St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church

A Message From Your Rector

Lent, 2005

Dear Parish Family:

A blessed Lent to all! I am enclosing with this letter a copy of an article I read from the Episcopal New Yorker that I thought really captured the spirit of Lent and very effectively moves us in the direction of a holy Lenten observance. As you know, Lent is a time of deepening prayer, fasting, reflection, penitence, and self-examination; it is the most spiritual season in the liturgical calendar and in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our daily living, Lent affords us a special opportunity to find our way back to our center and back to God.

Our Lord spent 40 days in the desert, it was a living ordeal for our Lord, but in the end he emerged empowered, strengthened to do the work of redemption he came into the world to do. We are called to follow the example of Jesus and not run and hide from the desert. Isnt it funny how a desert wasteland experience brings us back to God especially when one would think that an experience such as this would mark the absence of God? Certainly the Hebrew people felt this way while wandering in the desert for 40 years. Most of us would rather run from desert experiences, difficult painful times that represent suffering for our lives; Im no exception, and yet it is here where we really grow in our faith and learn to surrender to God. Without these experiences we would become foolish and reckless in our belief that we are in charge of our lives, that we are in control, and we are immortal. Lent reminds us of our mortality; it brings us back to earth, we were formed from the dust of the earth, "we are ashes, and to ashes we shall return."

In my own personal journey my own mortality has been something Ive been pondering more than usual. A few weeks ago I attended a visit/training with the Garden Grove Police Department Chaplains Unit to the Orange County Coroners Center in Santa Ana. Most of you know that I am a Police Chaplain; it is one of the other hats that I wear. I had never seen actual live (thats an oxymoron) autopsies before and the experience was not as shocking as I had anticipated. It actually got me further in touch with my own mortality, and I grew in the conviction that indeed (as the late Jesuit priest Fr. Teilhard de Chardin would say) "we are all spiritual beings having a human experience" we are not this body that serves as a vehicle while we make our pilgrimage through the earth. During this season of Lent Ive been pondering this, making my peace with it, and living closer to God and Gods grace. We are all terminal, and there is no need to be anxious about this for our journey on earth, this pilgrimage we are all undergoing, is really nothing more in the end, than a journey back to God. There is great peace and comfort in the surrendering to God, in allowing for those special moments of unity with the divine Spirit when we are alone with God, and there is nothing in the world that can bring us greater peace. Jesus often said to his disciples "be not afraid." Although we may be walking through a desert experience, there is water to be found, Jesus is our living spring, he tells each and every single one of us "be not afraid."

It is my hope that we take time to pause during this holy season of Lent, and enter the mystery of God and allow it to penetrate our lives. Prayer should be one of our top priorities, not out of obligation, but because it will bring us peace and joy, it will connect us to our source. I do hope we turn off the TVs and other distractions and spend more time reading, praying, asking for forgiveness, and reflecting on our journey in relationship to God during this Lenten season. We are all in need of Gods grace, Gods forgiveness, Gods nurturing, Gods restoration and transformation for our lives. Lent is the time to get in touch with this. Soon we will be entering the holiest of weeks, soon the sacrifice will be upon us, and soon the suffering will turn into Easter joy, life will triumph over death. "Blessed is he comes in the name of the Lord."

 Lenten Blessings to All,

 The Rev. Wilfredo Benitez,

Rector

Upcoming Special Events and Holy Days:

Sunday March 6th.

Joint Eucharist and Mexican Brunch following the 10:00 AM Eucharist.

Brunch Cost: $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for Children 12 and under. Come hungry J

 

Saturday March 12th.

St. Patricks Day Corned Beef and Cabbage Supper. 6:00 PM

Cost: $7.00 for adults, $4.00 for children 12 and under. Come Hungry J

 

Palm Sunday Eucharist

Sunday March 20th, 10:00 AM

Maundy Thursday Eucharist

Thursday March 24th, 7:00 PM

All Night Prayer Vigil Begins after the Eucharist and the Stripping of the Altar.

See sign-up sheet for Prayer Vigil in St. Marys Lounge.

Good Friday Cross Walk (Stations of the Cross)

Friday March 25th, 12:00PM

We begin here at St. Anselms and will march to St. Columbans Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, and will end at the first Presbyterian Church.

Saturday March 26th

The Great Vigil of Easter, 7:00 PM

Sunday March 27th

Easter Sunday Eucharist (Alleluia) 10:00 am


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