Dear St. Rita Parishioners,
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). We are entering upon the holy season of Lent, in which we prepare ourselves more intentionally for the celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord. This time is privileged for us Catholics, because the whole focus of the Church is powerfully lifted from this earth to the heavenly realm. Our Lenten penances, which to outsiders seem archaic and, in a pejorative sense, medieval, are rather means of expressing our love for God, since by them we both acknowledge the futility of this life and share in the Passion of Christ on the Cross.
It was Christ’s Passion that not only witnessed God’s Love for the world, but also that brought about in truth the world’s salvation. When we share with Jesus the tiny portion of the Cross which He in His generous Love permits us to experience, He makes us co-redeemers with Himself. His Body, of which you are a member by your Baptism, has been given for the sake of the whole world, and so when you suffer with Christ by means of your crosses and penances, His Body is suffering still for the sake of the whole world!
Every culture under the sun offers (and has offered) sacrifice in hopes of obtaining God’s favor. Even persons that do not believe in God as we do make sacrifices for the sake of their respective highest goods, which we would call idols. St. Paul, quoted at the beginning of this message, has invited us to make of ourselves a sacrifice to God in union with and in imitation of Christ Himself. His One Sacrifice was eminently acceptable to God, since it was the first fruits – the best – of what humanity had to offer, reminiscent of the sacrifice of Abel. In addition, it was given freely and in total, selfless Love of God and of neighbor. When we offer our own sacrifices by the grace and power of Christ’s Sacrifice, we are conformed to that total, selfless Love.
This Lent, I invite you to embrace Christ’s Sacrifice in your penances. I invite you to enter into your penances wholeheartedly and with great love. I invite you to persevere in them without failing, all the way to Easter. Your Divine Redeemer longs for you, for your own sake, not His. Indeed, He longs for all of His children, especially those who are lost. In love of Him, then, offer your penances for the conversion of sinners, especially those who live in the boundaries of St. Rita. Make a concerted effort to drink deeply of the crosses that you are permitted, especially during this time of Lent. I am firmly convinced that if we, as a parish, offer ourselves for the conversion of souls by means of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, then by Easter we will see the fruits of our laboring in the vineyard of the Lord. All for Our Lord. All for the salvation of souls!
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen