Ashes Already?

Melt Freeze
In the middle of this past week, we had a couple of relatively warm and sunny days. It was great being able to take a walk outside without getting frozen.
By day we could walk between the mini-canyons of snow, still leftover from the blizzard. But nights were a different story. The temperatures dropped again and the water that covered the sidewalks by day as puddles, now seemed like icy bobsled runs!
Melting and freezing--there’s adventurein that. So too with our spritual lives. We go through thawing and freezing cycles in our relationship with God and the church. There’s adventure in that too. I hope that this Lent’s adventure will be a good one for us all.

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Past Columns:
January 23: Catholic Schools Week
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
December 26: A Blessed Christmas
December 19: Here comes everybody!
December 12: The Journey Continues

Columns from 2004

Columns from 2003

Columns from 2002

Columns from 2001


		February 6, 2005 Ashes Already?

Melt Freeze In the middle of this past week, we had a couple of relatively warm and sunny days. It was great being able to take a walk outside without getting frozen. By day we could walk between the mini-canyons of snow, still leftover from the blizzard. But nights were a different story. The temperatures dropped again and the water that covered the sidewalks by day as puddles, now seemed like icy bobsled runs! Melting and freezing--there’s adventurein that. So too with our spritual lives. We go through thawing and freezing cycles in our relationship with God and the church. There’s adventure in that too. I hope that this Lent’s adventure will be a good one for us all. Catholic Ministries Appeal I’ve pledged. Have you? You can pledge online here! At College? At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through e-mail “letters from home.” Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when we write. Here's a handy college link so you can send this info online. e-mail Father Ralph: Past Columns: January 23: Catholic Schools Week January 16: Continued Charity January 9: Migration January 2:All is bright? December 26: A Blessed Christmas December 19: Here comes everybody! December 12: The Journey Continues Columns from 2004 Columns from 2003 Columns from 2002 Columns from 2001
	It seems like yesterday when we got Christmas packed away and here we are already at Ash Wednesday! Easter is early this year (in March) and so of course is Lent. We hardly had time to bnreak our new year’s resolutions and now it’s time for Lenten resolutions. There are traditionally three aspects to Lent: (1) Prayer (2) Fasting (3) Good works/almsgiving So now’s the time to sketch out a Lenten “game plan.” How will we pray more and get closer to God? Certainly a commitment to Sunday mass is right on the top of the list, but you might also consider weekday mass or attending the Tenebrae services, or come for Lenten Morning Prayer, or Jesus Evening, etc. Why not pick something now? How will we fast? Fasting is “giving up” something. It might be certain food or drink -- to put ourselves in solidarity with the hungry of the world. We might choose to fast from some behavior that gets in the way of our loving others, God or ourselves. In the long run, our fasting makes us aware of our hungers and they lead us to acknowledge that deep down we are really hungry for God. And what will we give? Pick acharity this lent and then be generous. We have so much; there is so much to do in our world. The folks next store in Our Lady of Hope are choosing to make a Lenten charitable contribution to the Catholic Ministries Appeal (which supports Catholic Charities and other pastoral efforts in the church on Long Island). I’d like to “second” that idea for our parish too -- especially because we receive 20% of those donations as a rebate -- so our Lenten charity begins and ends at home -- and reaches out to the needy world too. Pray, fast, give. Now’s the time to plan our great forty days to come.

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