My dear parishioners and visitors;
Giving up SIN for Lent!
Our Lenten season of 40 days, (without counting Sundays), begins every year on Ash Wednesday and ends on the eve of Wednesday of the Holy Week. Lent is always special times to purify ourselves to commemorate, to celebrate and to participate fully in the paschal mystery of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We all know so well our traditional Lenten practices: praying, fasting and almsgiving. I do hope that we are faithfully and joyfully doing it. During Lent many of us give up something: a favorite food, sweet, dessert, TV show, movies or video games. Some of us concentrate on doing and offering a good service to others: visiting the sick, helping the poor or changing our lifestyle, our ways of thinking. These are good things and works to do and can help us to grow in holiness and into a good personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us.
Perhaps you have decided what to give up and to do for this Lent. However I would like to ask all of us seriously giving up a bad attitude, a bad habit, a negative thinking and more important giving up SIN for Lent. Giving up SIN for Lent by saying NO to temptations as Jesus did in the gospel for this 1st Sunday of Lent (Mk 1: 12-15).
When you are tempted to think and to make earthly created things as the only things in life and as the only priority of your life. Please remember that there is more in life than these earthly created things. Lent is times to open your life to God, who is our Wonderful Creator and Powerful Sustainer.
When you are tempted to seek for earthly powers and fame for your own selfish, vain and foolish ambitions and worship it as your own God. Please remember that all Glory and Honour is from and for God and worship Him only.
When you are tempted to gain and to achieve status and power by working with evil ways and means. Please remember to live rightly, to serve generously and to work justly and honestly with others and for others.
Have a good week and a blessed Lenten season.
Fr. Peter Hoan Nguyen.