Greetings, I hope you all are well.

It is hard to believe that Easter is just around the corner. It just seems as though we just celebrated Christmas.

As we head toward the great feast of Easter, we cannot forget what Lent has meant to us. Let us keep in mind what we have experienced and how far we have come in our conversion of our life. This does not happen overnight. As a monk of St. Benedict, one of our vows was the Conversion of Life. It is a like long process.

The great preacher, Billy Graham gives us this thought today, “God’s holiness demands that sin be punished – but God’s love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.”

So often in the past we have view Lent as a time of penance. We viewed ourselves as sinners and must beg God for His forgiveness. But as Billy Graham reminds us “God’s love has provided the way of redemption through Christ.” Yes, God’s love is greater than our sins. This does not mean that we have the right to sin and do as we please. We are still called to live a life of holiness, of following the teachings Jesus has given us and has called us to follow.

Lent is just the beginning. But like so many things in our lives, we need another beginning. As that song from Sound of Music goes, “Let’s start at the very beginning.”

Happy Lent!!

Peace and All Good,

Fr. Vinnie, fcm and the

Bros and Srs of the

Franciscan House of Prayer.