St. John Bosco Bulletin Letter - 1st Sunday of Lent 2017

This letter will appear in the Sunday, March 5 St. John Bosco Parish Sunday Bulletin 

During Lent we are asked to pray, fast and give alms. These are spiritual weapons we are given to help us focus less on ourselves and more on our relationships with God, material things and, others. Prayer unites us to God, fasting teaches us that when we worry less about what we eat or what we wear or what we possess we have more spiritual energy to grow closer to the Lord and look after the needs of others.  Alms giving teaches us to grow in charity and in the sense that the things we have are gifts that are meant to be shared for the good of our neighbor and the Glory of God.

The prophets tell us though that we need to be careful. We can get so caught up in the letter of the law that we forget what the law means. We are, for instance, asked to give up meat on Fridays. While we should be careful not to eat meat on those days, we must remember the spirit in which we give these things up. We are asked not only to abstain from beef, chicken and pork, but to eat more simply.  With the money we save we are asked to give more to the poor, who are the presence of Jesus among us. In this way, prayer, fasting and almsgiving work together to purify our hearts and make us more Christ like. 

The Prophets also tell us that the sacrifice God wants more than anything else is a heart that is poor, contrite and seeks justice.  At the parish we have begun the Carridades de Cristo Recucitado ministry that over sees the food pantry and brings food and other essential materials, like cloths and heaters, to the homeless of our area. We have also restarted our Pastoral Migratoria ministry, and will be hosting events on March 19 – sponsored by the Archdiocese, and March 23 - in cooperation with the Mexican Consulate, to help pass on information regarding immigrant rights as well as offer an opportunity for people to share their worries, hopes and experiences. 

May these traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving help us to grow closer to Jesus. May they purify our hearts that we may serve Him in our brothers and sisters in need.