FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK                                         

By Fr. Terry Kerner

Lent begins this Wednesday. Our thoughts and plans about Lent can be negative and gloomy involving self-denial and the deprivation of many joys in our day. If we see it as such then we have missed the point of what it is about. And what it is about is Easter! It is about a realization that life goes farther than we could ever imagine. It is about discovering a fuller existence beyond our earthly dwelling. It is about life winning over death. It says that the mundane and everyday world we see about us is passing and more pleasant realities await us. Lent is hopeful, consoling, and yes, even a joyful liberation from the ordinary. It is probably no accident that the word “Lent” is derived from Anglo-Saxon words meaning “spring”. If you cannot be consoled with hopeful and joyful thoughts of “liberation” from winter and the coming of spring, then you will probably miss the whole point of Lent and the Spirit-giving joys it can bring you.

Please take the time to consider the many new ways St. Kateri is celebrating Lent this year. Don’t be afraid to enjoy Lent!