El viaje de Cuaresma

Hay un proverbio africano narrado en diferentes historias que hablan de un maestro que encontró en el escritorio del maestro un regalo de uno de los alumnos. El regalo fue una hermosa y costosa concha marina. El maestro sabía que la familia no podía permitirse tal regalo. El maestro también sabía que la concha solo se podía encontrar en la playa de una bahía apartada a muchos kilómetros de distancia.

El maestro vio al estudiante y estaba muy agradecido por el regalo. El maestro luego dijo: “Caminaste muchas millas para conseguir este caparazón, ¿no es así?” El estudiante asintió, sonrió y respondió: “La caminata es parte del regalo”.

Nuestro tiempo de Cuaresma es un camino al pie de la cruz del Viernes Santo. Hagamos lo que hagamos en las áreas primarias de oración, ayuno y limosna, el esfuerzo es parte de nuestra ofrenda a Dios.

But giving up a favorite food or beverage can take conscious effort and can be a daily reminder of the Lenten season. Likewise, it takes effort to plan our Friday meals according to the Lenten fast. Tossing a few coins or a paper bill into an alms box can be of little effort and sometimes accomplished without breaking our stride through the demands of daily life. But choosing purposefully a monetary contribution to provide resources for those most in need can be a real effort and part of the gift of sacrifice.

We make heroic efforts out of love. Parents walking with their children through the challenges of growing up, parents walking with their adult children through the challenges of life. People walk with a spouse, family member or friend to their last day on earth. Friends who do us a favor often say, “It was nothing!” Oftentimes, it was hardly nothing and it took a real effort for them to be there for us.

In our relationship with Jesus, we are invited to do more than the bare minimum. We make our sacrifices and efforts out of love and by his example. Nevertheless, the path of Lent is not a solo hike. It is a group effort as a parish and as the whole Church.

Por ejemplo, simplemente orar antes de las comidas requiere poco esfuerzo. El esfuerzo de agregar tiempo en una vida ocupada para orar es parte del don de la oración. Se necesita poco esfuerzo para renunciar a los colinabos cubiertos de chocolate para la Cuaresma. Pero renunciar a una comida o bebida favorita puede requerir un esfuerzo consciente y puede ser un recordatorio diario de la temporada de Cuaresma. Asimismo, requiere esfuerzo planificar nuestras comidas de los viernes de acuerdo con el ayuno de Cuaresma. Lanzar unas cuantas monedas o un billete de papel en una caja de limosnas puede requerir poco esfuerzo y, a veces, lograrlo sin interrumpir nuestro paso por las exigencias de la vida diaria. Pero elegir a propósito una contribución monetaria para proporcionar recursos a los más necesitados puede ser un verdadero esfuerzo y parte del regalo del sacrificio.

Hacemos esfuerzos heroicos por amor. Padres que caminan con sus hijos a través de los desafíos de crecer; padres caminando con sus hijos adultos a través de los desafíos de la vida. La gente camina con su cónyuge, familiar o amigo hasta su último día en la tierra.

If my faith party is just me and Jesus, well, then the Holy Spirit was not invited. The Holy Spirit binds as well as leads.

There are numerous opportunities during the Lenten season to grow in holiness and become more disciplined in living out and giving witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our daily lives. Lent is a time of repentance and conversion, but it is not an automatic withdrawal with little or no thought on our part. Part of our Lenten season is the desire for a deeper understanding of what it really means to be a baptized member of the Church.

As a pilgrim Church, Lent is a walk to Calvary. On our own, even by our efforts in prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we only make it to the foot of the Cross. It is only by the hand of the risen Christ and the Spirit of Pentecost that we are led beyond the shadows of sin and death to become an Easter people.

In our gratitude to God for all that we have been given and in our prayers of thanksgiving for the joy of our faith, whatever our efforts are in this Lenten season, whatever our “walk,” they are part of our gift back to God.

