Entries for February 2024

Dear Parishioners:

We are halfway through Lent.  One of the great gifts of this season is that of reconciliation.  Our God yearns for us and wants to forgive us our sins.  Besides our confessions time on Saturday’s from 3:30-4:45pm.  During this Lenten Season confessions will also be heard on Sunday’s after our 9:00 am and 11:00 am liturgies, and on Good Friday after our service.  Let us pray for each other as we all strive to grow in holiness and oneness with our God.

Here’s what the Sacrament of Reconciliation actually offers:

• restoration to honesty—no more need to rationalize
• restoration to integrity—no more need to have secret or unacknowledged parts of your life
• relief from unproductive guilt—transformation of remorse into living a new life. The purpose of this sacrament is not punishment but true reconciliation with God and the community.
• an encounter with God—meeting God in humility (not humiliation!) and weakness
• spiritual guidance—no need to struggle with your moral issues alone
• inner peace—no longer having to live a life at war with yourself
• strength in meeting future challenges and temptations
• grace—rediscovering, as did the prodigal son, your Father’s unconditional love.

Why should you not be afraid of this sacrament? The best reason is that God longs to forgive you. Remember, God knows that you are much more than the worst thing you’ve ever done. May the good Lord bless you this Lent.

Lenten Blessings!

Msgr John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

As we continue on this Lenten journey a way of praying that can be fruitful for many is Lectio Divina", a Latin term, which means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio Divina.

The first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplation (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. We must take what we read in the Word of God into our daily lives.

These stages of Lectio Divina are not fixed rules of procedure but simply guidelines as to how the prayer normally develops. Its natural movement is towards greater simplicity, with less and less talking and more listening. Gradually the words of Scripture begin to dissolve and the Word is revealed before the eyes of our heart. 

I pray that you are having a blessed and Holy Lent!

Lenten Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

What are you going to do this Lent to grow closer to Christ? 

Lent is a beautiful time to experience the transforming power of mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Besides our regular confessions times the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated on the Sundays of Lent after the morning masses and on Good Friday following the Service that evening.   No matter what you have done, no matter how long you have been away, Jesus is waiting for you with open arms this Lent! 

As we begin this Lenten journey the key to understanding the meaning of Lent is simple: Baptism. Preparation for Baptism and for renewing baptismal commitment lies at the heart of the season. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has reemphasized the baptismal character of Lent, especially through the restoration of the Catechumenate and its Lenten rituals. Our challenge today is to renew our understanding of this important season of the Church year and to see how we can integrate our personal practices into this renewed perspective.

Why is Baptism so important in our Lenten understanding? Lent as a 40-day season developed in the fourth century from three merging sources. The first was the ancient paschal fast that began as a two-day observance before Easter but was gradually lengthened to 40 days. The second was the catechumenate as a process of preparation for Baptism, including an intense period of preparation for the Sacraments of Initiation to be celebrated at Easter. The third was the Order of Penitents, which was modeled on the catechumenate and sought a second conversion for those who had fallen back into serious sin after Baptism. As the catechumens (candidates for Baptism) entered their final period of preparation for Baptism, the penitents and the rest of the community accompanied them on their journey and prepared to renew their baptismal vows at Easter.

The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The key to renewed appreciation of these practices is to see their link to baptismal renewal.

Prayer: More time given to prayer during Lent should draw us closer to the Lord. We might pray especially for the grace to live out our baptismal promises more fully. We might pray for the elect who will be baptized at Easter and support their conversion journey by our prayer. We might pray for all those who will celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation with us during Lent that they will be truly renewed in their baptismal commitment.

Fasting: Fasting is one of the most ancient practices linked to Lent. In fact, the paschal fast predates Lent as we know it. The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. This fast was later extended and became a 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter. Vatican II called us to renew the observance of the ancient paschal fast: "...let the paschal fast be kept sacred. Let it be celebrated everywhere on Good Friday and, where possible, prolonged throughout Holy Saturday, so that the joys of the Sunday of the Resurrection may be attained with uplifted and clear mind".

Fasting is more than a means of developing self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, as the pangs of hunger remind us of our hunger for God. Fasting should be linked to our concern for those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustices of our economic and political structures, those who are in need for any reason. Thus fasting, too, is linked to living out our baptismal promises. By our Baptism, we are charged with the responsibility of showing Christ's love to the world, especially to those in need. Fasting can help us realize the suffering that so many people in our world experience every day, and it should lead us to greater efforts to alleviate that suffering.

Almsgiving: It should be obvious at this point that almsgiving, the third traditional pillar, is linked to our baptismal commitment in the same way. It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized.

Let us continue to pray for each other and in special way for those whom are preparing to enter the Church this Easter, as we together make this Lenten retreat.

Lenten Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

Lent is a season of hope. With ashes on our foreheads and hope in our hearts, we go forth to love and serve in His strength and with His love. For by God's grace in Christ Jesus, we do not have to stay the way we are. God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way.  Lent is a time set apart, a holy time, to allow God to have His way with us in a deliberate, focused way so that we may indeed step forth, ready to live, love, and serve in His Holy Name. Ash Wednesday opens the door to the 40-day season of Lent, a process of preparation for Holy Week.

Lent, which comes from the Germanic word for “springtime,” can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking a spiritual inventory then cleaning out those things which hinder our relationship with Jesus Christ and our love and service with Him. Lent is really a time of revival in liturgical churches as God's people prepare to celebrate the Resurrection with depth and significance.

Our Lenten disciplines are to ultimately transform our entire person: body, soul, and spirit and help us become more like Christ, not in our own power, but in His.  Eastern Christians call this process theosis which Saint Athanasius describes as “becoming by grace what God is by nature.

The Lenten practices, of prayer, fasting, and giving provide us with concrete examples of how to more closely connect our lives with our Lord. Obviously, Lent is NOT the only time we can practice these spiritual disciplines; we should indeed be practicing them all year long. This Lent presents us the opportunity to do a “deep cleaning,” to focus more fully and completely on weak areas of our spiritual walk.  Lent is a season that reminds us to repent and ask God to re-center our lives around Him, with our priorities straight and our hearts forgiven and cleansed. Yes, we should do so each day of the year. But sin is an insidious thing, slipping in here, taking a little ground there, and, wrapped up in our busy lives, we often do not notice the darkness creeping further and further into our souls.

Ash Wednesday and Lent provide us with a time set apart to present ourselves before God, asking His help and guidance in doing a “spiritual spring cleaning,” a fresh chance to say “Yes” to the Lover of our Souls who created us, who made us in His own image. Lent is the time for a restoration project that will reveal the beauty of God's design for us.  As  we begin this Lent let our prayers ask God to reveal to us where He wants to work on our hearts during this Season of Lent.

Lenten Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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