Reflection

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome to the first week of Lent! During Lent, we observe the ascetical practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Where are we in our Lenten journey? These ascetical practices are designed to make ourselves a little uncomfortable. The fruit of this experience is to grow deeper in our personal relationship with Christ. We sometimes resist, and on the other extreme, we go all or nothing. We are in a Eucharistic Revival and our mindset should be for us to be the renewal that we want to see in the Church. 

Have you ever heard of Exodus 90? A group of men from my parish are doing Exodus 90. There are six of us. Exodus 90 is mostly associated with “cold showers and holy hours”, but praise God for this. If we are going to be the renewal that we want to see in the Church, we have to take this seriously. Approaching Lent has never been more of a pleasure. Because with a group of men, you achieve something seemingly difficult and become more fully alive in Christ. 

Our culture forms us by the images we look at; by the words we read and by the music we listen to. The more I meditate on this, we either journey toward God or away from God. It is that simple. I encourage you to dive deep into these ascetical practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. If we feel the need to resist, read the first line in the Gospel, “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” While the desert represents a place of aridity and dryness, the fruit of this experience is greater than anything we can imagine. Now is our time. Follow Christ into the desert. Become the renewal the Church needs. We do not want to miss out on this grace! 

Pray an Our Father for yourself, your parish, and your Young and Catholic Family.