Dear Parishioners and Visitors,
Lent is forty days long because Jesus fasted in the wilderness forty days and forty nights before embarking on his public ministry. But Jesus did not select the length of his fast at random. Throughout the Old Testament, a stretch of forty days (or years) has always carried a deep meaning often related to punishment, penance, and/or preparation. When the time came for Jesus to begin his public ministry, he utilized this tradition. His time in the desert—reminiscent of the Israelites’ forty- year sojourn—proffers the idea that he is deliberately taking on the punishment due to our faithlessness, which otherwise would keep us away from the Promised Land of Heaven. Lent is our great opportunity to enter into the desert with Christ. Do you have a plan for how to approach these days and gain the incredible graces they offer us?
With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney