PARCE DOMINE, PARCE POPULO TUO,
ne in aeternum irascaris nobis.
This Wednesday we begin the Season of Lent. We will have four Masses on Ash Wednesday, our usual Masses at 6:15 and 8:15 (live-streamed), 12 pm and 7 pm.
Lent is an awesome time of growth, renewal and hope. It is also crucial to our faith.
Traditionally, the focus has been on three things: self-denial, prayer and almsgiving.
Self-denial. I am not one of those priests that says: “Instead of giving something up this Lent, you should so such and such!” Nope. Not gonna happen. Give something up. Self denial is such an important part of one’s spiritual life. First of all, it builds discipline. You set a goal for yourself and you struggle to maintain that goal. Second, it teaches us that there are many things in our lives that seem essential and indispensable, but aren’t. This is a freeing thing. Lastly, giving up something is good for your soul. I will agree that this should not be the extent of our Lenten journey. That is why the next aspect of Lent is:
Almsgiving. Ever hear the saying: it is better to give than to receive? Giving something up should free you to give and to give freely. There are so many different possibilities here. Our Vincent de Paul Society. Our PIP (Parents in Partnership) drive. And new this Lent, another chance to help our twin parish in Haiti, our Making Haiti Green Again Pro- gram. A $75 donation sponsors a farmer for a year, a $200 donation enables the planting of 200 trees. Once again the goal is food sustenance. Check the bulletin for more de- tails. There is also Operation Rice Bowl and any number of charities you can support on your own.
But Lent does not stop there. The final aspect is:
Prayer. At the center of the All Things New initiative has been prayer. Over the past three and a half years, my time here at Holy,
I have found great strength in my prayer, especially as I walk the streets of Webster or Grant’s Trail. My prayer has centered me, kept me from flying off the rails, helped me view the strategic initiative with a deeper, longer perception. What about starting your day with daily Mass at 6:15 or 8:15? What about inviting a friend who has been away from church to a Sunday liturgy? What about taking an hour on Tuesdays in front of the Blessed Sacrament? What about being more faithful to meal prayers with your family? What about praying the rosary on the way to work? What about joining one of our small Christian communities? There are so many possibilities!
The key to fruitful observance of these practices is to recognize their link to baptismal renewal. We are called not just to abstain from sin during Lent but to true conversion of our hearts and minds as followers of Christ. We recall those waters in which we were baptized into Christ’s death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.
Oh and in case you were wondering: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of universal fast and abstinence. Fasting is obligatory for all who have completed their 18th year and have not yet reached their 60th year. (I’m exempt, but you are as young as you feel and as young as you fast.) Fasting allows a person to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may be taken, not to equal one full meal. Abstinence (from meat) is obligatory for all who have reached their 14th year.
So what are you going to give up, what are you going to give and what are you going to pray this Lent??
It all begins with ashes on Wednesday.