THE EVANGELIST

February 2026

​

Dear Parish Family and Friends,

 

It hardly seems possible that we are beginning another Lenten journey. Ash Wednesday is February 18th and our journey to Calvary begins once again. It seems sometimes that we just repeat the same process of giving up or taking on something during Lent, that we take a closer look at our relationship with God and His earthly community which we call His Church. A good friend said to me once when I said it is like preaching to the choir the same old message. Their response to me was “even the choir must rehearse before they perform.’  I always think about that response and look deeper into the meaning of what my life should look like as part of the Body of Christ. If we never change and move closer to God, we have missed the point of the Gospel and have not done what we have promised when we were baptized and promised to fight under the banner of Christ. At the end of St. Paul’s life he stated: “ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing “. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

 

The season of Lent begins our journey to live once again the Passion of Christ. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends on Maundy Thursday with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Ashes are placed on our foreheads as an austere symbol of these forty days. They reveal our will to be converted and to do penance when faced with the grace of forgiveness won and offered by Jesus who was crucified. As the ashes are placed on our foreheads with the words “Remember O man, that dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.” It is from this dust that Jesus will raise us, and our lives renewed through his mercy.

 

We need to look at the “Lent” of Jesus. After his Baptism, he spent forty days in prayer and fasting in the wilderness, in preparation for the beginning of His ministry. At the end of those forty days Jesus is attacked by Satan, the Devil. Satan tried to discourage Jesus from listening to the Word of God. He tried to lure Jesus away by tempting him to perform miracles and trying to seduce him with the promise of earthly power. Jesus rebuked Satan without any hesitation, giving himself to the mystery of saving the world by dying on the cross.

 

We are supported by the example of Jesus in our Lenten journey to the cross, our commitment to resist temptation is renewed and supported by His grace. 

 

Use these Sundays of pre-lent to get ready, to prepare for the journey. Map out your course, gather the supplies you will need to make the journey and PRAY that you will keep the Holy Lenten season, and feel the Passion of Jesus during Holy Week, and arrive with great JOY at the empty tomb on Easter morning.

 

In Christ, 

 

Fr. Thomas B Wirth, Rector

​​