From The Bishop

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The great sixteenth century Carmelite mystic St. John of the Cross followed a simple principle that was foundational to his spirituality. He believed that the human soul must empty itself of self and be purified in order to achieve true union with God. He believed that selfcenteredness and excessive material attachments are barriers to divine love and limit spiritual development. It is only when we deny ourselves and are cleansed of sin that we make room for God. Once this goal is reached the soul is immersed in Trinitarian love and is able to radiate that love to the world. These spiritual insights of St. John of the Cross can be very helpful as we begin the season of Lent. The forty days of Lent provide us with an opportunity for true spiritual renewal as we focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving which are the traditional disciplines of Lent. It truly is a time of "emptying" so that we can be more available to God, self and others. We try to remove those distractions that keep us from making God a priority in our lives. Prayer should be foundational to life, especially during Lent. I should not simply be focused on quantity but also quality. More attention should be paid to praying with greater devotion and reverence adding some additional prayers that are traditionally associated with Lent. Daily Mass is the greatest prayer that we can offer. Friday stations of the cross and the daily rosary also provide a solid grounding in Catholic spirituality. Praying with sacred scripture and meditating on the Word of God invites us to enter the mystery that is ever ancient and ever new. During Lent let us build our spiritual life on the foundation of prayer. Fasting is an attempt to empty ourselves of self; however, this should never be interpreted as a rejection of the good. We know that each person is made in God's image and likeness and, as we are reminded in the Book of Genesis, "What God has made is very good" (Gen:31). When we acknowledge that we are sinners we do not diminish this fact. Sin and human weakness can lead us to self-centeredness and a lack of spiritual discipline. We turn inward rather than outward. Like Christ in the desert we are called to fasting and abstinence. Traditionally this means not eating meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and limiting oneself to one principal meal with snacks on those days. One should also refrain from eating meat on all Fridays of Lent. Denying ourselves does not only refer to food as we can limit consumption of things or activities. Fasting and abstinence helps us to say no to ourselves so that we can more readily say yes to God. Almsgiving, charity, should always have love as its beginning and end. Since we are immersed in Trinitarian love we radiate that love to the world. During Lent we offer acts of charity. This is traditionally seen in offering financial assistance to those most in need. Since 1967 the Canadian Organization For Development and Peace has had a Share Lent Collection. Over the years this organization has raised funds for many development projects throughout the world. Many have benefitted from their work. An ad hoc committee of the Canadian Conference of Bishops continues to work with Development and Peace to ensure that all Third World Partners respect life and the dignity of the person. The St. Vincent de Paul Society also has a long-standing tradition of helping those in need. There are many other organizations that put charity into action that we can support. During Lent let us be truly charitable by generously giving of our time, talent and financial resources to those in need. May these acts of love help to bring God's love and mercy to our parishes and community. During Lent we journey with Jesus into the desert. For forty days our dear Lord subjected himself to fasting; he prayed and was tempted by Satan to prove that he was the Son of God. We are strengthened by Christ's example, especially in his great humility. Lent should be a time in which we all grow in the virtue of humility. It is John the Baptist who states, "He must increase, but I must decrease"(Jn 3:30). He is speaking about the Lord and the process of self-emptying that St. John of the Cross also spoke about. The word humility has its origins in the Latin word humilitas. The root of this word is humus which means earth or soil. Earth needs rain to be fertile and give life. Without rain the earth becomes barren and nothing can grow. When we are humble we are like the earth and God is the water that gives us life. Without God we cannot exist; we wither and die. To be humble is to recognize our total dependence on God and to believe that He must increase and I must decrease. One of the greatest acts of humility is to go to confession. We acknowledge our dependence upon God and the fact that we are sinners in need of mercy. On Saturday, March 2, 2013 we will once again offer the sacrament of penance in all of our parishes from 10 am until 2 pm. There will also be many other opportunities to celebrate this beautiful sacrament. If it has been a long time since you have gone to confession, be not afraid and trust in God's love and mercy. Let us become that dry soil that soaks in the Lord so that we can become spiritually fruitful. During this Year of Faith I invite all of us to enter into the spirit of Lent in order to "rediscover the joy of believing". St. John of the Cross often spoke of God's love as a fire burning within that both consumes and gives life. It is my hope and prayer that we will open our hearts to this fire so that we will be transformed and become better Catholics and our diocese will burn with God's love. Let us empty ourselves of self so that we can be more fully united to God. May God bless you. Yours sincerely in Christ, Most Reverend Gerard Bergie, D.D. Bishop of St. Catharines