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Pastoral Letter
Our Need of Lent When Lent arrives early in late
winter, it may seem too soon after the Christmas season. There may still be some
unused presents hanging around the house. Perhaps we would rather snuggle up as
couch potatoes than prepare our rice bowls. When Lent arrives late, Spring is
already in the air, and the allure of nature’s resurrection holds sway over the
desert of repentance. There was a time, of course, when all Christians
thought they didn't need Lent. After all, they had been baptized in the Lord.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they lived life quite differently
from the pagans. The first real Lenten people were not Christians, but
those preparing to become Christian. They wore sackcloth and ashes and lived the
days before Easter as repentant sinners. But all of that changed when the old
timers in the Christian community noticed something remarkable at the Easter
baptism. They were struck by the joy and the radiant faces of those just
baptized. They, too, longed to experience the joy of new birth, new strength,
and new life. They realized they had become too ho-hum in their faith and
decided to do something about it. And so, the next year, some Christians began
to join the catechumens in their preparation for baptism at Easter.
Those already baptized took on sackcloth and ashes, too, and lived the days
before Easter as repentant sinners. They did this so that they could feel once
again the joy of rebirth at Easter. Even though Jesus had been baptized
by John and was "full of the Holy Spirit," he felt a need to go into the desert.
After the desert, after his first temptation, Jesus realized whom he was and
what he was called to do. He came out of the desert with a gospel and a firm
faith in his Father that he would take to Calvary. We are like Jesus and
the early Christians who felt a need to experience repentance. We share a common
struggle and a common pain. Like the early Christians, we are all driven by the
same doubts. We sometimes make choices about the most important events in our
lives, without reflection, without faith, without prayer, without God.
We cannot force Lent upon ourselves. Each of us must find a need for it, a
need to go into the desert to face both our gifts and our limits, a need to face
ourselves, our demons, and our God. Whether Lent be early or late,
whether or not it all seems a bit too risky for comfort, let us nevertheless go
into the desert together, following in Christ’s footsteps, conscious of our
relationship with one another and our Creator, to find out who we really are and
what we are called to do. We have a need. Your companion and Parish
Priest, Fr Nicholas
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