LENT

February 14th marks the beginning of the Lenten journey, something we will celebrate with our Ash Wednesday service at 9am on February 14th.  There is much to learn in these next weeks and Anna O'Neil offers readers a good begining. 

"Lent is not about our sinfulness. If it were, we might as well all just despair. It’s about God’s merciful response to our sinfulness, when we repent. We repent because we have been told to hope in God’s mercy. And the thing about mercy is that you can’t use the word outside of the context of sin. Mercy is God’s response to sin. So focusing on God’s mercy will actually lead us to more perfect repentance, but without that too-heavy burden of fear. We have nothing to fear from our merciful Father. I’m grateful for the season of Lent, and for the opportunity to bring God’s mercy to the forefront of my mind." 

Read the whole article here.

Many people are also interested in how to prepare for Lent.  The article below offers a plan for "being" not just "doing" during this Lenten season.  

https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/25341/how-to-prepare-for-lent