Month: February 2023

“Dum intramus”: a pastoral epistle for Lent 2023

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Carissimi

As we enter the liturgical season of Lent, we are reminded of our need to prepare for the coming of Easter and the remembrance of Jesus’s death and resurrection. This is a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal.

During this season, I invite you to join me in spending time in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer helps us to draw closer to God and ask for his guidance. Fasting encourages us to purify our hearts and minds of selfishness and greed. Almsgiving helps us to put our faith into action by showing love and compassion towards those who are in need.

We are called to take this season of self-reflection and prayer as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. During this time, we can find solace in prayer and fasting, as well as in acts of charity and kindness. I pray that this Lenten season brings you closer to God and that you experience his peace, love, and joy during this special time.

Let us use this season to turn away from our distractions and focus on the things that matter most: our relationship with God. Let us seek out moments of peace and stillness, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us on our Lenten journey. Recalling the parable of the sower and the seed, may we sow the seeds of faith, hope, and love in our hearts this season.

Let us also remember that we are not alone on this journey, but part of a larger community of believers. Let us take comfort in the support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let us come together often for Mass, in prayer, to pray the rosary, in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, praying the Stations of the Cross in love and support as we strive to grow closer to God, and may we all find new strength for the journey ahead.

Lent is a time of repentance, a time to turn away from the things which lead us away from God and towards a right relationship with Him. Use the sacrament of penance as often as you need to, to find healing and restoration to grace. Lent is a time to seek reconciliation with God, and with one another. Let us practice mercy and forgiveness toward others as much as we seek it for ourselves. May we all find in this season of Lent a time of spiritual renewal and transformation.

We are called to prayer and fasting, to give up things which we find difficult and to take on the challenge of living a life of holiness. We are reminded of Jesus’ example of obedience and service. Let us follow in His footsteps and make this season a time of spiritual growth and renewal. Let us spend this season of Lent reflecting on our own lives and discerning what we are called to do in order to draw closer to God.

As we take on the disciplines of Lent, may we also take on the spirit of Jesus, of humility, of repentance, of love and of service. May these practices lead us to a deeper relationship with God and a greater understanding of His love. Remembering His mercy and compassion let us open our hearts to Him and allow Him to be fully a part of our lives.

May we also make time to be with those around us, to love and support one another during this season. Encouraging one another to true devotion and Christian living. Let us enable conversion around us of both hearts and minds by our example. Let us use this Lenten season as an opportunity to grow in our faith so that we can fully embrace the joy of Easter when it arrives!

May we all be renewed and strengthened by God’s grace as we journey through Lent to discern and carry out His will. May our Lenten journey bring us closer to the resurrection joy of Easter morning.

With my prayers for you all for a holy and restoring Lent,

I.X.

Brichtelmestunensis
Feria IV Cinerum MMXXIII A.D.

Oremus

Deus, qui Ecclésiam tuam ánnua quadragesimáli observatióne puríficas: præsta famíliæ tuæ; ut, quod a te obtinére abstinéndo nítitur, hoc bonis opéribus exsequátur. Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen

O God, You Who purify Your Church by the yearly Lenten observance, grant to Your household that what they strive to obtain from You by abstinence, they may achieve by good works. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

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