“May this Lenten season find the whole Church ready to bear witness to all those who live in material, moral and spiritual destitution the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ. We can do this to the extent that we imitate Christ who became poor and enriched us by His poverty. Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.”

— Pope Francis

 

As we prepare to enter into the sacred penitential season of Lent, which begins with the celebration of Ash Wednesday, March 5, we are reminded by our Holy Father that we are all enriched by the poverty of Christ, which clearly manifests the logic of God. In his Lenten message, Pope Francis reflected on Our Lord’s baptism by John in the Jordan as an act of solidarity with all of humanity. This act of solidarity and self-emptying demonstrates the wonderfully mysterious divine logic that brought forth the incarnation as well as the ultimate sacrifice of Christ’s death on the cross. This self-emptying was for the purpose of our enrichment and ultimately, our salvation. We are called to understand that Christ’s true wealth was His complete and boundless confidence in God, the Father, and to imitate His self-emptying solidarity with those who today suffer from material, moral and spiritual destitution.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio encourages all of the faithful to enter into this more intense period of preparation and prayer by calling us to make use of the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. In order to help us take part more fully in the season of Lent, Bishop DiMarzio reminds us of the minimal requirements established by the Church, which are to be followed during this penitential time:

ABSTINENCE – All the faithful who have reached 14 years of age are required to abstain totally from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent.

FASTING – All the faithful between the ages of 18 and 59, inclusive, are bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This practice involves limiting oneself to a single full meal and avoiding food between meals. Light sustenance may also be taken on two other occasions during the day.

EASTER DUTY – After they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, all the faithful are bound by the obligation of receiving Holy Communion at least once a year. This precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season, unless for a good reason it is fulfilled at another time of the year. By special indult, in the U.S., the time period for fulfilling this precept has been extended to include the period beginning the First Sunday of Lent (March 9, 2014) to Trinity Sunday (June 15, 2014).

Since we have seen many spiritual benefits throughout the past several years, the Diocese of Brooklyn will continue the practice of Reconciliation Monday, which takes place on the Monday of Holy Week, April 14. All parishes are asked to offer an extended period of time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be celebrated in their churches.

The following should also be noted:

The obligation to observe, as a whole or substantially, the penitential days specified by the Church is a serious one. Days of penance are not merely individual exercises – they are observed by the whole Church, as the Body of Christ.

After having reached the age of discretion, members of the faithful are bound to confess once a year grave sins which have not already been absolved.

The faithful are encouraged to celebrate the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance frequently during the Lenten season. Reading the Scriptures, prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, generosity toward the poor and the needy are additional means of becoming more involved in the Lenten season.

Pastors and parents are responsible to see that young persons, who are not bound to the above requirements, are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

All other Fridays of the year remain as days of penance in prayerful remembrance of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The bishops of the U.S. have recommended abstinence from meat as a penance for all Fridays of the year, although each individual may substitute for that tradition some other practice of voluntary self-denial or personal penance. This may involve acts of mortification, prayer or charity.

In prayerful pilgrimage with the catechumens and candidates for full initiation, let us accompany our Lord on His way to the cross and to the empty tomb. May we use this time of Lent to be more closely united with Christ in His death and Resurrection.

Monsignor Anthony Hernandez

Chancellor