Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     On Wednesday we enter into the penitential season of Lent.  For the next 40 days we prepare ourselves for the great and glorious 50 days of Easter.  Death and Resurrection are the bookends of these days. During Lent we are encouraged to die to the lower, sinful, self-centered aspects of our lives so that we may receive the saving graces won for us by our Savior Jesus Christ.    Our preparations thus begin by imitating Him.

      Just as our Lord entered the desert after His Baptism by John in the Jordan, so too do we enter into a mindset of detachment and re-focus on what really matters in this life.  Our Lord, of course, was sinless, but we are not.  Lent affords us the opportunity by the disciplines of fasting, more ardent prayer, and almsgiving to rid ourselves of earthly distractions.   Lent then and should become a wonderful time of purification, a lightening of the load of sin. 

   The ashes that will be imposed on our foreheads this week are a commitment to Christ that we will indeed strive to live better lives.  Whose to gain by this?  Only ourselves and the world at large.  That is why Holy Mother Church provides us with this roadmap of spiritual perfection because God only wants the best for us.  So stay on the path of our Lenten journey and be prepared to enjoy the refreshment and exaltation that awaits on Easter.

    And especially pray for those who will be entering into full Communion with us at the Easter vigil as we accompany them on the Way.

With Blessings,

Father Langan