Pastor's Letter on Lent

Dear Parishioners,

I am fascinated by Ash Wednesday. Thinking about the three busiest days in the Catholic Church, it is rather obvious that Christmas is number one for people to attend Mass. Here at St. Mary's because there are so many attending Mass, we have Masses in four places: St. Mary's, St. John Neumann, the Knights of Columbus, and Marian Hall. The Masses often have standing room only. Ah, we love Christmas and we seek to come and adore him. We like the Christmas carols, the Nativity statues, and the overall happiness that pervades the Masses. I would rank Easter as the second most attended Masses of the year. We feel the beginnings of Spring, many dress up in their finest Easter outfits, and children come in carrying stuffed toy rabbits and lambs. The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are at the core of the Catholic faith. Last Easter we had more than 1500 hundred people at our outdoor Spa Creek Mass.

I would say that Ash Wednesday runs a strong third in participation of Catholics. What is it that has such a hold on people on getting some dust on your forehead? I am delighted that so many people come since when they go back to work or their home, other people will ask them about the ashes and they become a witness to the Catholic faith. In the scriptures we read about people putting on sack cloth and ashes as a powerful sign of their desire to turn away from sin and deepen their faith with Christ. We have two forms that can be used in the distribution of the ashes. Both prayers are powerful but I prefer the form that says, "Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return." I often get a kick out of someone saying, "If I die play this song at my funeral.' It makes me smile. Are you going to be the only person in history, other than the Risen Jesus, who feels that we may be the exception. In our culture it is very rare to speak directly about dying. If we raise the topic, we might be shushed and told to change the subject. The symbol of the ashes raises the issue or our own mortality.

The other option is, "Repent and believe in the Gospel." I usually chose this form since it is shorter and lines are long. I have had people tell me that they wanted the one with the words, "You are dust." Repent is a powerful word. It suggests that we need to look within ourselves, examine our lives honestly and seek to deepen our love of Jesus. We wear the sign of the ashes on our foreheads but are looking into the depths of our hearts and minds. We heard in our first reading the struggle of humanity. "Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves." The ultimate sin of Adam and Eve is pride; they had everything and wanted to be God like as they were seduced by Satan. Lent brings us face to face with ourselves.

Jesus goes off into the wilderness to fast and pray to his Father as he seeks to begin his mission of salvation. Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus refuses to give into Satan. As the Son of God, Jesus humbles himself and experiences hunger and thirst, pain and rejection, and choses to give up his very life for our Redemption from the power of evil and sin.

There are three pillars of Lent: fasting, prayer and good works. It strikes me that many of us focus on fasting: giving up something like chocolate, alcohol, desserts, and so forth. Such practices remind us of our desire to discipline ourselves as a kind of sacrifice to Jesus. I would say this may be the most popular pillar of Lent.

The second way to enter Lent is prayer. Prayer is talking to God and being attentive to listening to hear him in our hearts. Attending Mass is the greatest prayer we have and some chose to come to some extra daily Masses. We may say a rosary each day, find some spiritual program on the internet, read the scriptures, of just be quiet for a time and be with the Lord. This may be more difficult than giving up candy.

The third pillar of Lent is charity and mercy toward others. This is the most difficult of the three pillars since it calls us to be compassionate and kind to one another. If you do not donate to the poor box, you might consider that for Lent. If there is someone you need to forgive, that might a great Lenten offering. How we treat one another is a most powerful call of these forty days.

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. -Micah 6:6-8

God bless, Father Pat [email protected]