Entering Together into Our Lenten Journey with Hope

Entering Together into

Our Lenten Journey with Hope

As we have begun our Lenten journey anew, the Church reminds us that this time of fasting, prayer, and acts of loving charity is for us, who are already Catholics, a companion journey with those who are preparing to receive the Sacraments of initiation this Easter. Our collaborative parishes are abundantly blessed this year to have nine adults – including high school seniors and a grandparent with two of her daughters – preparing to receive Baptism, Confirmation and/or First Communion at the Easter Vigil! As Lent is their final preparation in a “Period of Enlightenment,” it is our period of discovering anew our need for God’s mercy, preparing to rededicate ourselves to follow Christ by renewing our baptismal vows at Easter.

 

One of the traditional ways of entering into this Lenten experience is through praying the Stations of the Cross, whether in a scheduled communal prayer service or as a private devotion in church or on our own. Following the Way of the Cross with Jesus is a proven way to help us appreciate more deeply His saving, sacrificial love for each of us. As announced previously, the newly donated Stations of the Cross paintings at St. Mary church are a powerful aid in reflecting on each station, and we are grateful to Father Bernie for facilitating their donation to us from the artist, Gail Frignon, who we hope will be able to visit their new installation this Lent. This donation is especially timely since the paint on the old stations has been peeling badly, and the estimate for professional restoration was prohibitively expensive.

 

And parish finances lead me to end this column with an important announcement. Bill Nash, our Collaborative Business Manager for over ten years and active parishioner of St. Mary for decades, has decided it is time for him to retire. While this decision is understandable and well deserved, it will be a major loss from our Pastoral Team, for our parishes, and for me as pastor. Bill has been an exceptionally excellent manager of all aspects of the finances, payroll, business records, and related interactions with our archdiocese – from the complicated determinations of how to allocate shared expenses between the parishes to paying off the St. Mary parish debt as expediently as possible, and everything in between. Bill helped me to learn these areas of responsibility as a new pastor, and I join both of our Parish Finance Councils and all parishioners in thanking him for his faithful service for all these years! If any parishioner is interested in this open Collaborative Business Manager part-time position, or if you can recommend anyone else to be considered, please contact me directly as soon as possible, so the new person can overlap with Bill before he steps down at the end of April.

 

In closing, please take this Lent as an opportunity for new growth in the faith, using our PWC activities as a support to your own efforts to be open to God’s loving mercy and renewal in your life. Especially in this Jubilee year (don’t forget our Pilgrimage to Italy this November!), may we all grow as “Pilgrims of Hope” for Christ, for each other, and for our world to be renewed!