March 19, 2006

Light comes; light goes, as the world revolves from day to night. Darkness and light are both a part of life, with times of regret and times of joyful anticipation. The Lenten season begins with humility and darkness on Ash Wednesday. It ends with glory and a dawning sun on Easter morning. The forty days of Lent do not include Sundays, which are seen traditionally as little celebrations of Easter. Each week, then, contains six days of penitence and thoughtful reflection about our lives and one day of celebrating the presence of the living Christ.

During Lent the coming of resurrection begins to dawn on us. Ash Wednesday then, becomes a time before the dawn. The darkness, though, is not gloominess, because we know that dawn is coming. With humbled hearts we admit our failings but set a course toward doing better.

We do not see resurrection in its fullness until Easter, but all of Lent can be a time of brightening, discovering possibilities of hope and promise along the way. The first glimpse of resurrection in Jesus' life was seen in his baptism. Jesus had not sinned, but he still symbolized the need for rebirth. As he came up out of the water, people witnessed a great demonstration of what this rebirth and new glory could bring. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus, and God's voice was heard to say, "You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased . . . Listen to Him."

Hope you're all taking six minutes each day with your "Little Black Book" as we strive each day in Lent to "Listen to Him".

Happy Lent,
Fr. Chuck