This year, Msgr. Todd Lajiness, president and rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary is encouraging the participation of the First Friday devotions and penance among the faculty, staff, seminarians and students of the seminary.
During his rector’s address to kick off the 2019-2020 academic year, Msgr. Lajiness invited the SHMS community to join together for this monthly devotion. In the address he stated, "Pope emeritus Benedict XVI referred to prayer as a school of Hope. As we seek to grow in hope, and also to grow in holiness, common prayer is one of the means through which we accomplish that, which leads me to think of the Sacred Heart and First Fridays."
The participating in the devotions at SHMS began with the month of September, as the Sacred Heart Major Seminary community gathered in the main chapel of the seminary. As part of the devotion, one decade of the Rosary is prayed, reflecting on the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, the Crucifixion. The intention for September was: “In reparation for sins of sexual abuse within the Church.” October's intention is, "In reparation for failures by Church leaders and members to respond properly to crimes of sexual abuse."
If you don’t already participate in the devotions, consider joining the SHMS family virtually in doing so. The next First Friday is Friday, October 4. The prayers can be found here.