Spiritual Springtime

The first day of spring this year is Sunday, March 20. This reminds me that the word “Lent” comes from an Old English word that means “springtime.” Lent is literally our spiritual springtime, and all the things we associate with spring in the natural world also come into play in the supernatural world: new life, growth, and fruitfulness. In the world of gardening, we know the needs of new life: water, light, nutrients, pruning, weeding, and so on. Our Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving could be considered our spiritual “gardening.”

As we seek to cultivate renewed life in our souls, some kind of resolution is useful. At the beginning of Lent, I reviewed the qualities of a good resolution with the students of our school. They responded well to what I said, so I will also remind you: a good resolution is specific, practical, and renewable. Specific means that we focus on some concrete action, and we are clear about when we will perform the action. Practical means that the action is one that we can do without taking away from the duties of our state in life. Renewable means that if we momentarily fail in keeping the resolution, we can take it up again.

The third quality, that the resolution is renewable, is especially important. It’s hard to stick to a particular practice for a full forty days; but it would be a shame to give up just because of a momentary lapse. Rather, we renew the resolution and hopefully we are more vigilant in carrying it out. I hope your Lent has gone well so far, and I pray that all of us will enjoy a renewed spiritual life during this holy season.

Gratefully Yours,

The Synod

In recent weeks, several people have asked me about the synod that has been called for by Pope Francis. The word “synod” means “assembly”; historically, synods, or assemblies, of bishops have been called together by various Popes through the years to discuss issues of importance in the life of the Church. The current synod that people have been asking about is a Synod on Synodality. (“Synodality” is aptly defined as “walking together.”) In this synod, not only the bishops, but all Catholics, are being called to discern how we can best “walk together” in the way of Christ. The three focal points of the discussion are communion, participation, and mission.

How can we participate in this worldwide process of discernment? I refer you to this page of the website of our diocese: rcbo.org/synod There you will find some general background on the history of synods, a special message from Bishop Vann, and asurvey-type section in which you can submit to the diocese your thoughts on our journey together in communion, participation, and mission. Your input will be valuable to the diocese, which will send a synthesis of the input to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The U.S. Bishops will in turn produce a document on the nationwide level, which will go to the Holy See.

As Bishop Vann exhorts us, let’s all pray for this synod, that the Holy Spirit may guide us in our journey together: a journey of communion, participation, and mission.

Gratefully Yours,

The Pope's Message for Lent

In preparation for this holy season, I read the special message written by Pope Francis for Lent 2022. The Holy Father begins his message by quoting from St. Paul: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity let us do good to all.”(Gal. 6:9-10) Pope Francis goes on to say, “Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.”

Meditating on St. Paul’s words, “Let us not grow tired of doing good,” Pope Francis gives specific applications of these words. He writes, “Let us not grow tired of praying,” adding that “we need to pray because we need God.” Then the Holy Father writes, “Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives,” adding two specific areas of concentration: “Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forgiving”; and “Let us not grow tired of fighting against concupiscence,” in particular the temptation to “addiction to the digital media, which impoverishes human relationships.”Finally, Pope Francis says, “Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbors,” adding that “Lent is a favorable time to seek out—and not to avoid—those in need; to reach out—and not to ignore—those who need a sympathetic ear and a good word; to visit—and not to abandon—those who are lonely.”

By quoting these points from the message of Pope Francis, I hope to invite you to find specific ways in which you can apply these words to your lives, as I also seek to apply them to mine.May this Lent be a time in which we never grow tired of doing good!

Gratefully Yours,