With Lent less than one week away, I’d like to invite you to allow this Lenten season to nourish you as we continue dealing with the pandemic and this time of divisiveness in our country. Lent is a season that leads us to the renewal of our baptismal promises that we proclaim on Easter Day. It is precisely these promises, of the baptismal covenant, that give me hope for the present journey we walk together. Perhaps this Lent could be a time for you to sit with, and reflect upon, the five questions of the Baptismal Covenant by taking one of the questions each week of the Lenten season. Begin the week by reading the promise for that week and reflecting upon its meaning and then moving toward an engagement with the promise to see how it is alive in your life. The questions are:
- Will you continue in the apostle’s teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
- Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
- Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
- Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
- Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I invite you to watch a video about Lent offered by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. In the video, he offers a bit of historical background and renewed understanding of Lent’s meaning for us. May this Lent be a season leading us to new possibilities.
– Fr. George
