Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We have begun our Lenten journey together!а Lent is about commitment.а Jesus certainly made one-а a commitment to carry out His mission...His mission to endure the cross and the grave.а As Lent begins, I ask you to make a commitment, a commitment to your Lord.а Commit yourself to following Jesus all the way to the cross and beyond.а What does that involve?а Here are some ideas:
- Commit to attend daily Mass. Sit in a different spot you normally do to pray and experience Mass in a new way.
- Do some Spiritual reading.а Perhaps a book on the life of a saint (Theresa and Francis are great ones) or the Bible.а Read and meditate on the words soаthat they may become your inner-most prayer.
- Take on a special mission: volunteer at a hospital or nursing home or come down to the Soup Kitchen at St. Anne's every Saturday.
- Come and celebrate the stations of the Cross with us every Friday at 7pm
- Keep a journal where you record your Spiritual progress during the seasn
- Catch up on letter writing or make tht phone call you have been thinking about for a long time.
- Celebrate Reconcilliation, make a good confessiona dn do a meaningful penance.
- Attend our Parish Mission on March 3 & 4 with Al Barbarino. Bring a friend!
In short, Lent is not a time to look gloomy.а Jesus tells us straight out in the Ash Wednesday Gospel not to make your face look gloomy!а Look forward to the joyful news of Easter!а It takes great faith to be a joyful person amid this constant bombardment of bad news in us and around us.а Lent is a wonderful 40 days to build your Spiritual muscles that we might find good news and hope in the Easter Proclamation.а So, let's get busy and get to the Spiritual gym - Lent!а And may God's peace rest in your hearts.
Love always,
Fr. Frank