February 22, 2004

The fascination with exercise clubs, health regimens, and fad diets may be helpful and certainly seems a permanent part of the social scene. The Forty Days of Lent are a vastly more important chance to get body and soul together in working order. I fear that our soft society has nibbled away at the gift of Lenten austerity. The seriousness with which we take penance is a measure of the seriousness with which we take our dignity as sons and daughters of God.

Everything we do should have a purpose, and the goal of Lent is to become better stewards of all that God's grace has given us, so that we might delight more in Him and live with Him forever. This Lent may be one of the most important in the history of the world, for rarely have the forces of good and evil engaged each other in such conspicuous combat. All the failures of Christians will be matched in these Forty Days by strong reminders of the glory of Christ's passion and resurrection. The media are anxious to exploit the sins of sinners, even while they advocate the very sins they claim to find shocking; and simultaneously do unfriendly observers try to mute the voice of Christ. I think, for example, of the criticisms of the new Mel Gibson film about the Passion. It is astonishing, but unconvincing, to hear Hollywood filmmakers objecting to graphic depictions of violence. An industry that mocks love finds the love of God for us pornographic.

I propose that we add a special intention to our Lent this year: the reform and renewal of the Church. All that is corrupt should be wiped away and grace should abound. To this end, I have placed in our church a statue of St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests. It is modeled on the statue in his French parish of Ars, carved by Cabuchet, and it stands in our church as a memorial to all the priests who have served this parish. Pray to the Curè d'Ars for all priests and for an increase of priestly vocations. Vianney stands beneath Our Lady, for he always turned to her. Light many candles there and say this prayer:

Holy John Vianney, parish priest of Ars, through many difficulties you were ordained to the Holy Priesthood. Hear my prayers for the priests of the Church throughout the world, and especially for the priests of this archdiocese and parish. Accept my sacrifices, moral and material, for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. By your intercessions may worthy young men hear Christ's call to follow Him and be ordained to preach the Gospel and to celebrate the Holy Sacraments, so that through their anointed lives many may see their Saviour and follow Him to Heaven. Amen.

Fr. George W. Rutler