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| Holy Father's intentions for September 2010 |  | | General: The Word of God as Sign of Social Development: That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.
| | Mission: The End of War: That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world. |
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| Overcoming Sin During Lent
Dear Parishioners,
We are now on the third week of the Lenten season, a time when we are called upon to deepen our relationship with God and to express it through concrete actions in our daily life. It is a time of special grace for us in which we should do some reflection in our lives about our rights and wrongs; and then receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in order to live as good Catholics. This is when we acknowledge that we are sinners. We want to clean up our lives during Lent and to leave sin behind in order to grow closer to the Lord.
In the Scriptures, when people left sin behind and started to live a new life, they used ashes to symbolize their repentance. Job said, "I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6) Daniel "turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." (Dan 9:3) Jesus said, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes." (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Therefore in a spirit of repentance we take ashes on our foreheads as we did on Ash Wednesday.
Sometimes people ask, "What are you doing for Lent?" There is one thing to give up - sin. This is a time of preparation for renewing our baptismal promises during the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. Paul says when writing to the Romans (6:3-6) that when we were baptized we died to our old way of life to live a new way of life i.e. when we were baptized we died to our old sinful ways, we left sin behind. Paul also says that when we were baptized we went into the tomb with Jesus and rose out of the tomb again with Jesus to a new life. The season is to give us time once again to die to our old sinful ways and rise out of the tomb with Jesus to a new way of life so that by the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night when we renew our baptismal vows we will also have renewed our lives. This year let us not receive the gift of God's grace in vain.
To show that we are serious about overcoming sin we do penance. Our penance at this time is a symbol of the change of heart we want to achieve. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spoke about Prayer, Fasting and giving Alms. From the early centuries, these are three practices the Church has encouraged us to undertake during Lent as a form of Penance: Praying more, Fasting and giving Alms to the poor.
We fast and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent. In a spirit of repentance we have always fasted from one of our favourite foods for the entire Lenten season. This is a way of showing that we love the Lord more than food and that we love Him more than sin. There are many ways of giving alms. In helping other people we also love the Lord. It is at this point that I take this opportunity to mention the Holy Trinity Kileleshwa construction project. Collections for the project have resumed both at the Shrine and Holy Trinity Kileleshwa. I kindly request all parishioners and well wishers to make this project our Lenten Charitable project where all the proceeds of the Lenten renunciation shall go towards the construction. The collections will take place on Sundays at the assigned tables outside the Church and at the Parish office during the week.
On the last Sunday of this month, we observe Palm Sunday, which is also known as Passion Sunday. As we look at the Passion of Jesus so many events also take on new meaning for us. We see a whole host of characters who each had a role to play that eventually led to Jesus' crucifixion. Once we realize that it was our sins that crucified Jesus we can see these different characters in the Passion representing our sins which caused Jesus to die. Let us remember the love of the Lord for us which caused him to suffer for our sins and let us turn to the Lord in love. May our meditation on Jesus' Passion on Palm Sunday encourage us to renew our lives with Jesus and leave sin behind to rise with his new life at Easter. On that Sunday we are indeed beginning the Holy Week. Let us all try to keep it as Holy as possible by attending the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday and the celebration of Jesus' resurrection during the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.
I hope that this Lenten season will be a time for us of growing closer to the Lord by spending more time in prayer. And I pray that during this time we will all grow closer to God. This would also be a good time to renew praying the Rosary daily if you have been neglectful. Reading the Bible and reading spiritual books is also a great help. As we journey through this discipline of Lent, may we endeavour to make it Holy by our self- denial.
Rev. Fr. Marino Gemma, IMC
Father in Charge
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