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March 4, 2023Amarillo—Tulia native and former St. Mary’s Cathedral parishioner Melissa Musick Nussbaum will be the presenter at a Lenten Mission beginning Sunday and continuing through Tuesday at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington.
The theme of the mission is We Are The People Who… Profess, Pray, Praise.
The mission will be offered all three evenings at 7:00, according to Father Anthony C. Neusch, rector at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The public is invited to attend, but for those who wish to view Mrs. Nussbaum’s presentation at home, the talks will be live streamed on the cathedral’s website, stmarysamarillo.com.
“Lent is a season of preparation for Easter,” said Nussbaum. “Catechumens are preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Babies will be bought to the font for Baptism. Young children come to receive First Holy Communion. Teens are preparing to be confirmed. Those of us who walk with them on the way to Easter are preparing, as well, preparing to affirm, once again, our pledge to live the life to which these sacraments call us.
“And what is that life? What constitutes the life of the baptized, confirmed Catholic? What calls us again and again to the altar of the Lord, to the table where we are fed the Body and Blood of Christ? What are the building blocks on which we can build that life? During this parish mission we are going to go back to the basics and look at three cornerstones of our faith: the Nicene Creed, the Our Father and the Eucharistic Prayer. We are going to ask, Who are we? We are going to learn who we are that we might go home and teach. We are going to learn who we are that we might walk the way to Easter with greater devotion, greater joy and greater commitment to Christ, who calls us.”
Nussbaum said that the mission will also focus on three cornerstones of our Faith: The Nicene Creed, the Our Father and the Eucharistic Prayer.
“Our focus on the opening night of the mission will be on the Nicene Creed. Perhaps you have seen the lawn signs: ‘In this house we believe’ and then a series of statements, credal statements, usually about current political issues. The Nicene Creed is our baptismal creed. It tells us who we are, regardless of current conflicts or current political leadership. It is a series of timeless statements which function as a base, a base on which we stand and, from which, we go forth.
“On March 6, the mission will revolve around the Our Father. What does it mean for us as Catholics to pray each day, ‘Give us this day our daily bread?’ We are an independent people. What does it mean for us to pray ‘Thy will [and not mine] be done?’ What is the model of forgiveness put forward here? At what point in the Mass do we pray the Our Father? Why then?
“The creed is a statement of belief. The Our Father is a way of praying what we believe. Both the Nicene Creed and the Our Father tell us something essential about the nature of God. We will talk about the ways in which profession and prayer are linked.
“On March 7, we’ll talk about the Eucharistic Prayer. We are going to be looking at Eucharistic Prayer II. Find a copy and notice how the prayer begins. What is the call throughout the prayer? What does the prayer reveal to us of the nature of God? The work of God? What does the prayer reveal to us of the nature of God’s Church throughout time? How do we find in this prayer our place in relationship with God? In relationship with the people of God? What does the prayer reveal to us of the work to which we are called? In Lent, we often speak of the sacred tripod of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We will close the mission considering the sacred tripod of profession, prayer and praise and talk about the ways these together reveal our true nature as women and men created by God, for God, and for one another.”
Born in Tulia, Nussbaum was raised in Amarillo from elementary school through high school in Amarillo. She and her husband, Martin, now reside in Colorado Springs.
Nussbaum writes and speaks extensively on scripture, liturgy and the eccleisola-in-ecclesia, the domestic church. Her work has appeared in National Review, First Things, Notre Dame Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, Commonweal, GIA Quarterly and others. She is the author of over 300 articles and four books. Her latest book, co-authored with her daughter, Anna Keating, is The Catholic Catalogue: The Daily Acts that Make Up a Catholic Life, published by Random House. Nussbaum is a frequent contributor to Give Us This Day published by Liturgical Press. She is currently working on a memoir.
Father Neusch added that during private prayer time each evening of the mission, Stephen Ministers and deacons will be available for those who wish or need to pray with someone.
For additional information on the Lenten Mission at St. Mary’s Cathedral, please call the cathedral office during regular business hours at 806-376-7204.
