ÿþ<html> <head> <title>Lent Can Heal Our Brokeness</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../stylesheet.css" media="screen"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor= "silver" background="../lt_grey.jpg" lang="EN-US" link="#666600" vlink="#666600" alink="#666600" class="normal"> <p class="pagehead">Lent Can Heal Our Brokeness</p> <p>Dear Friends, <p>Somewhere in the distant lands of the east there is a group of craftsmen known for the large earthen urns they create. Like other pottery, they are formed, fired in a kiln, hand-painted and glazed. The urns which stand three to four feet tall are truly works of art. Yet when they are finished the craftsman takes a mallet and breaks the urn into hundreds of pieces. Then begins the painstaking process of putting the urn back together again like a jigsaw puzzle. Every piece is fitted and glued. The finished product is even more beautiful than before it was broken. The brokeness offers a special beauty because the glue which holds the pieces together is made of gold. What was once an ordinary, beautiful urn has now been transformed from its broken state to a whole new one that is extraordinarily beautiful and far more precious. Our own brokeness can also be healed and transformed through the power of God's love so that we become a new creation. This is the journey and the promise of Lent. <p>Just as Jesus entered the desert for 40 days after his baptism in order to reflect on his mission, so also do we spend 40 days every year in the season of Lent and recall our identity as Jesus' disciples in the world today. The journey that we make together during this season will lead us again to the dawn of a new Easter and the hope of new life coming forth from sin and death. We hear the Lord's call in a special way during Lent as we repent and pray, fast and give alms. Jesus calls each of us to be his voice, his hands, his feet and his ears for one another. Jesus calls us to share his love with the world. <p>As we move through Lent and prepare for Holy Week and Easter, I invite and encourage you to attend our Lenten Mission with St. Anne's and St. Mary of the Hills on Monday, April 3  Wednesday, April 5. This year's mission, Come Encounter Jesus, will be led by Fr. Cedric Pisegna, C.P., a Passionist priest from Houston, Texas who preaches retreats and missions throughout the U.S. The mission will be a time of renewal and God's special grace for all of us. <p>Join us as well at the end of this week on Friday, April 7 for a very special Tenebrae Service, The Shadow of the Cross. The choirs of St. Anne s and St. Mary of the Hills will join our own choir in this contemporary musical setting of narrative and song that focus on the final hours of Jesus' life and crucifixion. It will remind us of the magnitude of God's love, a love so great that it continues through all time and eternity. Then we will be prepared to celebrate the liturgies of Holy Week. As we unite ourselves with Jesus in his suffering, cross and death, we hope to rise anew at Easter and be transformed by the life of Christ's Resurrection. <p>May you experience God's healing and forgiving love in a powerful way this Lent. <p>Fr. Michael Rose <!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup" startspan ALT="Site Meter" --> <a href="http://s10.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=s10stmarysparish" target="_top"> <img src="http://s10.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=s10stmarysparish" alt="Site Meter" width="1" height="1" border=0></a> <!--WEBBOT bot="HTMLMarkup" Endspan --> </p> </body> </html>