This week we begin our Lenten journey as Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day. So many will use Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to express their love to someone significant in their life. Such as buying flowers, chocolates or sharing a meal together.

  Ash Wednesday, in a sense, invites us to do something similar for God as we examine our lives for the ways in which we have or have not loved Him. We examine the ways in which we’ve lived for God, and the ways that we have not lived for God.

  Lent is about recommitting ourselves to loving God more fully in our daily lives. The way we do that is not with chocolate or flowers. But with our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

  Sometimes it’s easy to engage in the same Lenten practices. For example, giving up chocolate, year after year. Maybe a good question to reflect on as we prepare for Lent is, “What in my life is keeping me from loving God and other people as He calls me to?” If that’s chocolate, if that candy bar keeps us from loving God fully, then fast from it. But, maybe what’s really keeping us from loving God and other people fully isn’t chocolate (I don’t know why I keep picking on chocolate, it’s really good :)). Maybe it’s gossip, or an excess use of alcohol, or binging on TV rather than spending time with others, or spending too much time distracting ourselves from making the time to pray.

  I’d invite us to honestly examine our lives as we draw closer to Ash Wednesday and allow God to show us the answer to that question, “What in my life is keeping me from loving God and other people as He calls me to?” Our Masses on Ash Wednesday will be at 8:15 am and 7:00 pm. Together, let us turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

  As we enter into Lent, we are also drawing closer to the close of our 175th anniversary year. In many ways, during this year, we have celebrated who we are as a people of faith alive in Christ. Thank you for all you do to help make our parish what it is! Thank you as well to our anniversary committee who has helped to guide our celebrations this year and provided us with some wonderful mementos including the window decals, tshirts, and the Christmas ornaments.

  As we prepare to conclude our anniversary celebration, I wanted to invite you to join us at the 4:30 Mass on Saturday, March 9th. Bishop Michael Woost, Auxiliary Bishop of our Diocese, will be joining us for Mass that evening. Following the celebration of Mass, we will have a light reception in the gym. Please stop over to grab an appetizer and share in a moment of fellowship before heading to dinner. Hope to see you there!