FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK……

MARCH 7, 2004

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

    When I was about seven years of age, I had a tonsillectomy along with my brother, John.  My parents convinced me and my brother that it was worth going through this ordeal, because they promised us we could eat all the ice-cream we wanted afterwards.  What I didn't know at the time was that my throat would be too sore after the surgery to enjoy any ice-cream at all! 

    Today, of course, one can get all sorts of preparation kits for: surgery, hospital stays, the arrival of a new baby, the first day at school, vacation trips, earthquake/disaster preparation kits, etc.  We all know that any event is easier to go through when proper and adequate preparation has taken place beforehand. 

    Jesus knew this principle, too.  That was why he allowed Himself to be transfigured before some of his key Apostles --- to prepare them for the tragic events of Holy Week , especially His crucifixion as a common criminal.  Jesus' glory as God's Son and His divinity needed to be presented to His apostles before the events of Good Friday would obscure them for a short while in order that they might remember afterward.

    Now, more than twenty centuries later, the process needs to be reversed.  It is no longer Jesus that needs to be transfigured before us.  It is you and I who need to be transfigured by Him before others in order to lead them to Him and to prepare them for His coming again.  In other words, people need to see more of Jesus in us than us in us.  St. John the Baptist put it this way:  "HE MUST INCREASE;  I MUST DECREASE." (See John 3: 30)  This is what this season of Lent is all about!  The purpose of our acts of self-denial (e.g., fasting, abstinence from meat, etc.) is to help us decrease.  But, Lent is also a time for going out of our way to show love, compassion, kindness, & concern to others following Christ's example.  This helps His image to increase in us.  The secret of spending Lent well is to keep a proper balance between the too.

                                                        Sincerely yours on Christ,

                                                        Fr. Raymond J. Tintle, OFM
                                                                           Pastor