Welcome to March and all that is going on this month. March 5th is Ash Wednesday. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. The 8 am Mass will be with the students from the middle school. There will be a 5:30 pm Mass at St. Peter and at St. Casimir. There will be Stations of the Cross on Fridays at noon at St. Peter. Stations will be before Mass at St. Casimir on Sundays. March 7th is the first Pacelli Fish Fry. On March 8th is the Deanery Marriage preparation session at Holy Spirit parish. Please pray for all those who are involved.
Lent often focuses us on prayer, fasting and almsgiving as Jesus outlines them in our Gospel on Ash Wednesday. These three are meant to help us grow in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Maturing in our friendship with Jesus would be a great way to spend Lent. Deepening our friendship with others will also help us. Bishop Cozzens from the book “For the Life of the World” has the following to reflect on: “Real friendship between Christians should also provide accountability to fulfill our commitments, especially in the Christian life. All of us fail at times to live the Eucharistic life we are called to live, and we need friends who will hold us accountable. Friendship strengthens us in our weakness. This is one of the reasons Jesus sent out his disciples two by two: So they could support and encourage one another when the mission got difficult; so they could remind each other to pray; so they could correct each other when they failed to be who they were called to be. Asking another to hold you accountable to your Christian way of life is humbling and requires vulnerability, but it also leads to great growth.”
Perhaps that is a way to enter this Lent. Ask someone to hold you accountable to prayer, fasting or generosity so that you may grow in your relationship with Jesus becoming the disciple and witness that God calls you to be.