Before I became a big softy who semi-regularly cries at weddings, I used to get a kick out of sappy married couples getting weepy at marriage celebrations they attended together. It didn’t make much sense to me because they’re already married, they have their own vocation, why should they be emotional watching someone else get married? But now, in my own dotage, and having gotten somewhat verklempt at multiple ordinations at this point, I think I understand it. There is something about seeing other people take the plunge into a vocation that calls to mind not only everything that has happened since we ourselves were that young and foolish, but also something that affirms the essential fact that God has cared for us from well before that moment up until the present. Seeing people give themselves over entirely to the life that God has prepared for them is a reminder of what He has called us to, and that’s beautiful, even if it is a bit saccharine.
 
Every year, the Church around the world participates in a similar phenomenon, as we journey through Lent towards the great celebration of Easter. Lent is the call to strip away the distractions that keep us from living out our vocation in the way that God calls us to through prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. At the same time, there is an incalculable group of believers around the world who are preparing to enter into the fullness of the Mystical Body of Christ for the first time this Easter season. As we seek to respond to God’s grace and become new in Christ once again, there are many souls who are preparing to follow the path that Jesus laid out for us. Both sets of believers seek the same thing: conversion of heart.
This is happening here in our region, our Archdiocese, and around the world.

The Gospel that the Church gives us this week as we begin our Lenten journey is the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Our Lord is presented with temptations of hunger, power, and pride, and He overcomes all of them because He recognizes that the promises of the evil one are false, and true freedom is only to be found in doing His Father’s will.
 
As we begin this Lenten season, I ask you to do two things:

• In your charity, pray for the overall conversion of the Church; both those already members of the Church, and those seeking the fullness of the sacraments of initiation. We will succeed or fail in our mission together, and deeper conversion for one member of the Church is a benefit to the entirety of the Church.  
•  Second, take some time at the beginning of this Lenten season to ask what your  temptation in the desert would look like. If the evil one were to whisper into your    ear and seek to separate you from God, how would he do it? Usually we can recognize one or more of the temptations used against Jesus in our own temptations, but they are specific to our weaknesses, strengths,  and personality. Take time this Lent to find your weaknesses, and surrender them to God. When we see clearly where we might fall short, we can be strong in Christ.