On Thursday morning, we all woke up to the sad realization that Ukraine has been invaded. What we feared has become a reality.
I phoned our brother, Fr. Pavlo to see how he and his family are doing. For those who do not know him, Fr. Pavlo is a Ukrainian priest who lives in Kelowna with his family. He says Mass for the Ukrainian community in Penticton every Saturday at St. John Vianney at 4pm. As one would expect, he told me that things are not good back home: he and his family are worried. Please let us pray for him, his family, and for all the families in Ukraine and Russia. As a show of solidarity, I invite any parishioner who can to join Fr. Pavlo and our Ukranian community for Mass this Saturday at St. John Vianney Church at 4pm.
‘We are Ukraine right now.’ What is happening to them is happening to us for we share one humanity; we are one human family. As at the time of this writing, more than 137 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed. These soldiers are not just people carrying guns, they are someone’s child, brother, friend, father, husband.
In 1963, eighteen years after WWII, St. John XXIII wrote:
Men nowadays are becoming more and more convinced that any disputes which may arise among nations must be resolved by negotiations and agreement and not by recourse to arms…… Thus in this age which boasts of its atomic powers, it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice….nevertheless we are hopeful that by establishing contact with one another and by a policy of negotiation, nations will come to a better recognition of the ties that bind men and women together as one humanity. We are hopeful, too, that they will come to a more fair realization deriving from our common nature that LOVE not fear must dominate the relationship between individuals and nations…… love draws men together and it is only from this union that countless blessings can flow.
Attached in the bulletin this week are:
- A letter from the Holy Father asking us to dedicate Ash Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for Ukraine.
- Prayers for Ukraine. Please pray it daily for we believe that God can intervene in this situation.
Lent
I look forward to journeying with you this Lent. It is indeed a time of grace and salvation. Traditionally, Lent is a time when new Christians were baptized: a time when they found Jesus and make a commitment to follow Him. For us, too, it is a time of our recommitment to the Lord as we draw closer to Him and closer to one another in prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
A friend of mine put me on the spot few weeks ago as she asked what Lent truly means for me. I spoke about a time of fasting – that I’ll eat less rice, stay away from chocolate and shortbread and pray more etc… She said: “I know all that but personally what does it mean for YOU.” After a little time of thinking and stuttering, I said to her:
- For me, Lent is a time to return to my heart, to my soul, to my origin, to that place where God and I alone meet each other: where I hear Him say to me: “You are my beloved… Even before time began, I thought about you and have always had you in my heart.” Thomas Merton calls it a return to Paradise. No wonder at every First Sunday of Lent, we are always presented with the passage on the temptations of Jesus which were simply an attack on the identity of Jesus: ‘If you are the Son of God…..turn this stone into bread…..’ Jesus knew who He was – His origin, He knew He came from the Father. So, Lent for me is a time of intense prayer of the heart: a kind of prayer that fills us with great joy and affection for God and neighbour.
- For me, it is a time also to think deeply of my destiny. Where is the journey of life taking me? God is my destiny! He is my destination. Someone once said: ‘To be a creature is to have an origin, one we neither fashioned nor chose. To be a child of God is to have a destiny, one we freely choose, a gift we are given to cherish.’
Ash Wednesday
Home bound, Care-home, sick, drive-in
There will be ashes neatly placed in a plastic bag with the words: ‘Repent and believe the Gospel’ or ‘You are dust and unto dust you shall return.’
If you have a family member or a friend who cannot come for Ash Wednesday celebration, we encourage you to visit and pray with them. Please pick up ashes from the office during the day (Ash Wednesday 10am to 3pm; drive-through: 7:45pm St. Ann’s parking lot). We will provide you with a sheet containing the prayers to be said during your visit.
Happy Sunday!
Wishing everyone a holy, prayerful and meaningful Lent!
Your brother,
~Fr. Obi