Blessed Sacrament to offer prayer, reflection opportunities in February

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Feb. 14, 2008

Lent is a time for Catholics to take time out of their lives and reflect on their faith.

Two evenings of Lenten prayer and reflection will be held at Blessed Sacrament in Sioux City. The events will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 and 24 in the Blessed Sacrament Parish Center. Deacon Fred Karpuk will lead the prayers and presentations.

"We are going to have it because it is for Lenten spiritual growth," said Deacon Karpuk. "It is an opportunity for prayer and spiritual growth."

He added that the evenings are being held to provide something for parishioners to do during Lent.

The events will begin with evening prayer. In the middle of the prayer, there will be a talk and reflection period on a specific topic. The Feb. 17 gathering will focus on God's covenants with his people. The gathering on Feb. 24 will focus on Jesus as the "Lamb of God." Jesus as the Lamb of God is the key to "understanding the meaning of the Mass," commented Deacon Karpuk.

"Over the years, I sit there and study that my heart really does burn or I long to understand," he said. "This has been a fascinating ordeal for me in terms of getting more knowledge about it. It has been a fun thing for me and I want to be able to present it to other people in a way that will set their hearts on fire."

He referred to Scripture, "Did not your hearts burn within us...as he opened up the Scriptures." (Luke 24:32)

He hopes attendees gain knowledge and understanding "of the covenant background and what it means to us." A covenant is the "master concept that unlocks the meaning of the Bible."

"As I prepare for homilies and for personal growth, I have been studying these two elements - covenants and the Eucharist. I think I can do a good job of presenting these two topics and give an understanding that people will really grasp," he said. "It is not going to be very in depth, but it will be presented in a way that they can get a good feel for it."

The two evenings are open to anyone interested in attending.

"Lent gives us that opportunity to turn away from the normal everyday things in life - TV, social outings. We give them the opportunity to focus in on the spiritual aspects," said Deacon Karpuk. "In this case, I think these are two basic things in the church and we don't really talk about them a whole lot."