By Jill Klubek Alonzo, Early Childhood Faith Formation Coordinator
February has come to an end and this means it’s time for another month of Together in Faith. Our theme is “From Darkness to Light”and the Scripture verse is John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.”
We began Lent a week and a half ago on February 17th with Ash Wednesday. Lent is all about moving from darkness to light. We started Lent in the cold and dark of winter. Lent will end with the celebration of Easter and the return of warm spring weather and lengthening daylight hours. We also move from the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert to His crucifixion and death (darkness) to His resurrection and promise of eternal life (light). The ashes we received on Ash Wednesday remind us of this journey. We are people who will face the darkness of death, but through Christ will rise to light and everlasting life.
We are invited during Lent to examine ourselves and the way we are living. What darkness do we have in our lives? Are there attitudes and actions that need to change? Do we need to move in a new direction? These are hard questions. We don’t like to own our pain, sickness, our failures. We hide them in the dark.
God asks us during Lent to bring them into the light. He wants us to come to Him and bring all of our mean and ugly with us. We are asked to trust Him completely as we give Him the worse of ourselves. He wants us to understand that it was never about us. We will never be worthy, no matter the prayers we say or sacrifices we make. God’s grace is what saves us. He loves us unconditionally, and through His grace and love, our darkness will be transformed into light.
Lent is a reminder that we are not perfect and we are not in control. We are, however, children of God. We are loved by our Father. In love, He died for us and gave Himself fully to us. He continues to give Himself to us each week in the Eucharist. He becomes part of our being, bringing light and life to us. As we celebrate Lent and prepare for Easter, let’s open ourselves to this light and share it with one another. Let this Lenten season be one of light, full of love, mercy, compassion, and peace.