Dear friends in Christ,

    We've got a double "First Friday" to celebrate today – it's the first Friday of the month and also the first Friday of Lent. We had a big crowd join us for Mass this morning, and I hope that many of you might find time to join us for a weekday Mass sometime over the 40 days of Lent. I know it doesn't always work in to everyone's schedule, but if you can make it, a weekday Mass can give you a true spiritual boost – just make sure to make Sunday Mass the priority that it is, of course.

     With that said, our journey of 40 days is officially underway as we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Lent this weekend. Our psalm response this Sunday is the beautiful and powerful Psalm 91, whose response is “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.” That pretty much sums up Lent, does it not? We are sinful, and that leads us into trouble.

    Now trouble can mean many things to many people. When we were children we (hopefully!) didn’t want to get in trouble at home or school. As adults it’s our sin that leads us into trouble, be it within the self, in our relationships with others, or even our spiritual relationship with God. And yet in these Lenten days we are invited to turn the Lord for his mercy. It’s the only thing that will save us. While we sing just a few stanzas of the psalm at Mass, I encourage you to bookmark Psalm 91 in your bible at home and read it often in Lent, especially when you feel troubled, and may the God of mercy bring you his peace.

    Please keep foremost in your prayers our Catechumens and Candidates who are in the “home stretch” for their entrance into full communion with the Church. We will celebrate the Rite of Sending for 19 of these Catechumens at the 9 a.m. Mass this weekend, and later Sunday night they will be received by Cardinal DiNardo at the Rite of Election being held here, one of five such ceremonies in the Archdiocese. Over the course of Lent we’ll celebrate the three Scrutinies (minor rites) for our Catechumens (the unbaptized). Meanwhile, we have an additional 27 baptized Christians who seek full communion in the faith (the candidates) and they, too, are also preparing for entry into the Church. As they all journey to the table of the Lord, let us dare to walk with them and ask the Lord guide us all into a more perfect union with the Father.

     See you at the Fish Fry and Stations of the Cross tonight!

Peace, Fr. Sean