Lent is just two and a half weeks away. Now is the time to start thinking about it. We want to be sure that this will be a sacred season and that we’ll grow in our lives of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As I mentioned in last week’s column, we are planning on offering Adoration with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the daily Mass chapel on Wednesday of Lent from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. We will need at least two people committed to be here each hour on Wednesdays. There is an electronic sign-up on the very top of our parish website homepage, stcharlesfortwayne.org. We will also have sign-up sheets in the back of church beginning this weekend. I encourage those who are able to choose an hour for each Wednesday of Lent.
Another Lenten prayer suggestion: I have been told that the podcast “The Rosary in a Year” has been a great way to deepen the life of prayer. It is produced by Ascension Press and easy to find on the internet. There is a ten- or fifteen-minute presentation each day and you can start and stop whenever that works for you. Another good idea for Lent.
Finally, as almsgiving is an important part of the spiritual journey of Lent, I would commend two different projects in our parish this year. First, the Rice Bowl. This is the effort of Catholic Relief Service to help with charities around the world. Many of us will remember the little cardboard rice bowls from our childhood. We will be distributing them again this year at St. Charles. A second effort we would like to highlight: Cross Catholic Outreach is an organization which is focused on drilling wells to provide clean water in remote parts of Africa. We are going to work with Cross Catholic Outreach this Lent to see if our parish can build a well or two. More information will follow.
