Dear Friends,
The days of Lent are passing very quickly. As we enter this fifth week of Lent, the week before Holy Week, you will notice something rather striking, rather stark, in our churches. The statues have been veiled in purple cloth. They have been hidden from our sight. This custom was quite common in the Church of yesterday, when on Passion Sunday (what we now call the Fifth Sunday of Lent), the traditional Gospel reading told of a confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish religious authorities centered on the question of who Jesus is. At the end of the story, his opponents we are told “picked up rocks to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.” This reference to Jesus hiding himself is an allusion to the fact that, as the Gospels tell us, during most of his final days on earth before his death, Jesus remained out of sight away from the crowds.
For us, this veiling of the statues should signal that something important is on the horizon. Something significant is about to be revealed to us, and that is to be found ironically in Christ crucified. As the preface prayed at Mass during this week proclaims, “For through the saving Passion of your Son the whole world has received a heart to confess the infinite power of your majesty, since by the wondrous power of the Cross, your judgment on the world is now revealed and the authority of Christ crucified.” We veil images of saints, but leave the crucifix unveiled to direct our focus where it properly should be in these next days of Lent: on the Cross of Christ, an instrument of suffering, death and shame in the eyes of the world, but for us, the ultimate sign of God’s goodness, power, and love for us all. This is made all the clearer when we reflect on the prayer we use at the Stations of the Cross: “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.” May we take some time during these waning days of Lent to meditate on the Cross of Christ, which represents the price of our salvation and the ength to which God would go to save us all.
Fr. Lijo and I are making ourselves particularly available in these next two weeks to visit those who are homebound and unable to get out to church. We would be happy to hear confessions, offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and bring Communion. Please contact the rectory so that we can set up a time to come for a visit.
Finally, one of the essential parts of a worthy celebration of Lent is to take the time to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To that end, I remind everyone that we are available to hear confessions for two hours each week and that there are two additional hours for confessions scheduled for Holy Saturday morning at St. Agnes. Of course, either Fr. Lijo or myself would be most happy to hear confessions by appointment if the regularly scheduled hours do not work with you. Just call the rectory (203) 878-3571 to make an appointment with either one of us.
Have a good week!