Dear Parishioners:
It is School Winter Break this week, and our parish school is closed. It is hard to believe that the Season of Ordinary Time is ending this week, as Lent begins this coming Ash Wednesday. In Her wisdom, Holy Mother the Church gives us the Holy Season of Lent each year. 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."
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence. All Catholics aged 18 to 59 are required to fast unless they are ill or infirm. Fasting is limiting oneself to one full meal and two smaller meals. Abstinence is required of all Catholics age 14 and older. This means we must abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent.
As Catholics, we fast and abstain during Lent to imitate Jesus' 40 days in the desert, practicing penance, self-discipline, and spiritual reflection to prepare for Easter. These practices help us detach from worldly comforts, strengthen self-control, and foster a deeper reliance on God through prayer and charity.
Lent calls us to be vigilant against "spiritual evils," especially those we struggle with daily. Namely, sin, pride, selfishness, spiritual sloth and apathy, acedia, 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 penances and self-denial as we take up the cross and follow Christ for forty days.
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. Confession is available on Ash Wednesday at 11:45 am and 6:00 pm. As our foreheads are smeared with ashes, we take up the clarion call of Lent: "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Lent is a time for more prayer, penance, and the poor. We have many opportunities for prayer at OLM. We have Lenten Masses at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm Monday through Friday. Stations of the Cross every Friday at 7:00 pm. Put prayer at Daily Mass and the Stations on your schedule. Pope Leo XIV says, "Time spent in prayer is the most fruitful investment of one's life. Those who do not speak enough with God cannot speak of God.”
Confession in Lent is offered 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 additional guest Confessor joins us each week. All-day confessions are scheduled for Saturday, February 28. Ample opportunity to confess our sins and receive the mercy and grace of God.
Christ in the Desert or Christ in the Wilderness[ is a 1872 painting by Russian artist Ivan Kramskoi
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 to engage in 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 candy or sweets, perhaps beer or Bourbon, or even cigars! We should moderate our use of technology, such as cell phones, the internet, and social media.
The Venerable 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."
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 home a rice bowl. The monies collected buy food for the hungry of the world. St. Augustine said, "Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God? Make for it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.”
A blessed Lent! Pray, fast, and give alms! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!