From The Pastor’s Desk

The ashes of Ash Wednesday have washed away and the Lenten Season is quickly passing. The first two weeks of Lent and our communal Penance Service has passed as have several others in the Springfield area. The question each of us should be asking ourselves, “Thus far, has my Lenten Journey been productive?” or am I simply going to church on Sunday?
The days of the priest standing at the ambo and telling the people what they were going to do during Lent are
over. The days of going to confession every Saturday if you wanted to go to Holy Communion are in the past. The days of placing the priest upon a pedestal, have simply gone forever, and I believe all these changes to be for the better. However, that means that everyone has to take more authority upon themselves if the priest is not going to be telling you what you are to do. You are now charged with your own spiritual decision making guided by the Church.
Lent should be different than the rest of the Church year. It should be set aside not only by the Church, but also by the people as a spiritual time to prepare for the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. This is the whole reason Christ came to earth. It is through His dying that our Redemption is found and it is in His rising that we rise to be with Him in His Fathers’ Kingdom. It is not too late to make this Lent different, but we need to start now if we haven’t already done so. It would not hurt anyone to give up something we like. It would not hurt anyone to read a little each day in the Bible, or spend a little extra time in prayer, or do something for an elderly neighbor. The list of things we could do, could go on forever. The important thing is that we DO SOMETHING.
When I met with our Confirmation Candidates I tried to impress upon them the importance to become a person/ people of prayer. That does not mean that we need to spend hours in prayer each day, although that would not be bad. Being a person of prayer means taking the Lord along with you throughout your day. Begin the day with a whispered thought/prayer as you get dressed for the day, on the way to work/school thank the Lord for the day/the gasoline in your gas tank, that you are not walking to work as so many people in the world. How about thanking the Lord for your job/your freedom to go to school. If it is going to be a hard day at work/school let the Lord be by your side, invite Him along. Whispered thoughts/prayers do not take time, they take effort, a conscious effort to include the Lord in whatever you are doing.
May your Lent be a time refreshing you with energy, enthusiasm through the graces of God.