Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     By now, the ashes that marked our foreheads at the entrance way to Lent have been washed away.  The external sign that, though gone, has not diminished our resolve to draw closer to Christ by our ardent prayer, fasting, and acts of charity. A way to keep focused on these Lenten disciplines is to imagine ourselves in the desert with our Lord.  Certainly, we cannot go into the desert physically but we can use our imagination to enter a place where there are no distractions, no noise.  It may be as simple as turning off tv, social media or those things that diminish our listening to God.

    Such meditation begins with the glorious covenant that God made with us at our Baptism.  In today’s Scripture from Genesis we hear of God’s covenant with Noah.  A rainbow signifies the connection between Heaven and earth, between God and man.  It is a prelude to our personal connection between me and you and God that occurs at our baptism.  In the Flood all evil was washed away.  In our Baptism sin was destroyed and life given. Our ascent to Easter is a preparation for renewing our Baptismal promises and also to support those who will be received into the Body of Christ at the Easter Vigil.  We  pray for and assist, with our prayers, those who are in preparation for that glorious day.  This Sunday I will be accompanying our Catechumen to the Cathedral for the Rite of Election.

    Beginning next Sunday and the following Sundays of Lent we will have sung Vespers and Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament in St John’s Church beginning at 4 PM.  Though not the desert it is certainly a time to draw closer to the Lord and experience His Presence in our midst.

With Blessings,

Father Langan