Ash Wednesday

I was amazed to see our brave 3rd grade students led the Ash Wednesday service today in front of school families and parishioners!  It's so hard to get up and speak in front of such a large crowd, but they showed no fear!  

Father Matthew reminded us that God is always with us. He told us a story from his childhood where he and his mother had a plan to meet up at the end of the Fall Parade.  When he reached the end, his mother wasn't there.  He was afraid, worried, and even a little mad, because his mother had not followed the plan.  What he didn't know was that though his group had finished their parade route, his mother was still watching the rest of the parade!  It was an innocent mistake, but as a young child, he felt far away from his mother and even felt some hurt coming inside of him.  This, Father said, is much like our relationship with God.  Sometimes, we feel far apart from God.  We let our fears and worries and struggles keep us away and over time those things create distance in our relationship.  The good news, however, is that God is ALWAYS with us and waiting with open arms for us to return to Him.  

Lastly, Father kicked off the Lenten Challenge and reminded us of the 3 things we can do during Lent to bring a little "light" back to our world.  It might not seem like much for us to individually do these 3 things, but together, we can make a BIG change!

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