Lent: Our seasonal call of renewal

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Jesus is calling us deeper.” That reminder of our three-year National Eucharistic Revival is intended to “renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist” (eucharisticrevival.org). That call of renewal through a deepened relationship with Christ is particularly apt in this season of Lent.
We have begun our forty-day journey of deepened prayer, more frequent penance, and greater charity. We embark on the journey because we are sinners in need of and called to repentance by Jesus Christ. Lent’s annual journey also prepares us for the fruitful celebration of the Paschal Mystery – from the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and his Passion and Death on Good Friday to his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The forty penitential days of Lent derive from Jesus’ forty days of prayer and fasting in the desert. They also call to mind Moses’ forty days on Mount Sinai during the forty-year journey of the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land.
During that long journey, the Israelites were sustained by the manna which each night came down from Heaven to nourish and strengthen the people. Centuries later, Jesus would say, “I am the living bread which comes down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6: 51).  Just as the Israelites would not have made it to the Promised Land without the manna from Heaven, we cannot complete the journey of life to Heaven without the nourishment of Christ in the Holy Eucharist (“unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” [John 6: 53]).
In addition to Lenten penances and almsgiving, please consider going to weekday Masses and making visits to the Church outside of Mass to adore the Lord whether reserved in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance. Through a greater Eucharistic devotion, we will appreciate, even more, Christ’s presence to us, the graces he offers at every Mass, and the peace and comfort of a prayerful visit to Church. Thus, nourished and strengthened, we will be better equipped to meet life’s challenges, reflect God’s love, and make progress on our journey to him.

With every prayerful best wish, I remain
       Sincerely yours in Christ,

        Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
        Bishop of Worcester