Dear Our Lady of Mercy Parish Family,

A Blessed Lenten season!

Every year Lent begins in a very honest place–– not with saints, but with sinners… not with strength nor victory… but with weakness and struggle.

The Church does not start Lent by showing us perfect people. Instead, the Scriptures lead us through three movements of the human story: a garden, a desert, and across waiting quietly in the distance.

In Genesis, God lovingly forms the human person from the dust of the earth and breathes His own life into him. Before rules, before commandments, before sacrifices, there was relationship. Humanity began in friendship with God. Adam and Eve did not earn God’s love; they lived inside it.

But then comes the serpent’s whisper:

You will be like God.”

The first sin was not simply eating a fruit.

It was the decision to live life without trusting God. And immediately everything changes–– fear enters, shame appears, and they begin hiding. The first effect of sin was not punishment; it was distance. They hide from God, from each other, and even from themselves. This ancient story quietly mirrors our own lives. Whenever we insist, “I know better than God… I will do it my way… I don’t need Him in this decision,” we step out of the garden.

We see it today in many forms:

• when pride replaces humility

• when resentment repalces forgiveness

• when gossip replaces charity

• when appearance matters more than truth

• when we curate a life online that hides our real hearts

• when we are busy buy spiritually empty

The tragedy of sin is not that God stops loving us–– it is that we stop trusting Him.

In the Gospel, Jesus enters the desert for forty days. Notice: He goes there before His public ministry begins. Before miracles, before preaching, before crowds–– there is silence, hunger and temptation. And the temptations Jesus faces are strikingly familiar

“Turn stones into bread.”
The temptation of comfort.
We want faith that costs nothing–– preyer when convenient, service when easy, love when it feels good..

“Throw yourself down.”
The temptation of recognition.
We want to be seen, affirmed, validated–– sometimes even in our goodness. Social media aplifies this: we measure worth in likes instead of love.

“All these I shall give you.”
The temptation of control.
We want security without surrender, success without obedience, and plans without consulting God.

Jesus answers each temptation the same way: not with arguments, not with emotions, but with the Word of God. Where Adam grasped, Christ trusted. Where Adam doubted, Christ surrendered. Where Adam hid, Christ remained faithful.

Saint Paul explains why this matters: through Adam humanity learned separation, but through Christ humanity learns communion again. Jesus enters the desert not only for Himself, but for us. He fights the battle we could not win alone.

Lent therefore is not merely about remembering sin. It is about learning again how to live as children of God. We often think Lent is about giving things up. But its deeper purpose is making space–– space where God can breathe again into our lives. We fast from distractions so we can feast on grace. We simplify our habits so God can heal our hearts. The world tells us happiness come from having more. Jesus shows us freedom comes from needing less. The world says: protect yourself first. Jesus says: trust the Father first. The world says: hide your weaknesses. Jesus says: bring them to mercy.

As a parish community–– families, children, youth, young adults, seniors–– we all enter Lent differently, but we walk together toward the same mercy.

So this Lent I invite you to three intentional practices:

Pray–– Daily and honestly

Not only memorized prayers, but conversation with God. Even five quiet minutes each day can change a heart. Bring Him your worries, your fatigue, your fears, your gratitude. Prayer is not performance, it is relationship restored.

Fast–– From what hardens the heart

Yes, from food and comforts, but also from: harsh words, unnecessary criticism, gossip and judging, endless scrolling that leaves us restless, habits that steal peace from our homes.

Fasting makes space for grace.

Give–– Love in action

Offer patience to family members.
Forgive someone you’ve avoided.
Reach out to someone lonely. Serve quietly without recognition.

Almsgiving is not losing something–– it is becoming someone.

My dear brothers and sisters, Lent is not a season of guilt. It is a season of return. God is not waiting to scold us. He is waiting to restore us. If Adam hid among the trees, may we instead walk toward the Cross–– because the Cross is the new Tree of Life, and from it flows mercy, not condemnation.

Remember this:

Lent is not about how strong we are for God. It is about how faithful God remains to us.

Let this be the Lent we stop running, stop hiding, and come home–– personally, as families, and as a parish community.

Let us pray for one another with our loved ones.

God bless us all!

Love,
+Father Marty