It’s been a strange and unusually warm and wet winter, hasn’t it? Some of you may still be looking for that one, major snow storm but, ready or not, spring is fast approaching. Liturgically, Lent – which means “spring” – is already here; it started just a few days ago with Ash Wednesday. Just as the natural world is reawakened and renewed every spring, each year, the Church, in her wisdom, offers us this liturgical Season of Lent, a season for reconciliation and renewal.
On Ash Wednesday we were again made aware of our sinfulness and our need for salvation. We were called to choose to accompany Jesus as he offers his life to save us. On Ash Wednesday, we received ashes on our forehead as both a sign of repentance and a call to choose to prepare for our eternal salvation. This is why the person who imposes ashes has a choice of two formulas: “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.”
Now that the Lenten Season is fully underway, I would like to offer you copies of the popular Lenten Black Book at the church entrances; please take one if you haven’t already done so. This booklet offers brief, thought-provoking reflections for every day of Lent based on the Sunday Mass readings as well as interesting quotes, information and timely thoughts.
I also encourage you to take advantage of the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is scheduled every Saturday 4:00 – 4:45pm, except on Holy Saturday (11 April). And, we will again host a regional Lenten Penance Service on Wednesday, 1 April, beginning at 7:00pm.
On Wednesday, 25 March, we will have our Lenten Evening of Reflection, beginning with a soup and bread dinner at 6:15pm. Mr. Daniel Tarrant will offer us excellent reflections on evangelization. The groundswell of evangelization is growing in our parish and I want to keep the momentum going. Mark your calendars and plan to attend!
We will also have Stations of the Cross throughout Lent at 7:00pm every Friday evening. Our school students will present their annual Living Stations on Friday, 3 April; this is a very moving way to prepare for Holy Week, which begins with Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord just two days later, on 5 April. And, in addition to the beautiful Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00pm on Holy Thursday, 9 April, and the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion at 3:00pm on Good Friday, we will join in the Wayne Ecumenical Ministerium Good Friday Service at noon that day and we’re privileged to have the VoxAmaDeus Ensemble perform Bach’s “Easter Oratorio” and Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” beginning at 7:00pm that same evening. All of these events will offer us very powerful occasions to close this most Holy Week of the year.
Another essential aspect of the Lenten Season is almsgiving. As we become aware of the great sacrifice our Lord, Jesus, made for us on the cross, we are called to share in his sacrifice by sharing the abundance of God’s gifts with those in need around the world. Operation Rice Bowl is an excellent way to do just that. Rice Bowls are at the church entrances for your use. Over the past few years, these Rice Bowl packets have become more interesting, with reflections on and recipes from a variety of areas in the world that Catholic Relief Services supports through your donations; this year, the places are Honduras, Vietnam and Kenya. You can meet your global family at crsricebowl.org.
Yes, this is a very important time for us Christians. Let us take the opportunity, once again, to join together in turning back to God and to each other as we prepare to celebrate the new life we have received in the Risen Lord at Easter!