For your reading pleasure

The response to my letter to the editor has been so good both in the physical realm and the virtual that I thought I would post what I wrote in the parish bulletin last Sunday in the absence of the Pastor:

My dear friends in Christ,

It is my pleasure to write to you again in the absence of Msgr. Enlow. As I write this column he is – I pray – enjoying a short time of rest in Florida.

After hearing the homilies that Msgr. Enlow and I preached this past weekend, several people have asked how and when I knew that the Lord was calling me to the priesthood. Sadly, there is not space to tell the tale here this weekend, but it can be read on my web site at: www.servantandsteward.org/priesthood.html.

Today the Church celebrates the World Day of the Sick, a day given us by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes as a day to pray especially with and for the sick. Holy Mother Church will grant to the faithful a Plenary Indulgence under the usual conditions (Sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Holy Father). This indulgence will be granted to those who offer, “at least for a few hours, their charitable assistance to the sick as if they were tending to Christ the Lord Himself, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin, and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the conditions required for obtaining the Plenary Indulgence… The faithful … may obtain the Plenary Indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the conditions required, they spiritually participate together with the Holy Father in the aforesaid ceremony [in Seoul, South Korea], pray devotedly for the sick, and offer - through the Virgin Mary 'Health of the Sick' - their physical and spiritual sufferings to God" (Apostolic Penitentiary, Decree for the World Day of the Sick 2007).

As you know, the season of Lent is quickly approaching; within a fortnight it shall be upon us. Will we be ready for Lent this year?

It is always a good idea to spend time in the days before Lent to reflect on the ways that we will live this penitential season in preparation for Easter. What will you give up this Lent? How, where and when will you pray this Lent? How will you come to know Christ crucified more deeply so that you might share more fully in the joy of his Resurrection? These are questions to be considered before Ash Wednesday. Do not wait, else the time will pass you by!

Pledge yourself today to read at least one chapter of the Bible every day during Lent. We cannot know Jesus Christ if we do not read the Scriptures. Pray the Rosary together as a family at least once a week during Lent. Look to Mary’s Seven Sorrows and journey with the Lord in the Stations of the Cross. Hide the remote control throughout Lent. Pray each day for someone about whom you have gossiped. If you haven’t yet done so, read the Holy Father’s Encyclical, God is Love. If you have read it, read it again.

The practices that we voluntarily take up during Lent are not meant to be simple deprivations of what we enjoy, of what brings us pleasure; they are not to make us miserable. What we do during Lent is to be done so that we might be changed and transformed, that we might be conformed more closely to the image of Christ. These acts of increased prayer, fasting and alms giving are to take root within us so that we might more readily undertake them throughout the year. The goal of Lent is to grow in holiness, to grow in faith, hope and love.

I wish to remind the parents of children who will be receiving the Sacrament of Penance for the first time this year that there will be a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on February 14th in the parish center. Please make plans – if you have not already done so - to attend this important meeting.

A book for Lent: If you are looking for spiritual reading during Lent, I recommend reading The King, Crucified and Risen: Meditations on the Passion and Glory of Christ by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Charis Books/Servant Publications, 2002). Fr. Groeschel offers a short reflection and prayer for each day of Lent through Divine Mercy Sunday.

Another book to consider is Pope Benedict XVI’s, Journey to Easter: Spiritual Reflections for the Lenten Season (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1987). This book contains a series of homilies preached by the Holy Father on Jesus Christ.

A web site to visit: www.catholic.com. This site, maintained by Catholic Answers, is a treasure trove of solid answers to questions about the faith.

St. Anthony of Padua says: Confession is also called ‘the gate of heaven’. Truly, truly it is the gate of heaven! Truly it is the gate of paradise! Through it, as through a gate, the penitent is led in to kiss the feet of divine mercy; to be raised up and kiss the hands of heavenly grace; and to be accepted with the kiss on the mouth of fatherly reconciliation. O house of God! O gate of heaven! O confession of sin! Blessed is he who dwells in you! Blessed is he who enters by you! Blessed is he who humbles himself in you! My beloved brothers, be humbled and enter by the gate of confession. As you have been taught, confess your sins and their circumstances, because now is the acceptable time for confession, now is the day of salvation for making amends (II Corinthians 6:2). [First Sunday of Lent 2.19]