Belleville Cursillo Movement at PO Box 331, Saint Libory, IL 62282 US - From the Spiritual Director
From the Spiritual DirectorMarch, 2011 |
Lent-traditionally a time of final preparation for those who will enter the Church at the Easter Vigil. Of course, for a good part of the last several centuries, that was not the case. It is only since the renewal of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults after Vatican II that we once again restored this concept to the Holy Season of Lent. But we have also kept Lent as a time of renewal for those of us who are members of the Church. We use this time to "give up" something, to say extra prayer, maybe even go to Mass more than once a week. But I want to ask you to think, what is it that needs to be "renewed" in my life? How can I use this Lenten Season to recharge my piety, study and action? How can I make Lent a time of preparation that will help me to celebrate Easter with a renewed sense of membership in the Body of Christ? No answers, just the questions that might help you and me think of how to best use this time we call Lent, to help us prepare to celebrate Holy Week and Easter with a renewed sense of being in relation with Christ in the Paschal Mystery. I would encourage all of you who have not attended an Easter Vigil celebration where new members of the Church celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) to find a parish that has new members to initiate. Watch the faces of those who are being received and I hope you will see what I have often seen; a joy and excitement that can only come from the experience of knowing the Love of Christ. Have a Holy Lent and a Blessed Easter. De Colores, Fr. Gary