Time of Grace: It is yet another time of grace, a favourable time, a time of intense prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I am so happy to make the journey of Lent with our parishes this year. It is indeed a special time to grow in friendship with Jesus, to draw nearer to God and to our loved ones.
This year, our Lenten theme is: ‘There is nothing more beautiful than friendship with Christ.’ Invite a friend to Mass this Lent or reach out to someone whom you have not seen at Mass for some time. We will hear during the homily how we can all grow in friendship with Jesus and enjoy the beauty of knowing Jesus.
Some Questions to ponder: how is my spiritual life, how am I doing, how is my relationship with God, how is my prayer life, what areas in my life need to change, what is my attitude to life, how am I loving, am I still generous, is my heart still open to my neighbour or have I closed my heart, is my heart hurting, are there past hurt and injuries that are not healed yet? Can we bring them to Jesus this Lent and say to Him: ‘Jesus, only you can help me; please heal me. Please come to my assistance. One of the things we will be hearing from the Lord during the season of Lent is: “Beloved, come let us set things aright.” God loves us; He draws nearer to us and wants us to draw nearer to Him.
What can we do during this season of grace? Each person, each family has to discuss what they can abstain from, what they can do more in the light of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Some might want to eat less on a certain day and use what they saved for almsgiving. Some people have asked what to do with the money they saved from eating less or drinking less coffee or abstaining from alcohol. For some people, they give some of the money to the poor and some are put in the regular Sunday envelope and placed in the collection basket so that our parish can use it for our outreach ministries such as Discovery House, St. Vincent de Paul and Pregnancy Support Program. This Lent, whatever we receive, we will use it to reach out to those that are struggling at this time, and those in need.
Stations of the Cross every Friday at 6.30pm: This devotion truly increases our love for Jesus. Come and check it out if you have not attended before.
~ Fr. Obi