Have a Holy Lent!
Dear friends in Christ,
This Sunday's readings from the book of Leviticus and Gospel according to Matthew call us to holiness, to perfection. The holy season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday is a good time to respond to that call. All of us are called to holiness as the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out:
“All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity, All are called to holiness: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that...doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints (CCC 2013).
The Lenten journey is traditionally accompanied by an intense life of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This spiritual living, aided by the grace of God makes us holy, leads to perfection, just like the saints we read about in our parish Advent spiritual reading, Matthew Kelly's Rediscover the Saints. I hope our choice of Lenten spiritual reading this year, Bishop Robert Barron's Lenten Gospel Reflection would be equally transformative.
What are you going to do different this Lent to become more like Christ?
Have a holy Lent!
In Christ,
Fr. Bernard Oniwe, OP
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A special congratulations to Pat Minick, who is the recipient of the 2020 Diocesan Lorica Award for the North Lancaster Deanery. This award is given by Bishop Gainer to lay persons in the Diocese of Harrisburg who contribute to the life of the Church and the common good of their community. All are invited to attend the award ceremony on March 17th at 6:30 at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg.
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