{"id":1898,"date":"2017-02-25T10:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T15:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/?p=1898"},"modified":"2017-02-22T20:52:56","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T01:52:56","slug":"lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/","title":{"rendered":"Lent – The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lent\"<\/a>This coming Wednesday, March 1st<\/sup> is an important day in the life of our Church. It is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the forty day season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. For that reason, I would like to speak a little bit about Lent and its importance in the spiritual life of each one of us.<\/p>\n

In the history of the Church, Lent began as that season when the Catechumens who were preparing for baptism would enter into their final stages of preparation before being baptized at Easter. In the first few centuries of the Church\u2019s history, many adults prepared to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. However, as by the ninth and tenth centuries most adults were baptized, Lent became a season not just for baptism but also for the repentance of those Christians who were already baptized and would prepare for the renewal of their baptismal promises at Easter. This is also now what the majority of us are called to do in the approaching season of Lent. Because most of us are already baptized, Lent is a time for us to prepare to renew our baptismal promises by turning away from what prevents us from living our baptisms and being the people that God has called each one of us to be as a result of our baptisms. At Easter, our community will celebrate the baptisms of those joining the Church at Easter, but each one of us is also called to renew our baptismal promises at the Easter Sunday Mass that we will attend this year. For that reason, I would like to say just a few words about what it means for each of us to be baptized.<\/p>\n

When we were baptized, each of us were freed from original sin and all of the sins that we and committed before baptism were forgiven. Through baptism we each received the Holy Spirit and were made members of Christ\u2019s holy people, called to share in Christ\u2019s priestly, prophetic and kingly mission. The prayer for the anointing after baptism makes powerfully clear what this entails, as it states:<\/p>\n

\u201cGod the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This prayer declares that each Christian is called to share in Christ\u2019s priestly, prophetic and kingly mission. Every Christian is called to share in Christ\u2019s priesthood by offering sacrifices of love in their lives in imitation of Christ\u2019s sacrifice to save all people. The baptized person is called to share in Christ\u2019s prophetic mission by speaking and witnessing to Christ\u2019s presence in their lives. Christians are also called to build the Kingdom of God by working for right and just relations in the world.<\/p>\n

Now a word that I have used repeatedly throughout this explanation of baptism and Lent is the word \u201ccalled.\u201d In Latin, the word \u201ccalled\u201d is formed from the verb \u201cvocare,\u201d which means \u201cto call.\u201d From this word comes the word \u201cvocation.\u201d A few months ago, the parish council was discussing the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan and our parish\u2019s efforts to foster and encourage vocations. It became obvious through the conversation that the majority of the people on the parish council thought that a vocation was something that only belonged to a priest, brother, religious sister or deacon. For that reason, I thought it important to highlight the idea of vocations throughout the coming Lenten season. What I would like to emphasize this Lent is the reality that every baptized person has a vocation. What this simply means is that every baptized person is called to respond to God\u2019s call and personal love for him or her. There is a vocation to the single life, to the married life, to the priesthood, to the religious life for women and men and to the diaconate. With this in mind, I would like to suggest that this Lent should be for all of us a season of vocational awareness and renewal. As we prepare to renew our baptismal promises this Easter, I would invite each parishioner of St. Peter\u2019s Church to examine his or her life to ask themselves how faithfully they are living out their vocations.\u00a0 How well are you and I responding to our vocation as a single person, religious man or woman, married person, priest, widow or separated person? Is there something distracting us from giving ourselves fully to God through our vocations? These distractions, and those things that prevent us from living our vocations fully, are the things that we are called to turn away from during the season of Lent.<\/p>\n

As this Sunday\u2019s readings remind us, none of us can serve two masters: we will either hate the one or despise the second. As Christians, our first priority is to serve Jesus through our vocational responses. A married person is to make his or her spouse and family the focus of his or her vocational response. Everything that we do is to be ordered according to our vocation in life. We are not to be distracted by anxiety and concern about minor and secondary worries. We are God\u2019s children and He loves us unconditionally and will provide for all that we ultimately need and require.<\/p>\n

