, where he grew up with his four younger sisters. From a young age he was heavily involved at his home parish, most especially in assisting the priests as an altar boy. After graduating from Catholic grammar and high schools, Fr. Tom began university studies in history at Caldwell University, a local Dominican college, where he worked for the theology department and also became involved in the college&#8217;s music program. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, Fr. Tom began historical studies on the graduate level at the Newark campus of Rutgers University, concentrating on European History as well as the history of technology, the environment, and medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst undertaking graduate studies, and experiencing a deeper conversion to the Lord, childhood desires for the priesthood returned, and he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, the local major seminary for the Archdiocese of Newark. Fr. Tom was ordained in 2015 and currently serves as a parochial vicar at Saint Michael&#8217;s Parish in Cranford, NJ, where he leads the RCIA program, an apostolate for young families, young adult activities, and adult spiritual formation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-So-Loved-the-World.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2850\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-So-Loved-the-World.jpg 800w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-So-Loved-the-World-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-So-Loved-the-World-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/For-God-So-Loved-the-World-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"701\" height=\"316\" src=\"http:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1.png 701w, https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/The-Pray-More-Lenten-Retreat-Image-without-many-words-1-300x135.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary Father Thomas Quinn talks about a disposition of Lent that we often fail to recognize. He shares his insights on how Lent should be seen as an opportunity to receive God\u2019s gifts of healing and mercy and discusses some anecdotes from the scriptures. He also encourages us to go through the sacrament of reconciliation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2850,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>For God So Loved the World - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praymoreretreat.org\/god-loved-world-lent-2018\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For God So Loved the World - Lent 2018 - The Pray More Retreat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Summary Father Thomas Quinn talks about a disposition of Lent that we often fail to recognize. 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