LENTEN MORNING OF PRAYER—February 28, 2026, at St. Brigid’s Church, Westbury, NY By Jo Anne Ayers

On February 28th the men and women of the Cursillo community came together for our Lenten Prayer Service at St. Anthony’s Hall of St. Bridgets Parish in Westbury, N.Y. Our theme this year was “Prepare Your Heart.” Lent is a time for pondering. It’s a time to turn inward a bit and examine yourself. It’s a season of contemplation, confession, repentance and spiritual growth.
We began with a continental breakfast and fellowship. Theresa McHugh did a wonderful job with all the videos and technical material. Our morning started with an opening prayer led by Ed Ayers, who also did the closing prayer.
Joanne Lauro, guided us through our program. She familiarized us with some of the timeless spiritual practices and the importance of saying “yes” to the opportunity to renew our relationship with God and prepare ourselves for the celebration of Holy Week.
Our first speaker was Judi Kowalczyk who spoke about the Ignatian Examen, an examination of conscience, which during Lent can have a meaningful experience of repentance and gratitude. She led us through it step by step and we had the opportunity to contemplate it in silence for ourselves.
I opened with a beautiful poem entitled, “The Harvest of God” by Macrina Wiederkeher, (that can be found on Page 4 of this newsletter for your enjoyment). I shared about being called by God to something more during Lent, suggesting fasting from some of our negative daily habits that can create more time for God and prayer. I posed the question: What habits in my life take up too much time by distracting me, numbing me, or keeping me from the things that matter most?
Pearce McDonnell asked us what our prayer life looked like during Lent and shared some touching stories about his life experiences extending mercy to others that led to his spiritual awakening and transformation. He reminded us that Christ has no hands but ours.
Theresa McHugh shared a moment by moment reflection with us on accompanying Jesus to the Cross, entitled “Walk with Me” asking us to walk with Jesus in His suffering during Holy Week, and asked us, “Do we look away from suffering or are we under the cross?”
There was much lively discussion and sharing from all who attended.