Dear Fellow Parishioners, I have been wondering what parishioners are experiencing when we gather for sacraments and sacramental experiences. My experience as a minister of sacraments and sacramentals is far different from those receiving the same. How important is the sense of touch. The wax of the candles touching our necks and the placing of the hand on each person’s head, and the gaze into the eyes are so important. For me it is a sense of belonging to something bigger than myself. It is more than “I and Thou” and more of a, not sure how to put it a “We and Trinity.” Putting words on a faith experience seems to take away from the mystical presence in the divine. In doing so we enter the realm of “theology,” Theo-logos “God -talk.” We often do not talk about our faith experiences simply because it is so very difficult to do so. How do we articulate what happens when we experience the presence of God. Sometimes we forget to even allow ourselves to be present to the presence of God. Each Saturday when the Men of Hope zoom-gather at 7:30 I am at awe at the effort and energy the men in each small group make in articulating their faith experience. Each week we seem to get better at articulating our faith journey. It takes practice to get comfortable as we embrace our faith and seek to understand more the presence of God in our personal and communal life journey. For some reason I am anxiously awaiting Lent to begin. It is a personal and at the same time a communal faith-life journey. I’m not sure if I am anxious to start because of the late start of Lent this year, or the mild winter we are having. After all, the word we use for the Lenten Season refers to the lengthening of days or springtime. With this mild winter we are all looking forward to the arrival of spring and the celebration of Easter. I wonder what God has in store for me, and us as we enter this Lenten Season?