Dear Friends,
Our first reading opens this way, “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” And then the Lord goes on, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge … You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the very statement that Jesus uses when He answers the question about the greatest commandments. It is the second.
In our Gospel this weekend, we are reminded that Jesus takes this one step further. In His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us, “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father…”
Our readings are a wonderful preparation as we enter into the penitential and holy season of Lent. Yes, Ash Wednesday is this week! Our schedule for the distribution of ashes can be found elsewhere in this bulletin and on our usual social media platforms.
Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in a much more concerted and conscious manner. Why Lent? I would suggest because the busyness of life and the things of the world tend to divert our attention away from God so that we become self-focused, this world limited. Our penitential efforts open us up to the graces, blessings, and presence of God in new ways leading us to the joy and glory of the Lord’s resurrection and our salvation in Christ.
The Church prescribes a bare minimum in regards to fasting and abstinence during these days. “…all persons who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, February 22, on all the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, while the other two meals on those days are to be light.”
Lent is not just about giving something up. However, fasting or abstinence from some kind of food, drink, social media, internet, television, radio, or other things, even if we change up weekly what we are fasting from, is a great way to grow towards a more conscious openness to God and His graces in our lives.
Additionally, we are encouraged to attend daily Mass whenever we can, to spend some time in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, something very appropriate to consider in this time of our Eucharistic Revival, to pray the Rosary, to attend or personally pray the Stations of the Cross, to read the Bible, to make it to Confession, and to be generous in charitable giving to those in need. Operation Rice Bowl is a wonderful way to participate in helping to feed the hungry. While the choice is open to each of us, the important thing is that we consciously choose what we will engage in before Lent and/or week by week during Lent.
May our Lenten journey be filled with God’s grace and strength so that renewed inwardly through prayer, penance, almsgiving, and Sacramentally through Confession and frequent Communion we will rejoice in the glory of Easter Sunday!
God bless you, God love you,
Monsignor McCulken
