Welcoming Lent

Dear Parishioners,

This year we have a relatively short period of Ordinary Time between the Christmas Season and the Lenten Season. As we begin February we are celebrating Ordinary Time. We then begin Lent on February 18th. As I am writing this note to you in early January I am pushed by early deadlines for our printed newsletter in February. This makes it hard to announce all our plans for our Lenten programs so please pay attention to our bulletins and Flock Note notifications as we move closer to Ash Wednesday.

As we live through the depths of winter this year we read about the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry and we concentrate on the Gospel of Matthew. There are three cycles of Ordinary Time readings in the Church’s Sunday liturgy. In each cycle we have readings from a different synoptic Gospel (Matthew, Mark, or Luke). This year it is Matthew.

Matthew contains what we call the Sermon on the Mount. This speech of Jesus outlines the Christian ethic. There is much to reflect on. We could just begin with the beatitudes. How challenging it is to live out these sayings of Jesus! A good spiritual practice for these days of Ordinary Time would be to prayerfully meditate on the readings we share from the Gospel of Matthew. We can also reflect on what penance we want to engage in during the Lenten Season. Planning ahead usually makes any undertaking in our life more fruitful. I wish everyone well as we have this transition from Ordinary Time into Lent in the weeks ahead.

Blessings,
Fr. Mark