“He is risen, he is truly risen Alleluia!” These words of the angel at the tomb of Jesus are an indication of our Lenten journey. I believe in many ways we have all “Risen to the Occasion!”
It is April School Vacation and some people will be traveling during this time. I know two families and some students are traveling to Italy and will be spending Holy Week in Rome, celebrating the holiest days of our Catholic faith-life with Pope Francis. How wonderful is that. As exciting as that is, the very same celebrations that are taking place in Rome take place in our parish and every Catholic Church throughout the world. We gather as a community of faith to remember our Salvation History in ritual, song and action to assist us in deepening our understanding and commitment to a powerful relationship with Jesus Christ.
I want to address a few items before Holy Week that have been brought to my attention. Three weeks ago, we sent out our Annual Parish Report. I hope you have had a chance to read through it about all the good things happening here through the pooling of time, talent and treasure as a Catholic Community. Any feedback regarding the report would be greatly appreciated, as it assists us in being true to our commitment of ownership, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of parish life.
How is your Lenten journey going so far? We gather this weekend for the 4th Sunday of Lent, know in the Latin Rite as “Laetare Sunday” which comes from the intro to the Mass “Laetare Jerusalem” or “Rejoice Jerusalem”! We rejoice because we are more than halfway through Lent and to our celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord! Are you up for rejoicing? I know that my Lenten journey has had a huge turnaround since the 3rd Sunday of Lent. I took the time on Sunday afternoon to take a good look at what was happening around me and identified what was broken. I realize there are lots to work on; some of it here in our parish.
We continue our Lenten journey focus on “Fixer-Upper” and have taken the time to examine the issues in our spiritual selves that are broken, or the hurts or baggage that we are carrying around that need to be addressed. Sometimes we don’t go deep enough; for example, it is not enough to say “I’m lonely or overwhelmed” we need to look at what might be the cause of the loneliness or the reason we are overwhelmed. Don’t rush, take your time to sit with the hurts and find out what’ behind it. Only then can we come up with a blueprint and design for the renovation of our spiritual selves. Like all blueprints and designs they are only a start, others need to see what we have come up with and make suggestions and share wisdom with us. That’s why the spiritual journey should never be done alone.