Deacon Tom Anthony

My Brothers and Sisters,

 We are in the Year of Mercy and have entered the Season of Lent, uniting ourselves to the Crucified Christ and journeying with him to Calvary. All of our burdens, all of our pains, become an expression of who we are as Christians. We expect to suffer. We expect to experience persecution. We expect to be rejected by society. This is who we are and what we are. The way we conduct ourselves and the way we treat other people are not actions of acceptance. They are a statement; a statement of our beliefs and what we all hold so dear within our hearts. And what do we all hold so dear: Jesus Christ.

This past Wednesday we received our ashes, marking the beginning of the Season of Lent. Through this action we all unified together with the Suffering Christ. Now we are encouraged to go forth as a community, picking up our individual crosses of sin and suffering, and engage the world with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Yes, we are imperfect. Yes, we all have made mistakes. Yet we are God’s Children and have found redemption through Jesus Christ. Whatever we encounter we will encounter with Jesus Christ. Whatever obstacle we confront, it will be confronted with Jesus. Because of this, there should be no doubt that we will be victorious in the end.

So, what is victory? What does it look like? This victory is one that brings joy and contentment. God’s Creation is beyond anything that society can offer. We have received the gift of life and it should always be looked at with the perspective that we are a part of God’s creation. When we talk about our friendship, our families, and most of all our children we need to see the presence of God in them all. Our actions and focuses risk the possibility of not acknowledging God’s presence in everything. This is when we become lost and downtrodden. Sin is the cause of this state. Because of that, sin must be avoided. Sin itself is a separation from God so, when we sin, we push God out of our lives. The end result is pain and unhappiness. A lack of joy.

Jesus was tempted in the desert for forty days. Through this temptation he was strengthened. He serves as an example for us to follow. Throughout these forty days of the Season of Lent we should meditate on our strengths and weakness, turning everything over to God. We should adjoin ourselves to the Crucified Christ and suffer with him. It is through this suffering that we will experience a special grace that will strengthen us. We can expect to be forged into better Christians through a deeper understanding of the Crucified Christ.

Whenever we suffer, whenever we hurt, we should offer it all up to the Crucified Christ whereupon there will be relief and comfort.

Deacon Tom.