Dear Friends,
Yesterday was “Fat Tuesday” and in the Polish tradition, a day to eat filled donuts. Now I am a believer in tradition, and I like using “large symbolism” in rituals; therefore, I had two Polish donuts for dessert yesterday!
I am writing to you on Ash Wednesday. With the news of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation to take effect on February 28, I am asking you to join with me this Lenten season to pray for our Pope and our Church. I believe that the Pope did what was best for our Church through his resignation, whether the resignation was because of health or some other reason or reasons. I respect him for making this choice. Choosing to do something that hasn’t been done in 600 years says to me that he was willing to risk criticism, and let people experience some progressiveness in our Church. This is good as a step towards accepting future change.
Pray with me because this is a time of opportunity. I have hope that we will see some change, maybe not all the change that we would like to see, but some movement towards a Vatican II Church living out the Gospel message. This is a time for respect, forgiveness, conversion, collaboration; a time for positive energy grounded in the Spirit. Pray that the Spirit will guide you and me in using our gifts for the common good of the faith community and for the common good of society. May our prayers bring us a new beginning with a new pope this Easter.
Lenten blessings,
+Joan