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Dear Friends in Christ,
As we slog through the final weeks of winter, there are reminders that spring is coming. One of them is the annual “Spring training” for professional baseball teams. Our Seattle Mariners gather in sunny Peoria, Arizona, at the end of February through March to prepare for the coming regular season. Many folks in our area journey to Arizona to offer their support. Could this be our World Series year???
This coming Wednesday, March 5th, the church begins the season of Lent, which has been called the “Spring Training of the Christian Life.” Like major league baseball players, it is a time to drill on the basics of living a Christlike life. This coming Ash Wednesday, March 5th, we will receive ashes and be encouraged to “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel.” The “Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving” disciplines help us get into spiritual shape in anticipation of the great feast of Easter, our rebirth into Christ’s risen life. I encourage everyone to consider how you will give more time and attention to these Lenten practices. Check the schedule of various opportunities in our family of parishes.
I especially ask us all to seriously commit to the discipline of almsgiving through our Lenten Rice Bowl Program. Money raised through the Rice Bowl Program traditionally supports the important work of Catholic Relief Services, CRS. This year, the need is particularly urgent, as CRS has recently lost hundreds of millions of dollars in grants that the Federal Government has slashed in its USAID program. Those cuts have seriously compromised CRS's ability to offer international aid to those in need. Please consider giving up some of your frequent creature comforts and offering the money to the CRS Rice Bowl Program this Lent.
A blessed and grace-filled Lent to all!
Fr. William Heric, Pastor
