Spring Training For the Soul

I do not believe in Groundhogs! Actually, I accept the fact that Groundhogs exist, but I put no credence in any particular power of Groundhogs as meteorologists in predicting an early spring!!  For me, a much more trustworthy sign of the approach of spring is the departure of  the Red Sox equipment truck from Fenway Park to Fort Meyers as a promise that Spring Training draws near.
 
Ash Wednesday this year coincided not only with Valentine’s Day, but also with the opening day of  Red Sox Spring Training. This is appropriate since Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of Lent and the word Lent is derived from the Latin word for " spring.”  Lent is a virtual Spring Training for the Soul.  Just as the Red Sox are  in Fort Myers getting in shape for the beginning of a new baseball season, so we are challenged during Lent to “get in spiritual shape” for the Easter renewal of our commitment to our Christian faith rooted in Baptism.
 
Our lives are punctuated by regular “new beginnings” that offer us a sense of making successive “fresh starts” along the course of our life journey. New Years Day always represents a “fresh beginning” as we embark upon a new year with stolid resolutions that will set our lives on course to become the people that we want to be. 
 
Lent represents one of those “fresh start” moments as we receive the ashes on our foreheads that denote our commitment to another “new beginning” in our determination to become the persons that God has created us to be. The Catholic Church recommends three time-honored disciplines for the Lenten Season:

· Prayer
· Sacrifice
· Charity

These are the spiritual disciplines that should direct our decisions concerning “What will I do for Lent this year?” Certainly, Daily Mass during Lent holds a priority place in the commitment to increased prayer during Lent. We published on the cover of last week’s bulletin the schedule of Daily Masses during Lent at all the churches in our area. If you work in downtown Boston, you might also look into the Daily Mass schedule at Saint Anthony’s Shrine on Arch Street or Saint Francis Chapel at the Prudential Center.  LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro offers a number of Masses at staggered times during the day. For the ‘early birds’ the Trappistine  Nuns at Saint Mary’s Abbey at 300 Arnold Street in Wrentham welcome you to their 7:15 Daily Mass each morning.

Sacrifices during Lent might be coupled with charity as we “give up” something we enjoy and apply the monetary value of that sacrifice as almsgiving to some charity. The Rice Bowls  from Catholic Relief Services at Saint Mary Parish and the  Baby Bottles at Saint Martha have traditionally provided a convenient way for people to set aside the money from their sacrificial acts that will then serve to alleviate the needs of the poor. You might also want to consider donations to the Saint Vincent de Paul Societies in our parishes as they assist families in our community who are facing times of financial challenge.  
 
The center-point of our Lenten Season at Saint Martha Parish and Saint Mary Parish  will be the   Lenten Mission that will take place   March 5,6,7  (Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday) at  7:30 p.m. at Saint Mary Church.  We will be blessed by the charismatic preaching of Father Michael Della Penna, a Franciscan Friar originally from the North End, who will travel from his mission in Guatemala to invite us to a deepened experience of God’s mercy. We will be challenged during the Lenten Mission to carve some time out of our busy schedules for God. It will be like a mini-camp for spiritual reconditioning. Please mark your calendars now and set aside these dates as a graced opportunity during this Lenten Season.
 
As major league baseball players need to return to the fundamentals of the game during spring training, so we need during Lent to return to the fundamentals of our faith!