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The Curate's Corner
Dear Good People of St. Mark's,
“The spirit immediately drove
him into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness
forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild
beasts; and the angels ministered to him” – Mark 1:12-13
What is Lent? It’s a penitential
season of forty days set aside by the Church before the
great feast of Easter. Following the example of our
Lord we are called by God into the wilderness, into a
solemn and reflective place, where we are able to face
the temptation of Satan. We are called in the
wilderness of Lent to examine the “interior castle” of
“ourselves, our souls and bodies” so that we may lament
our sins, acknowledge our fallen state, and truly seek
the forgiveness that Jesus Christ obtained for the whole
world on the hard wood of the cross.
Like our Lord in the wilderness,
Lent is a time for Christians to purposefully go about
daily life in a different way. A great tool to help in
this undertaking is to make a rule for Lent. They are
available in the entryway of the Church. Allow this
wilderness experience to be a time for you to recommit
yourself to our Lord. Allow him to minister to you as
he allowed the angels to minister to him. Take time, as
the psalmist prays, to “Be still and know that I am
God.” (Psalm 46:10) We are a society of outward
activity. Allow this season to be an opportunity for
inward reflection.
“I invite you, therefore, in the name of
the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self
examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and
self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy
Word.” (BCP, pg. 265)
Faithfully in
Christ,
The Rev. Charles A.
Hough, IV  ,
SSC
Previous Issues:
Winter 2009
Summer 2008
Pentecost
2008
Easter 2008
Lent 2008 |
