Lent 2015
"Have Mercy O Lord, for We
Have Sinned"
This is the response to the psalm we sing on Ash Wednesday and it sets the tone for us as we begin the important period of Lent. This time is given to us by the Church to help us reflect with prayer, on our journey of faith and on our relationship with God and with one another. These forty days are days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving or outreach to the poor. These forty days are special for us, as we prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter.
As believers, we enter this time of penance and prayer with humility. We know that it is a unique time of prayer, and in the busyness of our hectic lives, we seek to find some time, a little extra time, to spend with the Lord. Lent is a time for change or conversion. Not only do we decorate our churches in purple and cease to proclaim alleluia, but we know that within our hearts we seek a deeper link to the Lord. We desire to know Him more intimately and to discover Him, especially in the difficult moments of our lives. Our prayer, our Masses and our sacrifices help us to link ourselves to the cross of Jesus which we share as his followers.
Pope Francis has asked us to seek a change within our hearts for a renewal of spirit and a deeper conversion to love. The Pope asks us to reflect on our relationship with our neighbour, especially our neighbour in need. He reminds us that the temptation to indifference towards our neighbour is always present in our world. He notes that as our brothers and sisters suffer, we as a Church also suffer with them. We are to unite our prayers with the saints in
heaven, and as a community, to go out and to be engaged in the life of society, to be missionaries to the poor and needy in particular.
We are given many opportunities during Lent to increase our prayer life, to seek a more simpler lifestyle, and to reach out to our bothers and sisters in need. We do this in a concrete way through our support of Development of Peace which reaches out to counties in our world to help others rebuild their lives. Your continued support to this cause is encouraged again this year.
As humble sinners, who at times have seen worldly issues more important than our spiritual growth, we use this holy time to see a conversion in our hearts, and to grow more in the image of Jesus. May our prayers, our sacrifices and our generous outreach to others, help us to better understand the Paschal Mystery in which we believe and live, and may this time help us to see ourselves as “ambassadors of Jesus” to a world that needs the message of Jesus so badly today.
Let us journey together during this holy time, in order that we might share in the glory of new life in Christ on the great feast of Easter.
+ Fred Colli
Bishop of Thunder Bay
