Editor’s note: Ash Wednesday is Feb. 6

I wish to greet all the people of Northeast Ohio with the prayerful hope that this coming Lenten season will deepen our faith in the love of our Crucified and Risen Savior and transform our hearts in the power of His Resurrection. This year we find ourselves preparing for Lent so soon after the holy and beautiful days of Christmas. However, such an early date for Easter reminds us that it was precisely for Good Friday and Easter that the holy babe of Bethlehem was born. As you will recall, the Lord said at his baptism “this must be done that righteousness may be achieved.” Such righteousness is best understood as a proper, life-giving relationship with Almighty God. It is that relationship that was ruptured by our ancestors of old which Jesus came to repair. As the angel said to Joseph, “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” He came to pay a debt which he did not owe because we are unable to repay a debt we do owe.

The Lenten journey calls for us to give our very best for one singular reason, that is, a closer relationship with Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that the story of God’s love for us may be eternally fulfilled in us ...

To prepare ourselves for the beautiful feast of the Redemption won for us by Jesus Christ, the Church, over many centuries, has developed the Lenten discipline whereby we are able to prepare ourselves fittingly for the celebration of the victory of grace over sin, light over darkness, and life over death.
All of us from our youth have memories of Lent as a special time of devotion, spiritual awakening, and pious dedication. Lent was and remains a season that with all of its seriousness and starkness gets down to what is really important in our lives: a returning to God. This relationship with God is built upon a path, a way of Christian discipleship rooted in the ancient ascetical discipline of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and as so beautifully recommended by our late Holy Father Pope Paul VI, acts of charity towards our neighbor. Lent, then, is a type of “school of holiness” that trains our hearts and minds in a return to the Lord.
Lent is best seen then as a time, a process, a journey that is meant to prepare us for a quality celebration of Jesus’ love for us as celebrated in the Sacred Triduum (Great Three Days of Easter). In order for Lent to be this special time of formation and faith we must prepare for it. Without preparation we might just slip into Lent unfit for what the journey calls, in fact demands. I am grateful to be able to write this article a week and a half before Lent for it provides you and me the opportunity to use wisely these days in anticipation of the great 40 days in order to dutifully prepare for this significant journey that we are about to take up. Each of us needs to seriously plan for and commit ourselves to what will be our Lenten practice and participation.
The Lenten journey calls for us to give our very best for one singular reason, that is, a closer relationship with Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that the story of God’s love for us may be eternally fulfilled in us, that is, union with God forever. While that goal and the Lenten call are very personal they are hardly private or individual. This Lenten time is meant to be lived not only with personal conviction and devotion but also in and with the community of the Faithful. Our Savior was born and died to save each of us as member of His Body. In our baptism we were born to everlasting life, a life that is communion with God and others. Both the personal and communal aspects of our salvation must be deepened through our devotion, prayer, and sacrifice throughout Lent.
For this reason, the next 40 days of the many activities, devotions, liturgies, and formation opportunities that are provided by our parishes should be supported by our presence and enthusiasm. We are the Body of Christ, incarnate human beings, and we know that showing up and actually practicing and living our faith is essential to living faithfully. This is never more true than during a time like Lent. Participation in local parish and cluster Lenten activities provide us wonderful opportunities to live a full and deep Catholic life. This participation also will be an act of faith and charity giving witness and support to our brothers and sisters who share our journey of faith and an opportunity to be strengthened in our faith lives by their witness and participation.
It is my prayer that this Lent be a graceful moment for the entire household of the faith of the Diocese of Cleveland. By our Lenten discipline, may each person and all people be united with one another as we come to celebrate the great feast of Easter as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” May this unity and faith be not only for ourselves but so that God’s Kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven according to God’s plan. May God bless you all.