Ash Wednesday began with a familiar agenda proclaimed from St. Matthew’s Gospel: prayer, fasting, and charity. The Lenten disciplines are the same each year, but we are not simply repeating ourselves from year to year, because we are not the same person each year. Over the course of twelve months, we have either been drifting closer to Christ or further away from Christ. So, we have to adapt those spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting, and charity to what needs to change in our life this particular year. What is important is that whatever Lenten practices we undertake, we look at it as an opportunity for permanent change in our life. Often that happens without our deliberately planning it. If I decide to reduce my consumption of social media or ice cream during Lent, I may discover along the way that conversing with people live is more fulfilling than just reading about their exploits on a screen. Real friends are more important than Facebook friends. Once I get out of the habit of having a bowl of ice cream every night or an extra soda in the afternoon or a gin and tonic when I get home from work, I discover I really don’t need that indulgence as much as I thought I did. And that change is good for my health too. We may decide to get involved in a charity during Lent. We start out wanting to help “the less fortunate” but end up continuing because we find the company of “the less fortunate” enriching. Giving up something also puts us in touch with those who are always hungry. Reducing our meat consumption can connect us with the need to change our lifestyle to rescue our planet from its current crisis. Fasting and charity work best when they are connected. How can my cutback in consumption be translated into more for those who have little? The bottom line is: Who am I this year? Who do I need to become?
Beyond fasting and charity, the third spiritual discipline is prayer. That might translate into going to weekday Mass a couple of times a week, Bible reading, or joining the Lenten Scripture Group. In that Disciple Maker Survey in which many of you participated last Lent, one of the areas in which our members tracked slightly below average was our participation in spiritual growth activities, faith sharing, and retreats. Largely as a response to that, our Leadership Group has prepared a series of brief videos (10 minutes or less) on various aspects of prayer: Praying to the Persons of the Trinity, Praying the Rosary, Praying to the Saints, and Praying with Scripture. There are also two videos that are more informational: The Difference between Public and Private Prayer and Finding a Way to Pray that Fits your Personality. All six are available now on our website. Check them out. One or more of them might help jumpstart your prayer life.
Here is another suggestion that indirectly might help your prayer life. Prior to the pandemic, we had a regular team of trained, state-approved volunteers to host a nursery in a room adjacent to the Parish Hall during the 10:30 Mass every Sunday. It was never heavily attended, but we usually had at least a couple of children each week. We are finally ready to bring the nursery back on a monthly basis. It is for children aged 18 months to four years. There will be toys as well as Bible videos to entertain the children. Although we encourage parents to bring infants and small children to Mass, sometime parents need a break. They need the opportunity to be fully engaged in Mass themselves and not also be engaged in caring for toddlers. Next Sunday February 25 will be our first nursery session. If you would like to participate, just bring your child to the Parish Hall prior to the start of the 10:30 Mass.
When I was in a parish with a school and used to hear classroom confessions, I would often ask the children beforehand, “Who goes to confession, good people or bad people?” Although they often answered, “bad people,” the correct answer is “good people.” Bad people do not care much about their life or other people or God. Only good people are bothered by their sins. Only good people want to get better. The same thing may be said about entering into the Season of Lent. Only good people enter into the discipline of prayer, fasting, and charity. Only good people care about becoming a better person at Easter time. Only good people care about making their life a stronger reflection of the faith to which they belong. Whatever path to Easter you have chosen will surely bear fruit in your life, in our parish, and in our world.
Fr. Joe
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