Lent begins this Wednesday! It is a time for us to go ever deeper into our spiritual life and experience spiritual renewal as we prepare to renew our Baptismal promises on Easter Sunday.
Lent began as a season of proximate preparation for those who were to be baptized at the Easter Vigil and was a time of special prayer, fasting, and penitence as they readied themselves for the new birth of Christian Baptism. Lent eventually became a time for the entire community to pray and fast for those to be baptized, and to purify itself to receive new members. It then became a season to pray and fast also for members of the community to pray for themselves as they approached the celebration of new life at Easter.
As a community, our focus during Lent is on those who will be entering our community at the Easter Vigil through the celebration of the Easter Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist. As individuals, Lent is a season to prepare ourselves for the renewal of our Baptismal promises on Easter.
At the 9:30 Mass this weekend we celebrate the “Rite of Sending” for our Catechumens and Candidates. We are sending them to Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, where next Saturday they will join hundreds of other Catechumens and Candidates from throughout the Archdiocese for the “Rite of Election,” through which they will become official candidates for the Easter Sacraments. They will then enter into the next phase of the Catechumenate , known as the Enlightenment stage. Please keep our Catechumens and Candidates at the center of your prayer throughout the Season of Lent. During the Season of Lent, we will be celebrating other Rites with them at the 9:30 AM Mass on Sundays.
Our Catachumens are: Joseph Diatto, Ermalinda Gega, Solange Kwam, and Remy Lesinski.
Our Candidates for Full Communion are: Scott Diebert, Garrett Johnson, Dorianne Kwam, and Christopher Vo.
We hope you wlll be able to join us for Mardi Gras on Tuesday evening.
Then please join us for our Ash Wednesday Masses or Scripture Services.
Blessings, Fr. Ron