We welcome Fr. Henry Slawinski, professor at the University of John Paul II in Kraków, Poland, who will lead our parish Lenten mission. Kraków is the town of Kings and Saints and the place where Cardinal Karol Wojtyla served as archbishop before he was elected pope. It is also the place connected with the life of Saint Sister Faustina and where her grave is located.
Fr. Slawinski will be preaching at all the weekend Masses on Saturday, February 14 and Sunday, February 15, with an additional talk at 5 pm on Sunday, February 15. He will continue his service here on Ash Wednesday and the following Thursday and Friday. Let’s take advantage of this special gift to our parish as we begin our Lenten journey.
On Ash Wednesday, February 18, the entire Catholic Church and other Christians begin Lent. We invite you to come to the church that day to listen to the Word of God and pray. The priest will make a sign of the cross with ashes on our foreheads as a mark of penitence, fasting and a remembrance that we, and the material world, are temporal: we are ashes. We will hear one of the two formulas that perfectly reveal the existential and theological message of that day: “Remember, you are dust and into dust you shall return” and “Repent and believe in the Gospel”. Both texts originate from the Bible: the first from the Book of Genesis 3:19 and the second from the Gospel of Mark 1:15.
Let’s keep this visible mark of ashes for the entire day: during school, shopping, meetings, commuting, working and even in the evening. It will be a testimony for us, for family members – especially children – and others. This sign should pierce our minds and our hearts, and compel us to imitate Jesus.
Ash Wednesday and Lent give us an extraordinary opportunity and incentive to meditate on our life, evaluate it, and make proper and necessary changes to it. To be sure, these exercises, practices, meditation and personal actions should always be undertaken and executed in connection with the messages of salvation. These exercises are not self-therapy or ascetic actions meant only to enhance or correct our ego. Instead, they must constitute a part of the divine plan that starts here on earth and has its continuation in everlasting life.
This year, we invited all children attending Religious Education classes to participate in burning the dried palms that we used on Palm Sunday. The children were excited to see the palms disappearing in the fire and becoming ashes. Even small children are called to grow in goodness and to reject bad things. They also must be reminded that no one will live on this earth forever since God created us for eternity, and the ashes are the ancient biblical sign of this truth.
With open minds and hearts, we can enter Lent with a strong determination to come closer to the truth of the Gospel, and with a strong conviction that God will guide us on our journey.
Fr. Mark Jurzyk