March 1, 2020
-
Our Lenten journey has begun. We look at this journey of renewal as a path to the gift of resurrection at Easter and then as a continuing journey to the great mission of Pentecost. These ninety days are the center of our life as Catholic Christians. We move through the Lenten way of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the waters of Baptism and new life and then onward to the mission given at Pentecost, the mission to bring Christ to the world.
This first part of the journey calls us to a renewal of spirit, a call to draw closer to Jesus each day. Our sacrificial acts and our acts of service to others assist us in imitating the unconditional love of Jesus who laid down his life for us. We die to our self to rise to new life in our Savior. We empty ourselves that Jesus may fill us with his very own life in word and sacrament.
On this First Sunday of Lent, we once again hear the Temptation Story as Jesus himself is tested in the desert. We face temptations every day, but through Jesus, we can ignore and overcome them if we work with the grace Jesus imparts. Remember, temptation always looks good in its false promises, but in the end, we know that the end result is never good and often leads to sin. With Jesus at our side, we can fight off temptation just as He did by keeping our relationship with God first and foremost in our hearts and minds. As we pray daily in the Our Father, we ask the Lord to spare us from temptation that we may remain in him.
Stay strong and faithful in the Lord and have a prayerful and joyful Lenten Season. May God bless our journey and may we all grow in faith, hope and love.
I would like to thank all of those who helped make our first Heritage Day Celebration a great success. The many people who had Nationality Tables and Informational tables were phenomenal and all those who attended had a great time sharing stories and good food. It truly was a wonderful parish community event. I’m already looking forward to next year. Thank you all so very much.