Throughout the coming Lenten season, there will be many different ways that we can all prepare to renew our baptismal promises at Easter and embrace the call of Christ that we have received in our baptisms. On Ash Wednesday, we may all begin our Lenten preparations by receiving ashes and hearing the Lenten invitation to \u201cturn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel,\u201d as the ashes are imposed on our foreheads. Every Friday during Lent the parish will pray the Stations of the Cross<\/em><\/strong> to remember all that Christ has done for us through His passion and suffering. There will be many opportunities to go to Confession during Lent, especially on our parish\u2019s Day of Confessions on Saturday, April 1, 2017. On that day, Confessions will be heard from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.. During this Lenten season, the parish will have a retreat on the evenings of April 4,5,6 with Father Zachary Romanowsky from Madonna House. The theme of this retreat will be the call given to every Christian to live our vocations in the ordinary events of our lives. Another very important way in which we respond to God\u2019s call in our lives is by acts of almsgiving which allow the entire Christian community to continue Christ\u2019s saving work in our world. This is why the Archdiocesan ShareLife<\/em><\/strong> campaign always begins and takes place during Lent. Through SharefLife<\/em><\/strong> our parishioners can contribute to the work of Covenant House as it provides shelter to homeless youth in our city; to Catholic Family Services as it serves families in crisis around Toronto; and to the Office of Refugees for the Archdiocese of Toronto as it supports refugees as they come to our country from broken and difficult places. ShareLife<\/em><\/strong> is the Archdiocesan campaign that allows all of us in our busy lives to contribute to the local Church\u2019s efforts to make Christ present in our city. I hope everyone in our parish will consider donating generously this Lent to ShareLife as part of their vocational response to God\u2019s love for each of us.<\/p>\n

This Lent, as each of us prepares to renew our baptismal promises this Easter, I invite every parishioner of St. Peter\u2019s Church to consider his or her vocational response to Christ. Through baptism we are called to follow Christ. Each one of us has a vocation. Lent is the time to remove those obstacles and distractions which prevent us from living our vocations and the call to follow Christ. We are to turn away from those things we have allowed to become the false masters in our lives and strive to make Christ our true master; confident that he alone can provide for what we truly need. During this Lenten season, may we all recognize that we each have a vocation to follow Christ in our lives, and pray for the graces to turn away from what prevents us from hearing His call, as we prepare to renew our baptismal promises this Easter.<\/p>\n