Los amigos que nos hacen un favor suelen decir: “¡No fue nada!”, pero en realidad tomó mucho esfuerzo estar allí. En nuestra relación con Jesús, estamos invitados a hacer más que lo mínimo. Hacemos nuestros sacrificios y esfuerzos por amor y por su ejemplo. Sin embargo, el camino de la Cuaresma no es una caminata en solitario. Es un esfuerzo de grupo como parroquia y como toda la Iglesia. Si mi grupo de fe somos solo Jesús y yo, bueno, entonces el Espíritu Santo no fue invitado. El Espíritu Santo ata y guía. Existen numerosas oportunidades durante la temporada de Cuaresma para crecer en santidad y ser más disciplinados al vivir y dar testimonio del Evangelio de Jesucristo en nuestra vida diaria. La Cuaresma es un tiempo de arrepentimiento y conversión, pero no es un retiro automático con poco o ningún pensamiento de nuestra parte. Parte de nuestra temporada de Cuaresma es el deseo de una comprensión más profunda de lo que realmente significa ser un miembro bautizado de la Iglesia.

Como Iglesia peregrina, la Cuaresma es un camino hacia el Calvario. Solos, incluso con nuestros esfuerzos en la oración, el ayuno y la limosna, solo llegamos al pie de la Cruz. Es solo por la mano de Cristo resucitado y el Espíritu de Pentecostés que somos llevados más allá de las sombras del pecado y de la muerte para convertirnos en un pueblo de Pascua.En nuestra gratitud a Dios por todo lo que se nos ha dado y en nuestras oraciones de acción de gracias por el gozo de nuestra fe, cualesquiera que sean nuestros esfuerzos en esta temporada de Cuaresma, cualquiera que sea nuestro “andar”, son parte de nuestro regalo a Dios.

Official

Archbishop Bernard Hebda has announced the following appointment in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis: Effective February 9, 2023

Bishop-elect Michael Izen, appointed to the office of Vicar General for the Archdiocese. This is in addition to his assignments as parochial administrator of the Church of Saint Charles in Bayport, and as pastor of the Churches of Saint Mary and Saint Michael in Stillwater.

Pope: Synodal and Lenten journeys require effort, sacrifice, focusing on God

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking out new paths to take with Jesus and for avoiding the traps of stagnation or impromptu experimentation, Pope Francis said.

“Jesus is himself the way, and therefore, both in the liturgical journey (of Lent) and in the journey of the synod, the Church does nothing other than enter ever more deeply and fully into the mystery of Christ the savior,” the pope said in his message for Lent, which began Feb. 22 for Latin-rite Catholics.

Released by the Vatican Feb. 17, the text of the pope’s message focused on seeing Lenten penance and the synodal experience both as arduous journeys that lead to the wondrous experience of Christ’s divine light and splendor.

The Gospel accounts of the transfiguration of Christ offer an illustration of this, he said.

Jesus led three of his disciples to Mount Tabor to pray after they failed to understand and accept the reality of his coming passion and death on the cross. On the mountaintop they witnessed his face shine “like the sun” and his clothes become “white as light,” and they heard a voice from a cloud proclaiming Jesus as the “beloved Son” of God. “The disciples’ experience on Mount Tabor was further enriched when, alongside the transfigured Jesus, Moses and Elijah appeared, signifying respectively the law and the prophets,” the pope said.

“The newness of Christ is at the same time the fulfillment of the ancient covenant and promises; it is inseparable from God’s history with his people and discloses its deeper meaning,” he said. “In a similar way, the synodal journey is rooted in the Church’s tradition and at the same time open to newness.”

Therefore, he said, “tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking new paths and for avoiding the opposed temptations of immobility and improvised experimentation.”

“To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity,” the pope said. “We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration,” he said.

“These requisites are also important for the synodal journey which, as a Church, we are committed to making,” the pope said. “During any strenuous mountain trek, we must keep our eyes firmly fixed on the path; yet the panorama that opens up at the end amazes us and rewards us by its grandeur.”