Today is the first Sunday of the lenten season. We all know that Lent is all about crawfish boils, fish frys, and other seafood delights. I think we should be required to eat meat on Fridays during Lent, rather than to give it up. That would be more of a sacrifice for us in this part of the world. Because of all of this we tend to lose focus on why we do these things. Why do we give up meat during Lent? Why do we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? For the sake of space I’ll provide two answers to why we do this.
As we enter into the Seventh week of Ordinary Time, our Gospel instructs us, “Be perfect, just as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” There are many lessons that we can learn from this week’s Gospel. Jesus calls us to love others, and to do good for one another. In our readings, we see that Jesus not only calls us be His disciples, but to draw us near to him. He is calling us to a deeper relationship with Him.
Mardi Gras is less than two weeks away. It’s a great time for family and friends to enjoy time together. Even if parades and costumes isn’t your thing it still provides us with an opportunity to pause from our usual routine.
I would like to write about Saint Mary MacKillop, because she was, and is, an example for us to honor God in our daily lives. Born in Melbourne, Australia in 1842, Mary MacKillop was the eldest of eight children. She found inspiration in the words of Jesus, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt. 22:37-39).