The Church’s liturgical calendar is structured around seasons which flow from Advent and Christmas through Epiphany and into Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, followed by the long period of Ordinary Time, and then back once again to Advent. Each season has its own character and its own themes. One of the gifts which comes with paying attention to such a calendar of seasons is the opportunity to really immerse ourselves in the themes. The truth is that we may or may not be experiencing the realities represented by the various seasons when the season is occurring. The joy of Christmas may not be ours at that moment. The wonder of Epiphany may not resonate with where we find ourselves on January 6th. The notions of sacrifice and reflection which present themselves during Lent may seem foreign to us. But the seasons allow us to “try them on” and take them for a “test drive”, so that when we do find ourselves in such circumstances we will have some spiritual resources available to us which can be brought to bear.
On February 26th we will once again enter the season of Lent, which is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) preceding Easter. It is the season which offers us the chance to explore some of the “darker” aspects of life – sacrifice, loss, suffering, betrayal, grief, etc. I hope you will take the opportunity to allow this season to be a time of spiritual exploration and growth as together we discover what it means to be people of faith even in challenging times.
- Pastor Roger
(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)
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