Last Sunday, we celebrated Mass on the anniversary of Fr. Schleicher’s death—February 23, 2010.  I jokingly remarked that one thing he faithfully did was get away on vacation.  He would go to Florida and even golf while down there.  In an effort to continue tradition, I did just that the week before last 😊.  While traveling can be stressful, there is usually a guaranteed moment of peace while on the golf course.  However, it didn’t take long to realize I wasn’t in good shape to play the game.  After the first day, I realized if I was going to get ready for golf season in a couple months, I needed to go to the gym and strengthen my core.  By actually golfing, I was able to see what needed worked on.

The same is true as we approach the season of Lent.  As we grow in our spiritual lives, we need to pray for that awareness of what needs to be worked on and improved upon in our lives.  Often, we are blind to these realities.  Take a moment each day and ask the Lord to illuminate your mind and heart to be aware of the areas you need to focus on during Lent.

In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus speaks about blindness…“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”  Sometimes, we can be distracted by the sins or struggles of others without taking a moment to focus on our own struggles.   In this time of Lent, this time of renewal, enter into your life anew and treat yourself with care and compassion, with gentleness and love.  And little by little, you can grow in faith and virtue.

Pope Francis once wrote, “Sin is a blindness of the spirit, which prevents us from seeing what is most important, from fixing our gaze on the love that gives us life. This blindness leads us little by little to dwell on what is superficial, until we are indifferent to others and to what is good.”  Help us to see what is most important in life, Lord…open our eyes to You, to what really matters in life.

God bless your Lent,
Fr. Jeremy

P.S. Please take an honest look at our Lenten opportunities.  Make an effort to come to our Parish Mission Series and welcome back our sons of the parish with great love.