This year our school’s faith plan theme is Beginning the Journey: Be mindful…Be prayerful…  This theme is part of our three-year faith plan entitled Making Our Mark: Journey of an Intentional Disciple.  This school year, we have challenged each other to reflect on the purpose of our faith journey.  Lent provides us with a great opportunity to discover how our actions and thoughts are intentional as we travel on our Lenten journey.

On Ash Wednesday, we started this Lenten journey, a period of 40 days that we set aside for prayer, fasting, and doing good things for others.  In this way, we prepare for Easter, the greatest day in our faith, when we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead.  On Ash Wednesday, all over the world, Catholics received a cross of ashes on their foreheads.  Wearing ashes was a sign of sorrow for sin.  It was a public sign.  It told our friends and neighbours that we know we are not perfect.  We sometimes do what is wrong.  We break the law of God.  We hurt other people.  We act with selfishness.  During our Lenten journey, we tell God and each other that we are sorry for our sins.  We are going to try, with God’s help, to become better people.  The cross of ashes we received means all of these things.

This Lent I invite everyone to follow the three traditional practices during Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

• Prayer – Every morning, our staff meet for prayer at 8:25 am in our staffroom. Morning prayer is an excellent opportunity for our staff to grow on their Lenten journey.  Also, as a school community, we will be praying together in our weekly Lenten prayer services.
• Fasting – Like many, I will be giving something up for Lent. Lent can be more than a time of fasting; it can be a season of feasting. We can use Lent to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season in which we can:
• Fast from criticism, and feast on praise;
• Fast from anger, feast on joy;
• Fast from jealousy, and feast on love;
• Fast from selfishness, and feast on service;
• Fast from fear, and feast on faith;

What will you fast from, and feast on this Lent?

• Almsgiving – Individually and as a group, we will continue to help our needy.

Finally, our Lenten journey is an opportunity for us to reflect as a faith-based learning community.  One reflection tool is for us to measure up to Archbishop Miller’s five characteristics or marks that identify a school as authentically Catholic.  Please check out this link of the Five Marks of a Catholic School.

Lenten Blessing,

Greg Kostiuk