St. Pius Catholic Church

    Today is the last day of February as well as the Second Sunday of Lent, which means we are already ¼ of the way through the Forty days.  It also means that we are just three weeks away from the first day of Spring.  Time flies and as it does so we are reminded to make the best of every minute.  May your Lent be a time of blessing!
    Because this is a time of blessing, the First Preface of Lent states that this is a “joyful season.”  ‘Joyful’ seems to be an odd adjective to use to describe Lent until we realize how that same adjective is used in the prayer immediately after the Lord’s Prayer.  There it says, “protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”  This season is joyful because it is a season of hope.
    Each morning in the last week as I crossed the parking lot to celebrate the early Mass I’ve heard birds, cardinals I think, singing in the tops of trees.  They’ve reminded me of a line from a poem by Douglas Malloch. “Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing – On his darkest day he believes in Spring.”  Their song is joyful because it is full of hope, and our Lent should be joyful because it is full of hope.
    Our hope is a lot more than just wishful thinking.  Our hope comes from a conviction of faith.  We hope in the Resurrection. 
    For the bird awaiting the end of winter, spring can be found in the extra minute of daylight each day, in the swelling buds on some of the trees and in those crocus and daffodils that lie just beneath the snow.  For us Christians, the Resurrection can be found in the dying and rising of someone laying down his/her life for a friend, in one more day of sobriety for the alcoholic and in the moment of reconciliation between spouses after a disagreement.
    Lent is joyful when the Resurrection is not something we wait for on Easter or on the last day of our earthly lives.  Lent is joyful when we really believe what we say at Mass, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”  Lent is joyful when we recognize and affirm the Resurrection at every moment in our lives.  Knowing Christ lives is not only the joy of Lent, it’s the motive for Lent.  It’s the blessing of Lent.
                                    Mike Schaab, Pastor