From Father Steven - February 26, 2023

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Dear Brothers & Sisters,
 
Lent is indeed a beautiful time in which the Lord invites us to return with our whole hearts to him. The early Fathers of the Church would refer to Lent as a time of betrothal with the Lord. However, we need help with this process, just as with our lives. 
 
When we were children, the Church provided a catechism to introduce us to the ways of God. Just as in school, when we were in grammar school, we learned the basics.  As adults, we learned very little about the ways of the Lord. It is as if we are now in post-graduate studies and we skipped most of our school years. Imagine if we had to do high-end calculus engineering when we barely remember the multiplication tables.  Such is our situation when we have to face the hardships of life with our basic knowledge from CCD. Surely this may not be the case of everyone, but probably it’s the case of many of us. We find ourselves married, with children and no one taught us how to go from there. We also might have family and friends in this situation. How could we help others when we ourselves don’t have answers? 
 
In its motherly way, the Church provides for all of us many possibilities to be helped. One of these ways, is through a series of talks Mondays and Thursday’s starting this Monday in the Church hall (school hall). These talks will be focused on Conversion, the Scriptures, the Eucharist, and provides an opportunity to begin a journey with God, or a school of faith if you will.  God wants to give us the necessary graces for us to be enlightened of our cross, understand and be reconciled with the events of our lives, and to grow closer to the Lord. With all the approvals and seals of the Vatican, Pope Benedict has called this itinerary of faith as “a special gift inspired by the Holy Spirit”. Saint Pope John Paul II in 1988 recognized that we were living in a period of de-Christianization. He said, “it seems that the faithful, those baptized years ago, are no longer mature enough to oppose secularization and the ideologies which are contrary not only to the Church, to the Catholic religion, but also to religion in general; they are atheistic, indeed anti-theist.” Then referring to these talks he acknowledges “in different environments, [it tries] to rebuild what has been broken down”. These talks were inspired by the Virgin Mary who saw the need to create communities like the Holy Family, where they may live in humility, simplicity and praise, where the other is Christ. 
 
Personally, I have experienced these talks in my family and in my own life. First, it has helped to bring my father to Church, where he received his first communion at the age of 38. It helped their marriage and how to raise two teenagers, even though, as you well know, I was the one giving them trouble. In my life, when all I was taught was that to be happy you had to be successful, I found myself in great anguish. I was successful in many ways, and still unhappy. Wanting to please people, I could not be myself, wearing different masks depending on the environment. Instead, after listening to these talks, I found myself in a community of different people that loved each other. I was not alone with my problems. It helped me to open my ears to listen to God, to put him first in my life. Surely there were struggles, but having a small community of truly brothers and sisters that knew each other’s difficulties made visible to me the immense love of God for me. It’s because of this that today I still believe in God, am still in the Church, and am a happy priest. 
 
Therefore, if you or someone that you know feels lost in this world, feels that nothing changes in your lives, that God seems to be far away or we are stuck in some situation, come and listen. Christ, the good shepherd comes to rescue us, to place us with great joy on his shoulders, and to bring us back to himself. We will only find out if this is for us if we give it a fair shot to God. I did it once, and look what he did for me!!! I’m sure He will do many greater things for you as well. 
 
God Bless,
Fr. Steven