Pastor's Letter -- March 13, 2022

Beloved parishioners,
We are in the second week of Lent. Before we notice, this graced season will once again be behind us. We must therefore make the most of it. Lent is about deepening our relationship with God who enters into a covenant with us. This relationship, nurtured by prayer, would result in the transfiguration of our hearts and minds as we would be permeated by the light of the Lord, who himself is our salvation. This week I invite you to reflect a little on the Second reading for this weekend.

St. Paul calls out those whose orientation is this worldly. In contrast, he urges his audience to embrace a heavenward mindset. It seems convenient to presume that every Christian believes in the existence of heaven and hell. But Lent affords us a fresh opportunity to once again interrogate our actions and beliefs to see if they suggest an awareness of our provenance. While we live in this world, we must never forget that we are citizens of heaven; and from there we expect a Savior who will transform our lowly bodies to conform with his glorious body. It is sometimes questionable whether this belief informs how we live now. St. Paul seems to suggest that some, by their conduct, constitute themselves as enemies of the cross. These persons have made their bellies their god. They are so occupied with satisfying their fleshly desires, the craving for material possessions, the desire for power and fame, and the desire to be worshipped rather than to worship. These people shy away from the cross and seek every opportunity to evade or reject whatever seems to impinge on their endless quest for comfort and pleasure. Do you consider yourself a friend or an enemy of the cross of Christ? Do you gladly accept whatever crosses the Lord sends your way or do you grumble at every cross you are asked to carry? Is your cross making you abandon the Lord? This Lent, make a commitment to run toward the cross rather than away from it.

The cross we are called to carry could be, among other things, a daily Holy Hour, an extra time in prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; it could be waking up early in the morning and offering the early hours of your day to the Lord in prayer. It could be asking you to spend less time on your phone and giving that time to reading and meditating on sacred Scripture. Your cross could be that God is asking you to give up that bad relationship that is a constant occasion for sin, and does not allow you to live a pure and chaste life; it might be to give up that relationship that weakens your prayer life and makes you an enemy of the cross of Christ; it might be that the Jesus is asking you to change your attitude to him in the Eucharist by making a sincere confession before receiving Holy Communion or to stop receiving Holy Communion in a state of sin. Would you prefer the appraisal of human beings while neglecting to enter into a sincere covenantal relationship with God? What cross is the Lord asking you to carry this Lent?

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you!