Time with Christ this Lent

Last week we asked the question, “What is anxiety?" I proposed that it has something to do with the disjointedness of our lives, because of the way we live these days. I thought perhaps remembering that our life belongs to a good story may help to alleviate that anxiety, since stories are made up of past, present, and future, unlike the way we consume information on TV and social media, which can feel, as we said, disjointed, leaving us feeling dis-integrated.

This week, in light of this way of looking at our lives, I’d like to look with you toward the season of Lent, which is upon us, offering a sacred time dedicated entirely to remembering the central events of our story, namely, the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. We’ve heard it before, but let us not swipe so fast. Let us spend at least a few minutes more with Christ this Lent than we will with the often distracting things that vie for our attention.

To that end, I’m happy to say that there will be a number of things happening here this Lent that can help us to remember the great story to which we belong, and to be renewed in our gratitude to God for His having written us into it. In next week’s bulletin, you will find a fuller, clear list of devotions and events happening here at the parish. But there are a few that will stand out, I hope, as special to you and worthy of your attention.

Along with regular Morning Prayer and Stations of the Cross, we’ll also be hosting a very esteemed presenter on the Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth of Jesus. That afternoon will very likely be, as many people have described it already, unforgettable. What could help us to remember the main character of the story more than a meditation on the very face of Christ?

A special Mens Roundtable on the Feast of Saint Joseph, and guest speaker for the Women of the Well, will afford a chance to remember Jesus’ earthly parents, and a special Healing Holy Hour to help us trust and approach their Son in the Eucharist. Remembering the Blessed Mother in a special way, we’ll also be hosting a Marian Night on the Feast of the Annunciation.

A potluck soup supper with special guest speaker (to be announced), will be a joyful occasion to remember the more recent years of the story we share together as a parish. We’ll be hosting here, as well, a Diocesan Holy Hour for vocations, an evening to remember the priesthood in general, the mystery given us by Christ for the continuation of His story.

We’re beginning a special parish initiative this Lent as well: Mary’s Meals. While on pilgrimage to Medjugorje this year, we were introduced to their Catholic organization that provides meals for school children in Africa. Some of those parishioners will speak at Mass in the coming weeks about how we can help as a parish by sponsoring a school ourselves - a great way to recall that our story is connected to peoples of other nations, even those whom the world often overlooks.

And lastly, Anthony Ercolano and I had the idea of posting a weekly series of talks this Lent called “The Phoney Life,” reflecting on the effects of the self-phone culture that makes it hard for us to give our attention to God and to our loved ones. We won’t be bashing technology. We hope to offer alternative ways of relating to our phones that may help us to adhere to the story of our lives as Catholic Christians, and to call our lives good. +