Dear Parishioners:
In Her wisdom Holy Mother the Church each year gives us the Holy Season of Lent. And so we "begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint."
Lent calls us to be vigilant against "spiritual evils," especially those we struggle with daily. Namely, sin, pride, selfishness, spiritual apathy, indifference, sloth, and laziness. We must be armed with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, which are our "weapons of self-restraint."
We must be more vigilant in faithfully attending Holy Mass on Sundays as God has commanded us. We must be more vigilant in seeking God's mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Confession. We must be more vigilant in making sacrifices, being more generous and charitable to the poor, and practicing self-denial as we take up the cross and follow Christ.
Our spiritual campaign of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, with three Masses, 7:30 am, 12:05 pm, and 7:00 pm. Ashes will be imposed at all three. As our foreheads are smeared with ashes, we take up the clarion call of Lent: "Repent and believe in the Gospel."
Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence. So we are expected to eat only one large meal and two small, modest meals and avoid eating between meals. We also are expected to abstain from eating any meat. Fridays of Lent are days of penance and prayer as we loyally keep the sacrificial fast and abstain from meat in honor of our Lord's sacrifice on the cross.
We have Lenten Masses at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm Monday through Friday. Put Daily Mass on your schedule this Lent! Confession in Lent is daily, Monday through Friday, at 11:45 am, just before the Lenten 12:05 Mass. On Monday nights at 6:00 pm during Lent, an extra guest Confessor joins us weekly. All Day Confessions are scheduled for Saturday, March 25!
Dominican Friar Father Justin Brophy, OP, leads the Lenten Mission this year. He is preaching: "Our Relationship with Jesus: the Pearl of Great Price!" Fr. Brophy is a Professor of Political Theory at Providence College. He is a brilliant young priest and an outstanding and dynamic preacher. The Lenten Mission is scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 4. Save the date and make the Mission!
Lent is a time for more sacrifice, prayer, and reflection in our daily lives. Many Lenten books, booklets, and pamphlets are available in the vestibule and the bookrack to help strengthen your spiritual life. Take a break from your daily routine for spiritual reading, prayer, Mass, and reflection during Lent. Our Lenten fast from certain foods, drinks, and other comforts and pleasures helps us conform to God's will.
For forty days, we take up fasting by giving up some selfish pleasure or creature comforts like chocolates, ice cream or sweets, perhaps beer or Bourbon, or even smoking cigars! We should moderate our use of technology like cell phones, the internet, and social media. Such sacrificial fasting and self-denial are done during Lent in imitation of our Savior's forty days in the desert.
The late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said: "Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth, and undying ecstatic love, which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal, we find happiness."
On Fridays during Lent, we pray the Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm. This venerable devotion draws us closer to the Crucified Christ. Join us as we prayerfully follow his footsteps to Cavalry. We give more alms to the poor during Lent. We can do this through Operation Rice Bowl, OLM Outreach, and the Catholic Charity Appeal. Please take a rice bowl home today. The monies collected buy food for the hungry of the world.
Pope Francis states: "Lent reminds us that we can always start again, with the help of God's mercy, we can always get up and resume following the Master." If we've fallen away, let us resume following the Master this Lent with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. In the name of the poor, I thank those who generously pledged their gift to the CCA. Please pray for the health and happiness of all students and teachers on vacation this week. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!