Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy March! Can you believe that we are only three weeks away from Easter? We are now more than half-way through Lent. We need to all stay strong in our Lenten commitments and sacrifices. Don’t give up now!

Once again, I’d like to thank the men of the Holy Name Society, who this week tackled pasta and pizza, serving up another wonderful Lenten meal for all of us. The past two fish fries have been wonderful, but I’ve got to tell you guys, this past Friday night was awesome! Kudos go to Joe Domina and Chip McLean and all the guys for a super job. The food was great, the company was the best, and never ever was it easier to go without meat on a Lenten Friday than this past Friday night. Thanks, guys!

In the past couple weeks our community has really been rocked by an awful lot. There seems to be so much negative going on. There are many very good people who are suffering in our midst – from grief, from troubled marriages, from sins of the past, from sickness, from worry about our kids, and many other things. We pray for one another. These are not easy days for a lot of people. Once again we are reminded that there really truly is a war going on between God and Satan, and that it is time for us to pick a side and hang on tight. God is winning. That has been so evident here at St. Maria Goretti with the new church, the growing numbers, and successful Parish Lenten Mission. But where God has scored great victories, the devil cannot just sit back and let people get holy. He is going to do his absolute best to get us off track, to get us not to believe, even when the miracles have taken place right in front of our eyes. My brothers and sisters, we are under attack. Just as Jesus was in the desert during the first Lent two-thousand years ago, so too now are we challenged by the same devil. Jesus won the war on the cross. We know how this story is going to end. And yet, now, daily, is our time to decide if we are going to stay on the winning side, or be deceived into falling on to the losing side. The devil, as the ultimate sore-loser, wants to take as many souls with him to Hell as possible. We cannot believe the lies. Our eyes deceive us. The media deceives us. Our society deceives us. God is real. His love is real. His Kingdom is a reality. This is the truth that we must cling to with every ounce of our being!

How do we do this? We do it by being people of prayer. Prayer keeps us connected with God. We need to be praying constantly. One of my favorite examples of what true prayer is supposed to be, comes from the musical/ movie “Fiddler on the Roof”. In the story, Tevye, the father in the story, is in a constant, non-stop dialogue with Yahweh. He talks to God at work. He talks to God at home. He talks to God about the serious things. He talks to God about the trivial things. He talks to God when things are going well. And he talks to God when things are a mess. That’s the way that we are supposed to pray! If we relegate prayer to only those few moments in our lives when we get around to saying pious words to God, don’t you think God is going to wonder where we are the rest of the time? We need to pray constantly. We need to make our lives a prayer to God.

Also, we need to use the Sacraments. As Catholics, we are so blessed to have the secret weapons for staying on Christ’s side : the Sacraments! Going to Mass, going to Reconciliation, receiving the Anointing of the Sick, are all awesome aides to our commitment and perseverance. This coming Tuesday, we will have our Lenten Communal penance service at 7:00 PM in church. I know that many of us received the Sacrament of Reconciliation last week at the mission. But there are still many in the Parish who have not yet taken care of this, this Lent. Easter is quickly approaching. We all need to hit Reconciliation before Easter. Next Tuesday evening is the perfect opportunity, as there will be several priests of the Deanery with us to help us celebrate the Sacrament. If you haven’t gone yet, come and join us on Tuesday night. It will keep you strong during tough times.

Pray this weekend for the guys on the Christ Renews His Parish weekend. I love these weekends. It is so easy to see God at work in the Christ Renews His Parish process. Let us thank God for our blessings!

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin