“The Kingdom of God is at Hand. Repent, and Believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).
The Season of Lent begins with the beautiful practice of presenting ourselves before the Lord on Ash Wednesday for the imposition of ashes on our foreheads. As the ashes are imposed on our heads, there are two formulas that may be said as we receive the ashes. These are either: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel;” or “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.” These two formulas express well the meaning of this season. In Lent, we are called to turn away from all that prevents us from following the Lord. This is what is implied in the first formula that calls us to conversion. We are also to remember that it is only because of Christ’s resurrection that we have been saved from turning back to dust at the end of our earthly journeys. Because Christ has risen from the dead, we too are invited to share in His resurrection and the Kingdom that He has won for us by His life, death and resurrection. The whole purpose of Lent is that we should prepare during this season to renew our baptismal promises on Easter Sunday.
In the early Church, Lent was initially that season in which those who were not Christian intensified their preparations for Baptism on Easter Sunday. Because at first, many people were to be received into the Church, the forty days of Lent were a time of preparing those to be baptized to celebrate the great Sacraments of Initiation. During the season of Lent, they would be challenged to turn away from anything in their lives that would keep them from being baptized and living in communion with the Lord and His Church. With time, once much of Europe was Christian and baptized, the season of Lent became a time for all who had sinned to turn away from sin, do penance, and be reconciled with the Church on Easter Sunday. Today, Lent is the season in which all who are baptized are called to prepare to renew their baptismal promises. On Easter Sunday, all of us will be invited to renew our baptismal promises at the Easter Mass that we attend. As we prepare to celebrate Easter, each of us should be examining our lives to determine if there are areas of spiritual growth that God is calling us to so that we might renew our baptismal promises at Easter fully free from those things which prevent us from living our faith freely and in a mature manner.
In his Lenten letter to the Church this year, Pope Francis has written of his concern that the hearts of many Christians are growing cold to the needs of others because of the iniquity that is found in our world. Pope Francis speaks of the many trends in our world towards self-absorption that prevent others from caring about their brothers and sisters. Sin is always a choice for self and a choice against God and the charity that we owe to our brothers and sisters. The debt that we owe to God and others is based upon the victory that Christ has won for us in His life, death and resurrection. Lent is a time to deepen in our awareness of all that God has done for us by creating us, redeeming us through the sacrifice of His Son for our sins, and God’s acceptance of this sacrifice by raising Jesus from the dead in order that we all might live forever with God. In gratitude for what God has done for us, we are called to live lives of charity and gratitude. This is why the gift of His Body and Blood that Christ gives us at every Mass is called the Eucharist. This is taken from the Greek word “to give thanks.” Gratitude calls us to reach out in charity to our brothers and sisters.
In his letter for Lent, Pope Francis speaks of the way in which the traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving can set our hearts free to love our brothers and sisters in charity. These Lenten practices are intended to help us to warm our hearts that have grown cold to the needs of others through sin and self-absorption.
Be devoting more time to prayer, we give time to our hearts to root out the secret lies which dominate in them and to turn away from the many different forms of self-deception which can enslave our hearts. The different Lenten practices, like the Stations of the Cross, and celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, allow all of us to contemplate God’s mercy towards us and to foster it towards others. In our own parish community, the Stations will be prayed every Friday evening at 7:00 p.m., or after the 7:00 p.m. Mass on the first and last Friday of every month. The parish will also have a day of Confessions on Saturday, March 17th. This will give all an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation prior to renewing their own baptismal promises at Easter. This year our Lenten Retreat will be given by Father Gilles Mongeau, sj, and the Jesuit Scholastics that assist at the parish. This will take place on the evenings of March 5th, 6th and 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the church. This will be a great opportunity to enter into Lenten renewal, prayer and preparation for Easter.
Fasting always makes us realize how dependent we are on many of the things we take for granted. During Lent, all of the fasting that we do ought to be intended to help us grow in gratitude for the gifts that God has given us and towards growth in holiness. Each of us should give up something that will allow us to become more aware of God’s goodness to us and help us to grow in charity for our brothers and sisters. If someone gives up coffee, the money that is saved by this sacrifice should be donated to the poor and care of our brothers and sisters. We are not to suffer in Lent only for the sake of being miserable. Our sacrifices are to allow us to grow in love for God and in charity for our neighbor.
In regards to almsgiving, Pope Francis has written: “Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbor as a brother or sister.” In the Archdiocese of Toronto, the Lenten season is the time for our diocesan ShareLife campaign. Through the monies that are collected by ShareLife, our local Church provides for the needs of so many people in our community. ShareLife funds the work of more than thirty charitable organizations that care for those in our society who are truly in great need. There is so much that we as individuals cannot do on our own, or even as a parish community. ShareLife cares for those on the margins of our society that we might not as a community be able to assist. ShareLife funds Catholic Family Services, Covenant House and many other agencies that help refugees, single mothers and so many people suffering from addictions. Through it, we as a community are able to live the Gospel here in our city. I would ask every parishioner of St. Peter’s Parish to consider making a generous donation to ShareLife this year. Our parish goal this year is $38,500.00. Together, I am confident we can attain this goal.
On Easter Sunday, when our Lenten journey is completed, each of us will be invited to renew our baptismal promises. The readings from the First Sunday of Lent, remind us that in Baptism each one of us has become a new creation in Christ. Just as the waters of the flood washed away the sinful world in which Noah lived, so St. Peter reminds us that in baptism God has formed a new covenant with us and made us His people— called to share in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. In order that each of us may renew our baptismal promises this Easter, the Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent calls all of us to “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As we prepare to enter into the Lenten season this week, may each of us take the time to examine our hearts to determine what we must turn away from in order to be free to believe in the Gospel. Lent is a privileged time for all of us to grow closer to the Lord and in the freedom that He calls us to in order to be true disciples. May we each turn away from the sin that turns our hearts away from God and our neighbors and pray for that growth of charity which only God and His Holy Spirit can give us.
May this season of Lent be a true season of spiritual growth for all of us so that we might renew our baptismal promises this Easter with joy, serenity and gratitude.
Be assured of my prayers for you. Please do not forget to pray for me.
Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor— St. Peter’s Parish— Toronto