May God bless each of us with a grace-filled Lent.<\/p>\n

Fr. Michael McGourty
\nPastor\u2014St. Peter\u2019s Parish\u2014Toronto<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This coming Wednesday, March 1st is an important day in the life of our Church. It is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the forty day season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. For that reason, I would like to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday_homilies"],"yoast_head":"\nLent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This coming Wednesday, March 1st is an important day in the life of our Church. It is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the forty day season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. For that reason, I would like to … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"St. Peter's Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpeterstoronto\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"stpeters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@stpeterstoronto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@stpeterstoronto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"stpeters\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"stpeters\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1024660b2c7494adcb3632b62f3ec37a\"},\"headline\":\"Lent – The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1466,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/lent.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"A Message from the Pastor\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/lent.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/lent.jpg?fit=470%2C251&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/lent.jpg?fit=470%2C251&ssl=1\",\"width\":470,\"height\":251,\"caption\":\"Decorative Image\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/2017\\\/02\\\/25\\\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lent – The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/\",\"name\":\"St. Peter's Church\",\"description\":\"One Heart and One Mind\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"St. Peter's Church\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/03\\\/StP-Logo-small.jpg?fit=150%2C135&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/03\\\/StP-Logo-small.jpg?fit=150%2C135&ssl=1\",\"width\":150,\"height\":135,\"caption\":\"St. Peter's Church\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/stpeterstoronto\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/stpeterstoronto\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/stpeterstoronto\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1024660b2c7494adcb3632b62f3ec37a\",\"name\":\"stpeters\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"stpeters\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpeterstoronto.ca\\\/main\\\/author\\\/stpeters\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church","og_description":"This coming Wednesday, March 1st is an important day in the life of our Church. It is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the forty day season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. For that reason, I would like to … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/","og_site_name":"St. Peter's Church","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpeterstoronto\/","article_published_time":"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"stpeters","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@stpeterstoronto","twitter_site":"@stpeterstoronto","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"stpeters","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/"},"author":{"name":"stpeters","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/1024660b2c7494adcb3632b62f3ec37a"},"headline":"Lent – The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises","datePublished":"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/"},"wordCount":1466,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg","articleSection":["A Message from the Pastor"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/","url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/","name":"Lent - The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises - St. Peter's Church","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg","datePublished":"2017-02-25T15:00:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg?fit=470%2C251&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg?fit=470%2C251&ssl=1","width":470,"height":251,"caption":"Decorative Image"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/02\/25\/lent-the-season-of-vocational-awareness-and-for-the-renewal-of-baptismal-promises\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lent – The Season of Vocational Awareness and for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#website","url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/","name":"St. Peter's Church","description":"One Heart and One Mind","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#organization","name":"St. Peter's Church","url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/StP-Logo-small.jpg?fit=150%2C135&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/StP-Logo-small.jpg?fit=150%2C135&ssl=1","width":150,"height":135,"caption":"St. Peter's Church"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpeterstoronto\/","https:\/\/x.com\/stpeterstoronto","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/stpeterstoronto\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/1024660b2c7494adcb3632b62f3ec37a","name":"stpeters","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f344f798b6070a68ae1c192658ac7580803e101183944697e72236d2e2df0d77?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"stpeters"},"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/author\/stpeters\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21365,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2026\/02\/20\/first-sunday-of-lent-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":0},"title":"First Sunday of Lent 2026","author":"stpeters","date":"February 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSee, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil\u201d (Deuteronomy 30:15) There is a beautiful passage from the Book of Deuteronomy that summarizes what Lent is all about. It reads: \u201cSee, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Decorative Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2954,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2018\/02\/10\/lent-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":1},"title":"Lent 2018","author":"stpeters","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The Kingdom of God is at Hand. Repent, and Believe in the Gospel\u201d (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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Decorative Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/lent.jpg?fit=840%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/lent.jpg?fit=840%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/lent.jpg?fit=840%2C240&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/lent.jpg?fit=840%2C240&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7624,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2023\/02\/24\/first-sunday-of-lent-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":2},"title":"First Sunday of Lent 2023","author":"stpeters","date":"February 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSee, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil\u201d (Deuteronomy 30:15) There is a beautiful passage from the Book of Deuteronomy that summarizes what Lent is all about. It reads: \u201cSee, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Decorative Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Life-DeathR1.png?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1950,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2017\/03\/11\/the-eucharist-our-weekly-encounter-with-the-risen-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":3},"title":"The Eucharist\u2014Our Weekly Encounter with the Risen Lord","author":"stpeters","date":"March 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The season of Lent is that time in the Church year when the baptized are called to prepare to renew their baptismal promises, and when those who are not baptized enter into the final stages of their baptismal preparation. As we are to prepare to do this throughout Lent on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"transfiguration1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/transfiguration1-1024x512.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/transfiguration1-1024x512.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/transfiguration1-1024x512.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6647,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2022\/03\/12\/the-eucharist-our-weekly-encounter-with-the-risen-lord-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":4},"title":"The Eucharist\u2014Our Weekly Encounter with the Risen Lord","author":"stpeters","date":"March 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The season of Lent is that time in the Church year when the baptized are called to prepare to renew their baptismal promises, and when those who are not baptized enter into the final stages of their baptismal preparation. As we are to prepare to do this throughout Lent on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Decorative Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/transfiguration-of-christ.jpg?fit=400%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6622,"url":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/2022\/02\/26\/lent-2022-back-to-life-back-to-reality\/","url_meta":{"origin":1898,"position":5},"title":"Lent 2022: Back to Life – Back to Reality!","author":"stpeters","date":"February 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cBut thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!\u201d (1 Corinthians 15:57). During these past few Sundays, leading up to the beginning of Lent 2022, the second reading at Mass has been taken from Saint Paul\u2019s First Letter to the Corinthians. In this early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Message from the Pastor"","block_context":{"text":"A Message from the Pastor","link":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/category\/sunday_homilies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Decorative Image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lent.jpg?fit=470%2C251&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1902,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions\/1902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterstoronto.ca\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}