Lenten Message to the Prisoners at Concord MCI

My Brothers and Sisters,

We have reached the First Sunday of Lent. Our journey together is still very fresh and very new. We haven't fully gotten to know each other but, in many ways, we are old friends. You see, there is an immediate trust between us because we are truly Brothers and Sisters through Our Lord Jesus Christ; and with that, we need to open our hearts to each other and be completely honest. That is what Jesus wants us to do.

The scripture Readings this past Sunday deal a lot with trust. In the First Reading, God renewed the world with water. Her cleansed it of its evil and brought forth a new creation. Today, the Church uses this imagery to explain our own baptism and relationship with God. God washes away our sins and cleanses our soul when we are baptized and we are then orientated towards God. As we progress through our life, we find ourselves sinning and making mistakes just as children will always do, for we are indeed Children of God. But God still gives us that opportunity to say that we are sorry; then, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are washed away clean again.

God further tells us today that he will never cleanse the world physically again with water. Instead, God spiritually cleanses us through baptism and keeps us clean through Reconciliation: from no hope to hope. We can always make our life new just as the Great Flood did the same to the world. The Covenant has been made, evil was punished, and we have an opportunity for salvation.

Peter mentioned this also: linking the great Flood to baptism. Water cleanses us and lifts us higher to God much the same way the arc was lifted by the floodwater. Remember, through baptism and the cleansing water of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we remain His forever. We will always be tempted to sin; that is our nature. But Jesus understands this. In His human nature Jesus was tempted also. He let this happen so as to serve as an example to us all: we all are tempted but through faith and love in Jesus Christ we can overcome these things.

Know that Jesus is with you this entire way and that I am with you always.

As I mentioned before, we all have lifted our crosses this Lenten Season and have begun walking together towards Calvary. When you get tired, talk to one another. When you grow weak, ask for help.

Remember, we all are in this together.

Deacon Tom

Season of Lent 2012

My Brothers in Christ,

With Ash Wednesday, we have entered the Season of Lent. This is a very important time in the Church and should be a very important time in all of your lives. This is a time where we should all realize that we are sinners and that we all are human. With that, our lives are hopeless and lost without Our Lord Jesus Christ. We come forward to receive the ashes on our foreheads to remind us that we are sinners and that our time on this earth is limited. We all have been born, we all have sinned, and we all are going to face the same end: death. We are then presented with a choice: Do we live our lives with Jesus and his meassage of forgiveness and salvation or do we turn our backs on Him and face the consenquinces of a death without forgiveness and eternal life? It cannot be made planer than this: Do we walk with Jesus or without Jesus?

During this Season of Lent, we are encouraged to focus on the Human Jesus Christ; the Jesus Christ who suffered and died for our sins. This same Jesus is the one took up his cross for us and journeyed towards Calvary for us because of our sinful nature. As we try to picture this event, we must also reflect on our own sins and the struggles we encounter in our own lives. Jesus truly shares in these struggles and the pain that they bring. We are never alone in this life: JESUS IS WITH US THE WHOLE WAY. Lent serves as areminder of this. To truly experience our faith we must reflect on this for the entire season of Lent. Through this exercise we will become closer to Jesus and our faith. There is an exchange of feeling and love: we feel Jesus’ pain and torment during his crucifixtion and he feels ours as we journey through this life. No one is without hardship, pain, and suffering; NOT EVEN JESUS.

In the end, we form a bond with Jesus because of this shared experience. Jesus knows that this life is hard. Jesus knows that we all suffer on one level or another. Yes, we all sin. No one does not sin. The first person who tells you otherwise or judges your is a hypocrite. Jesus says this himself. The only way to overcome our sinful nature is to come forward, admit our sin, and beg Jesus for forgiveness. If we do this, if we beg for forgiveness, it will be given. Jesus has never turned away anybody who has asked for forgivesness.

Lent is the season of new beginnings and forgiveness. It is a time when we confront ourselves, admit we have done wrong, then throw our sins away in the garnage and being anew.  I invite you all to do this. Join me in prayer, celebration, and redemption and Brothers and Sisters through our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the ashes are placed on your forehead, remember, YOUR JOURNEY BEINGS TODAY!!!!!

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Tom.