Dear Saints,

We’re more than halfway through Lent. How does it feel when you read that?

For me, it’s some mixture of relief and regret. Relief, because meeting the challenge of living penitentially isn’t easy (even though it’s fruitful) and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Regret, because I'm running out of time to turn things around; that I haven’t made the most of this sacred season.

Does that sound about right? For both of those reasons (and more, I’m sure), now seems like a great time to recommit ourselves. Let’s do so in two ways:

1. Persevere in the penitential practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I’ll give you a hint here: go small! What do I mean? Find five more minutes for silent prayer or bible reading, give up sugar in your coffee or butter on your toast, and be just a little more generous than you usually are with your money. The idea is that the little sacrifices still stretch us, but they give us nothing to brag about. This puts a good check on our motivation to perform penances.

2. Remember that this season is all about love. Lent needs to make us more loving. We can break it down and say that prayer is about loving God more, fasting is about living a disciplined self-love, and almsgiving make us more attuned to the needs of our neighbor. But we don’t need to say that. We can just use every moment we have left as an opportunity to love God with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Please pray for me, my friends. Be assured of my prayers. May the Lord make our final weeks of Lent fruitful.

In the Peace of Christ,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