The Lenten

Today is  Ash Wednesday! Our Church will be sharing the ashes ‪from 7:00 am‬ and ‪at 7:00 pm‬ we will have our Bilingual Mass.

As we begin the Lenten journey, be reminded that what matters is not what we give up, but what we choose to relinquish. For us Christians, the season of Lent helps us to realize and live this great truth that death leads us back into life. The sign of the cross on our foreheads with the imposition of ashes remind us of our mortality. It also reminds us of our willingness to participate in the long journey of death on the way of the cross, which leads us back to life. The Bible tells us: “Return to me, says the Lord, with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel ‪2:12-13‬).

During the Lenten season we contribute to mending the world by doing good deeds. Our task is to join God in mending and liberating the world. The most straightforward way to define good deeds is to say that a good deed is anything that dignifies or enhances life. Righteous conduct is not a matter of unusual courage or brave acts. It has more to do with the day-to-day practice of good deeds, the ordinary healthy acts and questioning of evil and injustice, which if done regularly will not put us in a situation in which only heroes can act.

Also, during this Lenten season, we are given the opportunity and the privilege to participate in God’s Way; the way of true fasting and prayer; the way of repentance; the way of the cross. This way of the cross involves our whole life and way of living—including our ways of thinking, speaking and acting. Are we prepared to participate in this long journey of death, which leads us and all people back to life? Are we willing to die each day to sin and the powers of death and evil? Are we willing to truthfully assess how we are living our lives—and, if necessary, to make the changes in order to follow God’s Way, the way of the cross? Are we willing to live in a new, reconciled, restored, loving, hope-filled relationship with our God and with one another? These are some of the questions that Jesus is asking us today as we begin this Lenten season. What shall our answer be but “Yes, it shall be so,”—which in the language of faith means Amen! Ashe!

Blessings

Fr. Luis