From Father's Desk

Chist will give you Light

Dear friends in Christ, 
 
It looks like we are in for a ‘long’ Lent! 
 
At the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday), I shared with you a somewhat silly routine I do on a nice sunny wintry day.  I get out of the rectory and take a good long walk. It is always re-energizing and refreshing.  The worst part of the walk is getting under the shadows of a tall building or large trees.  This part that does not get sunlight is frigid and biting cold.  I always walk this part fastest to get to the warm part. 

Lent as I said is the ‘shadow part’ of the Church calendar: miserable readings, the hard practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving and of course making an honest, frank and sincere self examination (which is not easy for all of us) 
 
None of us can claim that we are not even a little scared about this pandemic. There is no Mass now, No parish gatherings. Our routine of gatherings and meeting other people is to be lessened.  We have already been an ‘anxious nation’ and struggling with the issues that come with this; this situation might expatiate this. Yet even with all this, the Christian cannot lose hope.
 
Let us turn toward our spiritual fonts. Christ is here. Christ is present. He is present in the health workers, doctors, nurses and all providing for essential needs at this time especially for the most vulnerable among us.  He is present when we reach out and check on those who are alone, maybe on our street.  Let us show ‘we care’ in this moment (that will be Christ). Might even, our silence and boredom dare us to ponder about ‘the real things’ we truly need to be anxious about: God, faith, family and others?  
 
I ask that we stay united as a parish family more so now.  We can do this best in a spiritual communion of prayer: Praying for one another, praying for our leaders and decision makers, and lastly praying for those who are most in need for our concern now.

Fr. Anthony