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Repent and Believe in the Gospel

On Ash Wednesday, many of the parishioners at my pastoral assignment were shocked to know that this was my first time ever giving out ashes! Of course, I had never had the chance before since while I was at the seminary it was always the priests on faculty who distributed the ashes. I presided over our 12 noon Liturgy of the Word and distribution of ashes, which was packed even more than some of our Sunday Masses. While sometimes there might be a tendency to make fun of C.A.P.E. Catholics (Catholics who only come to church only on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, and Easter), I think that their presence on Ash Wednesday shows the universal idea that we are all living our lives imperfectly, that we need to do better, to start anew…

For many Catholics, Lenten promises are a lot like New Year’s Resolutions. We start strong but then, after a few weeks, we have that piece of chocolate that we gave up and our whole Lent is ruined. Now that we are a week into Lent, how can we continue to go strong? I think the secret is realizing why we decided to do our Lenten penance in the first place! Lent does not lead us to Good Friday but to Easter Sunday. Our Lenten penances should end up in the same place; we should realize that they too need to lead us to Easter. During my sermon on Ash Wednesday I joked that the best Lent I ever had was the one where I gave up staying up late… I got a full 8 hours of sleep every day!

So how is Lent going for me? Am I already ready to give up on it or am I still going strong? What do I need to do so that this Lenten season will lead to an ever better Easter? Whether it’s an attitude adjustment or a switch in my penance (yes, that’s allowed if you really need to!), let’s make this Lent the best one yet. I wish each and every one of you a blessed Lent and an ever more blessed Easter.

Father Joshua Nevitt
Father Joshua Nevitt was ordained on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Father Joshua Nevitt

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