Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "something or someone that gives joy to someone." Jesus is our Joy and our Savior! The season of Lent draws us closer to our Joy through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is good and fitting that amid the complexity of human emotion, we hold both sorrow and joy in our hearts all at once--sorrow for what we have done that separates us from our Joy, and gratitude for the mercy and forgiveness that is ours through what Jesus has done for us. As we prepare our hearts for our Joy at Easter with acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, may our Joy be visible in us, sharing the hope and promise of our Savior through our countenance, our works, and our witness of all that it good! 

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Lenten Joy?

in Lent

Entering the Triduum

We are entering into the most sacred days of our Church calendar. The Triduum encourages us to remember, to break bread, to wash feet, to tell stories, to experience great sadness and exultant joy. The emotions run high and deep. We walk with Jesus and we walk with each other. Mostly our hearts long for the silence that great sadness and exultant joy need in order to be fully integrated into our lives. It is the opportunity to spend time with the greatest transformation we will ever experience, from death to new life. It is the greatest transformation and one we witness every day of our lives should our eyes be open to see.

I pray you will find the silence you need this Holy Week and experience once more a touch of new life. 

Sr. Joyce Shanabarger