Dear Parishioners,

Grow up!  That is a normal reaction from someone who thinks that someone else is acting irresponsibly.   Grow Up! Act your age!  As we go through the Lenten Season, I have never read that Jesus used those words, but he got really close.  As Jesus confronted the temple priests, the Pharisees and Sadducees, even his own disciples, he wanted to help move them forward in their spirituality, but they were rooted in the Jewish Laws of food and animal sacrifices.

Lent is a time of conversion.  To grow up and become responsible, mature human beings in our Christian Faith.  Most of us mature in all other areas of life, physically, intellectually and emotionally.  Our spiritual life falls behind, our ideas of God, prayer, worship and the living out of our Christian faith.

Repentance is the first step on our way to fulfillment as a human person.  That is one of the reasons we need to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent, because sin causes a lack of unity in our lives, jealousy, greed, and arrogance takes us away from God and destroys relationships.  Lents’ call to conversion challenges the lack of unity in our lives, and the need for wholeness, the need to put together the scattered pieces of our lives.

In Jesus we see what our own life is called to be.  Within Jesus is seen what it mean to be a whole human being.  As human beings what are we really searching for?  We are searching whether we realize it or not, to complete our lives in Jesus.   Many people seek completeness in a sexual free lifestyle, or in vast sums of money, or in power over others, all those temptations from Satan.

God created us, chosen us to be responsible members of his Church.  That means that there is a divine purpose for each of us.  Each of us need to do better, to think better, pray better, share better, love better.  We need to become more mature in our faith life with Jesus as Lent calls for conversion.  In our gospel this weekend, Jesus is talking to us, it is a time for Him to fertilize us, to hoe the hard ground around our hearts so that he can bring us to new life.

Please Join us for our Lenten Penance Service March 24 at 7 pm