4th Sunday of Lent
21 March 2004
Dear Friends in Christ,
Lent is a privileged time for conversion, and this is true for all Catholics: those baptized as infants, those received as adults, those who drifted away and have returned to the Church. In each and all of us the voice of Jesus is speaking, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15). Such conversion is the radical reorientation of one’s life, and it is an essential part of following the Lord Jesus – of becoming, of being, and of remaining a disciple of Christ.
For those coming into full communion with the Church, the culmination of this process is the Vigil of Easter, called by St. Augustine the ’Mother of all Vigils’. During the night before Easter Sunday, the whole Plan of Salvation is unfolded from the lighting of the New Fire through the Old Testament Lessons to the proclamation of the Gospel of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In the midst of this glory, the Sacrament of Baptism is celebrated for the first time since Ash Wednesday, and many who were already baptized into Christ but outside of the visible communion of the Church will be received as our brethren by their profession of faith. The Vigil of Easter is the heart of the liturgical year, and I invite all to share in this extraordinary moment of prayer and praise.
For those who are already Catholics, the constant work of ongoing conversion takes place in the Sacrament of Penance. By confessing our sins and receiving absolution, we receive the grace of forgiveness and the restoration of baptismal innocence. On Wednesday March 24th at St. Mary Magdalene Church on Woodruff Road and on Monday March 29th at Prince of Peace Church on Brushy Creek Road, the Sacrament of Penance will be celebrated by many confessors at 7:00 pm. Receiving the sacramental forgiveness of the Lord Jesus in this way is the best possible preparation for Easter.
Finally, the story of one’s conversion can be of use to others seeking to follow Christ, and we should all learn to speak with honest humility about how Jesus called us to follow Him. On Monday March 29th at 8:00 pm, I will speak of my own conversion on EWTN during the program call The " Home. I hope that my experience of the Lord’s grace may be of some use to you as you seek to respond to the invitation of Christ: Repent, and believe in the Gospel.
Father Newman