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St. Thomas Aquinas
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to Welcome Letter
A Letter from Rev.
Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor
Sunday Bulletin - February 10,
2008
Dear
Parishioner,
We
have just begun the Holy Season of Lent. Most of us have
gone through this season of Lent for so many years that
it could easily become just a yearly ritual that we are made
to go through. Over the years we may have developed the
habit of giving up or doing some pet sacrifice to keep the
observance of Lent. Hence, it might not be out of place for
us to ask ourselves: “What really is Lent?" It is defined
as: "an annual season of fasting and penitence
in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and
lasting 40 weekdays of Easter". (Random House
Dictionary of the English Language) I find two important
aspects of this annual season of Lent:
1:
Fasting and Penitence
2:
Preparation of Easter.
First of all, Lent is
a very sacred liturgical season and is primarily
a penitential season of the Roman Catholic Church. Christian
Discipleship is a call to follow Christ. All through the
Gospels, Jesus makes it very clear that following Him is not
an easy way. “If
you want to be my disciple," Christ stated, “you must deny
yourself and take up your cross and follow me." The world
can never understand the way that Christ has laid out for
any one who wishes to follow Him. Hence, the Church offers
us every year the season of Lent to assist and to challenge
us to reflect and live more fully our calling as
His disciples. So, fasting, penitence, prayers, etc. become
an integral part of Lent.
The
whole purpose of the Lenten Season, as the definition
states, is "Preparation for Easter"
i.e. the Pascal Mystery that Christ so gloriously
accomplished through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection is
focused on Easter, the Paschal Mystery. So then, any
observance of Lent without Christ as the focal point is
meaningless and devoid of the true meaning of what Lent is
all about. Identification with Christ Jesus is the key to
any observance of this holy season. I can never forget what
I heard someone tell me years ago about Lent: "It is not so
much a time to give up something but rather it’s a time to ‘Give
In To Jesus.’" If our special Lenten prayers,
practices, observances, sacrifices, etc. assist us to be
more Christ-like, then this penitential time of the year
makes true sense. If, as a result of this Lent, we can say
with a greater measure of truth what St. Paul, in
all sincerity, used to say: "For me to live is
Christ". Yes, the more we are able to identify with Jesus
Christ, in His suffering, death, and glorious Resurrection,
the more we are into the true meaning of what Lent is all
about.
Dear
Parishioner, let us pray for each other that this very
special time of the Church be for all of us a beautiful
time to dwell on and to savor our unique vocation as the
followers of Him who suffered, died, and Rose Gloriously to
give us the fullness of life in this world and in the world
to come. May this Lent assist you and me to prepare
ourselves for the Holy Week Liturgies and immerse
ourselves into the Pascal Mystery of Christ.
Prayerfully,
Fr.
K.K.
____________________________
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