From Fr. Zach

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope this finds you all well, enjoying this little glimpse of spring (and reprieve from winter weather)! We’re on the cusp, as you probably know, of the holy season of Lent. During these upcoming sacred 40 days, which begin this year on March 1 (Ash Wednesday), we commemorate and enter into the Passion of the Lord – the trials, suffering, and painful death that he underwent for our salvation. Fr. James reminded us in last week’s bulletin that this purgative season is meant to be one of contrition and true sorrow for our sins, which we express preeminently in sacramental confession, but also one of joyful hope, as we trust in the victory that Christ won in his Resurrection. I want to encourage us all, in the first place, to approach this holy season with great faith and devotion. Sometimes we face the temptation, eager to emphasize the joy and new life of the Resurrection, to forget about or obscure the suffering and painful death that our Lord underwent for our sake. But the great season of Lent calls us back to memory of this saving deed. So we pray in the Way of the Cross, “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.” God’s grace was not offered to us cheaply or in vain. Quite the contrary: God gave us his grace at the price of Christ’s precious blood, which was shed for our sake. Let us never forget this and seek, especially during this holy season, to enter more deeply into the reality of this great act of love, which won our salvaIon. - Fr. Zach