... A time of grace to seize...
The Lenten Road is a path of grace. How then can we not invite ourselves to put our steps together in the CRSD and the Church.
“The Passover of the Lord comes to us once more! Every year to prepare for this, God’s providence offers the time of Lent. It is the ’sacramental sign of our conversion’ which announces and offers us the possibility of returning to the Lord with all our heart and with all our lives.”
(Pope Francis, Lenten Message 2018)
Lent is a time of renewal of direction, to regain the ability to react to the reality of evil that always challenges us. Lent commits us to live a time of conversion, personal and community renewal through closeness to God and trusting adherence to the Gospel.
This Lenten Road where we walk together opens with the impressive gesture of Ashes. They say what is triste and grey in our lives. They evoke what needs to be reborn and come back to life. To be marked on the forehead by ashes is to enter into a process of truth and lucidity.
The road of Lent follows various paths, that of listening to the Word, that of prayer, and that of fasting andsharing, all this in order to bring about a conversion of the gaze, of the heart, a refocusing on the essentials of life.
Some objectives then guide this approach: to relearn solidarity, to deepen one’s faith, to live in hope, to prepare to say again the yes of one’s baptism, and to celebrate Christ’s Passover. “Let us live together with the whole Church this time of grace in joy and truth.” (Pope Francis)
Dear Lord, help us to go free to work with those who have few resources, both materially and spiritually. Free us from greed, make us discover a brother, a sister, in every person we meet.
Lord, help us to take time to listen, to meditate on your Word, so that it may become a guide and compass for our walks to you.
Lord, you call us to fast. In this way, you teach us to disarm ourselves from our violence and to make ourselves more attentive to our brothers and sisters. Give us the opportunity to review our lifestyle habits and to be able to correct what is hindering our path to you. Amen.
Sr Thérèse Demers