One of my Lenten tasks is to sit down with Tommy Butler and the Church Endowment Trustees and get their sense of what things the endowment should fund.  What does it mean to maintain a Catholic presence on Tybee for the next 125 years?  It could mean maintaining buildings but without a vibrant faith community our beautiful little Church could turn into a museum.  It could mean providing funds for clergy to staff the Church, but without a vibrant faith community who would they gather to celebrate the Eucharist and the sacraments?  Do you see where I’m going with this.
 
Without you being active in your faith and passing it on to the next generation, there will be no Catholic presence on Tybee in the future.  So, if you haven’t notice already I am a fairly intense spiritual drill Sargent.  I love our faith community.  I love how so many of you have a sense of ownership and are concerned for the welfare of our parish.  But we can’t rest on our laurels.  We need to deepen our own sense of Christ’s presence with us and then proclaim it to all on this island and all our visitors.
 
Lent begins this Wednesday.  Lent is a time of conversion and a time to deepen one's faith.  Lent is a time to break out of that spiritual inertia that keeps us from truly living as loving disciples of Jesus Christ.   Ash Wednesday is a special day of devotion for Catholics. Churches are packed like no other day except Christmas and Easter. Even though the Church does not designate Ash Wednesday as a holy day of obligation, Catholics flock to receive ashes. Our Ash Wednesday Masses this week will be at 8am (a quick 30 minutes) and 6pm (with music which will make it just a few minutes longer).
 
Along with this outward sign of the beginning of a season of penitence, we embrace the call to conversion that Ash Wednesday heralds.  We greet Lent with the best of intentions. But sometimes, we reach Easter disappointed in our own efforts. Here are some suggestions for keeping us on task during this Lenten season:
 
First, even before Lent gets started, I like the traditional way in which we all too human Catholics get ready for Lent.  We get a little rowdy as we celebrate Mardi Gras, which literally means "Fat Tuesday" in French.  It is good to get the partying out of our system and while I doubt we are as hedonistic as the folks down in New Orleans, I am looking forward to a good time as our faith community celebrates Mardi Gras at 80e on Tuesday night.  The day is also known as Pancake Tuesday.  So if you’re not ready to party hearty with your fellow parishioners, you might consider having pancakes on Tuesday night with the quieter Episcopalians at All Saints. The custom of making pancakes comes from the need in times gone past to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins.
 
Lent no longer has the physical austerity that it once did, so I am hoping that 21st Century Catholics will seriously give themselves to keeping today’s much easier rules of fasting and abstaining from meat.  Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.  The norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal. Two smaller meals may also be taken, but not to equal a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Church from age 14 onwards.
CRS Rice Bowl is one way Catholics can enhance their Lenten fasting practice by giving up meals and donating the cost of those meals to Catholic Relief Services in order to help those who do not have enough to eat.  Please take home a rice bowl today.
 
Making the effort to join a Lenten small group is another traditional way to deepen one’s faith.  I am convinced that our Lenten program Living the Eucharist will lead everyone who participates in it into a more profound experience of the Sunday Mass which is our most important prayer.  The Tuesday night group is full, but there is still room in the Sunday and Monday morning groups.  Contact Margaret Dorroh for details – [email protected]
 
Starting on Wednesday, February 21 ^st at 12;15pm we will pray the stations of the Cross followed by a simple lunch of soup.  This will take place on the Wednesdays of Lent.
 
•Plan ahead. Give thought and prayer to what will most help you draw closer to Jesus during this special season. Write your intentions down, and review them often.
•Keep it simple. Like those folks who sign up for gym memberships on January 1 and give up by January 15, sometimes we approach Lent with too many resolutions. Be realistic and don’t set yourself up for guilt.
•Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the pillars of Lent. Try to do one thing in each of these categories. Stretch yourself a bit and come up with something new and challenging.
•Keep your eyes on Jesus. Coming closer to him through his passion and resurrection is our goal.
 
On the Way Home:  Lent begins this Wednesday.  Remember that this Wednesday and Friday our family will not eat any meat.  What do you plan to do this Lent to draw closer to Jesus?  What can we do as a family to bring a deeper sense of God’s love to our World?

Fr. Jerry Ragan