Ash Wednesday

Lent has begun!!! We begin our 40 day journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the key qualities of Lent that we hear in our gospel for today, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.
As I was preparing for Mass, I came across an interesting piece, written by Fr. James M. Sullivan, O.P. in Magnificat. The meditation was titled, "One Feast Day Lost, One Feast Day Found." It was not until I read it that I remembered that if today was not Ash Wednesday, it would be the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter "recalls not only the relic of that chair, but more importantly we celebrate the 'Holy Spirit-giving' authority which makes that chair unlike any other" (Magnificat, 309). The authority comes from Christ himself and as Father Sullivan goes on to say, "It is this authority alone that can call us to be freed from our sins, to imagine that this Lent can be different. It is this authority of Christ that gives us hope to live a new life in him, to fine for the first time perhaps our place in this world. It is this authority of Christ to take up a difficult penance knowing that we don't have the strength to do it all ourselves. It is this authority of Christ that calls us beyond ourselves and in truth calls us into himself" (309). We know that Jesus Christ came into the world to redeem the world of its sins. We have new life because of our Lord's death on the cross and his resurrection that comes at the end of this Lenten Time. Let us make the most of this Lent because Christ calls us to be renewed and to experience his life and love in a special way! Blessings on our journey!!!