THE
FIRST WEEK OF LENT
With the receiving of our ashes we have
entered into the Season of Lent. This is a time of sacrifice and contemplation.
We are united with the Crucified Christ; journeying with him towards Calvary
with our own crosses and sins upon our back. We walk with him; supporting each
other and gaining strength through our shared pain and torment. We are
encouraged to contemplate what Christ did for us and continues to do through his
actions and intercessions in our lives. He is with us always. When we feel pain
and torment, he feels it also. The burdens that we carry are shared by him. We are
never alone. It is a shared experience. Christ is with us. We cannot forget
this.
During this season of intense prayer and
examination we are encouraged to focus on the Human Christ. Remember, through
the power of the Holy Sprit he was born of the Virgin Mary and became man. He
did not have to do this. It was a choice made by him to lead us back to
salvation and eternal life. We are constantly invited to partake in the
salvation experience by accepting him into our hearts and abandoning the
temptations and evils of this world that society has created. Every day we are
presented with choices that have the ability to influence our lives and the
directions that we are able to take. Do we want to indulge ourselves with the
pleasures of the flesh which will ultimately leave us empty and alone or do we
want to keep our focus on our individual journey of faith which will ultimately
lead us to happiness in this world and the next? Nothing bad can come from a
relationship with Christ. It is only without Christ do we find ourselves lost
and abandoned.
When we live our lives with Christ
everything comes into focus. He has the ability to guide us and support us
through the trials and tribulations that a life on this earth presents. He
gives us the strength to overcome the obstacles that we find ourselves
confronted with on a daily basis. The choice becomes very clear: between light
and darkness. It is amazing how society urges us to abandon Christ and to
accept the alternatives which include chasing after material things that might
bring us satisfaction in the short term but will leave ourselves desolate in
the long. It is utterly impossible to be happy in this life without
contemplating the next. We are eternally connected with the Spiritual World and
cannot forget this. It is easy to recall the story of the Tower of Babel where
society attempted to lift them above God and make themselves masters of their
own destiny. This ended in utter failure but there are those who continue to
espouse these same dreams and aspirations. In the end, whatever we create is not
eternal. Through the passage of time it slowly erodes and fades away. Man, in
his selfishness attempts to build monuments and memorials in memory of his
triumphs but this always end in a constant pattern of nothingness. Only God
continues forever.
Through the Season of Lent, we are asked
to examine ourselves and our mortal nature. We are sinners and are destined for
damnation. This can only be avoided through accepting Jesus Christ and forming
our lives around him. This is the only way where we can truly achieve
happiness. Anything else that we attempt to fill that void in our lives with
will end up corrupting us and leading us astray.
So, here we are. We come forward during
this Lenten Season to offer sacrifice, prayer, and love to god. That is why we
fast and surrender some of our most cherished addictions and behaviors. We
offer them up as sacrifices so as to bring ourselves closer to God. We are
encouraged to examine of consciousness and attempt to leave the physical existence
behind and embrace the spiritual. Through this our relationship with God grows
stronger. Ignore the corporal and embrace your spirituality. Christ will be
there waiting for you.
Deacon Tom
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