St. John Neumann
Catholic Church

The holy season of Lent begins on the 25th, with the Masses of Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast & abstinence, and marks the beginning of the final preparation for those seeking the sacraments of Initiation at the solemn Vigil of Easter. Lent is also a time when we Roman Catholics are called to introspection, looking at the way we live in the here & now, and repenting of those things that have taken the place of God and God's plan for our lives. The holy season of Lent is a time of metanoia, of consciously turning away from sin while turning toward the Way of the Lord. We enter Lent, seeking this spiritual renewal as disciples of the Lord Jesus, through the disciplines of intensified prayer, the bodily prayer of fasting and the varied forms of almsgiving.

The holy season of Lent begins on the 25th, with the Masses of Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is a day of fast & abstinence, and marks the beginning of the final preparation for those seeking the sacraments of Initiation at the solemn Vigil of Easter. Lent is also a time when we Roman Catholics are called to introspection, looking at the way we live in the here & now, and repenting of those things that have taken the place of God and God's plan for our lives. The holy season of Lent is a time of metanoia, of consciously turning away from sin while turning toward the Way of the Lord. We enter Lent, seeking this spiritual renewal as disciples of the Lord Jesus, through the disciplines of intensified prayer, the bodily prayer of fasting and the varied forms of almsgiving.

The basic structure of this season of penance and renewal is seen at the very beginning of the Church. Hippolytus described this season of conversion in his Apostolic Tradition (c.215A.D.). By the early 400's, this season begins to take recognizable shape, as Church elders extended backwards from Easter the time for those seeking baptism to "repent and believe" (Mark 1.15).  The Gallican liturgical tradition of distributing ashes to those seeking to enter the Order of Penitents was incorporated for the whole Church in 1091, by Pope Urban II. Sadly, over the centuries, the sense of Lent as a time for baptismal preparation was neglected, with the focus solely on the need of doing acts of penance.

The dual nature of the holy season of Lent, being both the process of preparation for initiation into the mystery of Christ Present to us (baptism, confirmation, eucharist) and also a call to conversion of heart for the baptized, was restored to its original fullness with Vatican II (1962-65) and the document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.

During holy Lent, let us pray for those children, teens and adults that are part of our Catechumenate. They seek to join the fullness of our parish family, and are preparing for the rites of Initiation into the mystery of Christ at Easter; and, for those of us already members of the Body of Christ, let us renew our minds and hearts, seeking to follow the Lord. I urge you to take up the call to prayer, fasting and the various works of mercy. Give yourself to these disciplines, as a response to the great Good News... God's love, experienced in and through the Lord Jesus and His Spirit.

Three important events for SJN during Lent:

(1) the blessing and ground-breaking prayer for our Building a Legacy of Faith project will be held on the 4th of March, at 5 PM. PLEASE JOIN IN!

(2) Please plan to come to an extraordinary telling of the greatest story ever told on the 12th of March, at 7 PM. We will witness the Gospel of Mark LIVE, a one-man performance, offered by a priest of Atlanta (www.gospelofmark.us).

(3) Our parish Lenten Penance Service will be on Monday the 23rd, at 7 PM. Come and seek a renewal in his love, by admitting the need (we are all sinners) and receiving the gift (we are all redeemed in his sacrificial love).

Finally, please know that I restored the Pastoral Council of SJN on the 10th of February. You will be able to find the names of its twelve members in the bulletin and on our web-site (www.sjnlilburn.com). The Pastoral Council will serve our parish, in supporting all of our ministries and in giving me advice and counsel about all that we are called to face... together. Please make sure you thank the men and women that make up our restored pastoral Council, for their willingness to serve in leadership.

Good things are happening at SJN. Come and see... on the 4th... and the 12th... and the 23rd of March.

AMDG

Msgr. David Talley

 

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