The Catholic Liturgical Season of Lent begins this Wednesday; March, 6, 2019 with Ash Wednesday. Lent in Catholic tradition is a time of repentance and making ready for the spiritual journey home to Jesus Christ’s Resurrection in the Easter Sunday Feast Day through prayer and fasting. It is a busy season for Catholics, but it is one often over shadowed in importance by the secular world that over commercializes the Christmas Season. It is hard to market consumerism for a season of prayers and fasting. In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as with many Christian traditions, Easter is the holiest day of the year because in it we celebrate the fulfillment of Christ’s death and resurrection, a Resurrection that establishes the new Covenant between the Lord and his adopted people– all believers of Jesus Christ (the very definition of “Christian”). The promise for those believers is eternal life through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as well as, through adherence to his Law and repentance through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Beyond just a time of repentance, fasting and prayer though (three extremely important pieces of the Salvation puzzle) Lent is also a time to begin your journey home to the Lord on Easter spiritually speaking. That includes returning to the Church if it is has been some time since you have last been because part of “coming home” means coming to God’s home– his Church to praise and honor him on the Sabbath, as well as, his Feast days (commonly called “Days of Obligation”). In short, Lent cannot be done on your own. It takes you, the Lord, and his Community of People in the Church along with you having a willing heart yearning to be with Lord. That’s a lot to digest from a theological standpoint, so let’s take it in smaller pieces for some ways you can begin the journey home towards the Resurrection on Easter during this season of Lent.
First, make Church part of your weekly routine. Check your local Church schedule and find a Mass to attend. Making time for the Lord is important and it is more important than it may seem at first. Once you start making “going to Church” part of your weekly routine you will be amazed at how easy it is. We often say “I don’t have time” or maybe there are other things I have to do. Set that one hour a week aside for the Lord– an hour a week of disconnecting from the secular world can do wonders for one’s spiritual and mental health. We need spiritual food just like we need physical food to maintain good overall health. The Eucharist is our spiritual food so make sure you get your weekly recommended portion by attending and participating in Mass come the Sabbath and Holy Days of Obligation. You can find the Church of the Infant Saviour’s mass times here. Seriously try it– you’ll wonder why you ever thought there wasn’t time for it once you go for a few weeks.
Second, go to Confession this Lent. It takes maybe fifteen minutes to go to Confession. The weight of sin it lifts off your shoulders and the burden of guilt it removes though is huge! The Lord gave us a way to be forgiven for all our wrongdoings and a way to return to Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do not be scared about it. There is nothing to worry about. Confession is the original “no judgement” zone. God gave us Reconciliation (along with the other Sacraments) as a sign of love, not punishment. If it has been some time or maybe you just want a refresher, you can read our Confession 101 Refresher Guide here. Reconciliation Monday for Lent this year will be on Monday; April 15, 2019. This bi-annual event is where every Parish will hear Confessions throughout the day. You can learn more here.
Third, many Knights of Columbus Councils host weekly Friday Lenten Luncheons and Dinners. Lenten meals are an easy to way to not only adhere to fasting from meat on Fridays during Lent (a Catholic tradition and part of our beliefs as as shown here), but many of these meals are hosted as Community meals. This is a great way to foster Parish Community belonging. It is also a great way to meet others in your Church. Our first Lenten Meal for our Council is on Friday; March 8, 2019. You can learn more about it here. All are welcome! Our Brothers over in the Knights of Columbus # 9254 Most Precious Blood Walden NY Council are hosting their first meal on Friday; March 8, 2019 as well. You can read more about that here. See if your local Knights Council is hosting a Lenten meal program and plan on attending. As explained above, Lent is about coming home to the Lord and being with your extended Church family– this is a great way to do that. If you would like to learn more about Lent and fasting (including the whole no meat thing) you can read more here.
Finally, Lent is a great season to begin praying again or maybe praying a bit more than you have throughout the past year. There is Eucharistic Adoration– a great way to spend some time with the Lord. St. Joseph Church in Middletown, NY has Perpetual Adoration; this means you can pray before the Eucharistic any time of day or night. You can find out more about Perpetual Adoration at St. Joseph RC Church here. The Ash Wednesday Service is also a great way to start the season. The Service is not a full mass, but it is a wonderful way to set the tone for everything to come. It’s also a Holy Day of Obligation, that means you should go to it in order to stay in union with the Church. If you would rather have a full Mass instead of a Service there is also a full Mass version held at many Catholic Churches at different times. Again, be sure to check your local Church’s schedule. There are also many Adult Faith Formation groups and your local Church probably has one. Check your Church bulletin for more information about these groups. These groups offer free or low cost Faith Formation programs that help you learn more about our Catholic Faith and to grow in it. Are you a Catholic male over the age of eighteen years old who is in union with the Catholic Church? If so, then you can join Knights of Columbus. You can find out more about the Knights of Columbus here and you can even join online here. Knights is a great way for adult male Catholics to grow their Faith and enjoy a sense of Fraternal Catholic Community while giving back to their Parish and the Communities they live in. During Lent many Catholic Churches offer Stations of the Cross every Friday night. The Church of the Infant Saviour does this too. Conveniently the Stations are held right before our Lenten meals so you can go to Stations of the Cross and then after it finishes pick up a hot Lenten dinner for Friday night. Again, many other Churches and Knights Councils coordinate their schedules this way. Check your local Church’s bulletin and schedule for more info. You can find out more about the Catholic devotion of Stations of the Cross here.
Lent is a wonderful time of year for spiritual growth in our Catholic Faith. Like all journeys though it begins with choosing to make that first step. Are you willing to take the first step back home towards the Lord this Lent? Open your heart to the Lord this Lent and you will be amazed where it leads you to come Easter Day!
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