Desert: On this first Sunday of Lent we hear St. Mark’s version of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting and praying and being tempted by Satan. Lent is a time of “spiritual battle against the spirit of evil.” Pope Francis remarked that “during the period in the desert, Jesus engaged in ‘hand-to-hand’ combat with Satan, unmasking his temptations and being victorious against them. Everyone has triumphed in Jesus through this victory; however, it is up to us to protect this victory in our daily lives. He went on to highlight the desert as a place for listening to “God’s voice and the tempter’s voice,” which cannot otherwise be done amidst noise and confusion, in which “one only hears superficial voices.” The Holy Father reminded of the importance of reading the Scriptures daily, “because otherwise we do not know how to respond to the hidden dangers of evil.”
Death: Recently, Pope Francis offered some great advice: “Spending time reflecting on your own death can be a freeing experience. Death is a fact that affects everyone. For some people it may come sooner and for some later, but regardless, it comes. Because we are all men and women on a journey in finite time, it is a good idea to pray to God asking for a good sense of time, so that we are not “imprisoned” by the present moment.” He also recommended repeating to yourself the phrase: “I am not the master of time.” He concluded by saying “remembering that we are all on the path to death will make us treat everyone well.”
Part II: This weekend we will have our second part of our series on Sin and God’s mercy. This weekend we are discussing, among many things, how to make a good confession. Just a reminder, our Penance Service is on Thursday, March 1st, at 6:30 p.m. We will also have 24 Hours for the Lord March 9/10 with some available times for confessions.
Funny: Speaking of going to confession, someone recently gave me a little cartoon from the Lockhorns. The picture shows the wife leaving the confessional with her husband next in line. She comes out of the confessional exclaiming, “I got no penance since I’m married to you!” Hmmm.
St. Michael: Instead of a recessional hymn during Lent we will be saying the St. Michael Prayer and then depart in silence.
Encouraging: Our Church opens usually between 5 and 5:30 am. It’s really encouraging to see more and more people come early in the morning to pray. We are called to fast, to give alms and to pray. We read in the Scriptures that Jesus rose very early or prayed late at night to pray. Certainly that seems like the best time for us in the midst of our busy lives.
Assignment: This Wednesday, Feb. 21, Fr. Dan and I are once again heading to Lansing for a priest assignment committee meeting. In our last meeting we discussed the “lay of the land” as we looked at the diocese as a whole. We also talked about the need for more priests as a number of our priests are retiring within the next five years. Please pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.
Building: Speaking of Lansing, I am going to Lansing on Tuesday with our architect, Brad Klein, to meet with the diocesan building committee. The last time we met they really, really liked our plans and offered some minor changes. We will discuss those changes with them.
Retreat: Both Fr. Dan and I have made retreats in the last month. Both of us feel extremely blessed for the opportunity. There are opportunities for all of you to attend some retreat-like encounters. These include:
• Men’s Conference on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Michigan Center from 10 – 4 pm.
• Men’s Welcome weekend at Holy Family is April 14-15. (Please see page 7 of the bulletin for details.)
• Women’s Welcome weekend at Holy Family is April 28-29.
• Retreat for Holy Family men at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt Feb 23-25 (info on page 7).
• Retreat for Holy Family women at the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt April 27-29
Have a blessed Lenten Season.
Love and prayers,
Msgr. Jerry
“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2: 21-24)
February 22 is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter