There are many symbols used during the season of Lent that call us to turn from sin and to be reconciled to God and to others. Ashes, imposed on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday remind us that we are sinners who need to “repent and believe the Gospel”. Purple vestments call to mind the need for penance and humility. The starkness of undecorated altars and sanctuaries call us to divest ourselves of all that is superfluous so that we can focus on the Lord and his Passion Death. Palms remind us that the same people who acclaimed Jesus as “Son of David” as he entered Jerusalem for the last time, were the same folks who stood outside of Pilate’s courtyard screaming, “Crucify Him!”
During Lent there are liturgies, Stations of the Cross, the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, and the events of the Sacred Triduum that invite us into a closer, more prayerful relationship with God and His Son. In accepting the invitation, we commit ourselves to turn our lives in a new direction, that of holiness and grace.
Through Prayer, fasting and almsgiving we can come to that experience of what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Prayer helps us to focus on God’s word and will. Fasting teaches us that by self-denial (ie- losing our life as we know it), we will gain the newness of life that Jesus promises to all who believe. Almsgiving teaches us to place the needs of our brothers and sisters above our own needs, as Jesus did.
There is plenty to pray over, reflect upon and then act upon if our Lenten journey is to be successful. May the Lord who has begun this good work in you, support and nurture you as you go forward. May we all come to the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord renewed, transformed and filled with the joy of new life.
Fr. Peter Pagones
During Lent there are liturgies, Stations of the Cross, the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, and the events of the Sacred Triduum that invite us into a closer, more prayerful relationship with God and His Son. In accepting the invitation, we commit ourselves to turn our lives in a new direction, that of holiness and grace.
Through Prayer, fasting and almsgiving we can come to that experience of what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Prayer helps us to focus on God’s word and will. Fasting teaches us that by self-denial (ie- losing our life as we know it), we will gain the newness of life that Jesus promises to all who believe. Almsgiving teaches us to place the needs of our brothers and sisters above our own needs, as Jesus did.
There is plenty to pray over, reflect upon and then act upon if our Lenten journey is to be successful. May the Lord who has begun this good work in you, support and nurture you as you go forward. May we all come to the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord renewed, transformed and filled with the joy of new life.
Fr. Peter Pagones