Editor's Note
Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving
It’s easy to think of Lent as a gloomy, austere time, but I always associate this season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving leading to Easter with the anticipation of spring. That’s not just because of its place on the calendar, but because it’s a time when my soul, like the landscape, can feel the stirrings of a fresh start. I can examine my prayer life: Does my prayer make me feel closer to God? It’s an opportunity to plan some spring cleaning in the place where I keep my priorities: How much time do I spend wanting or chasing after things which are about this world, when I know very well that, in a short time, I will be in another? That’s one of the purposes of fasting: It reminds me that the demands of my body are only that, and that my soul needs more. And giving of my treasure and time to others is another great way to check on what matters to me. If I feel a tug of selfishness, then once again I am forgetting that this world is not my true home.
For this issue we interviewed Mary Pat Barth, a spiritual director living in Wilmington, to discover some creative ways to make this Lent more meaningful and spiritual than the last one. “Lent is a time of repentance and prayer,” Mary Pat told NCC. “And I think many of us can be more creative with our prayer and try different ways of praying. If one’s prayer is working, one should be faithful to it, but sometimes we can get into ruts with prayer, and that can be a wonderful opportunity to try something new and different.”
In this issue you’ll also get to visit the Catholic community of Holy Trinity in Williamston, NC. I hope the article on page 30 motivates some of you to visit that little church in person. Go to Mass, meet the parishioners afterwards over coffee. I think you’ll feel, as I always do when I’m there, reminded of what a church community can be. It’s a place (like many in our fortunate diocese) where the poor are welcome, a place of generous giving and grateful receiving by all.
This month you’ll also see images of the recent March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the Rally for Life here in Raleigh. How moving to see so many standing enthusiastically to proclaim the holiness of all life from conception to natural death. Many of you participated in these events; maybe you’ll recognize yourselves in our pictures!
Thanks as always for your feedback and ideas for stories in NC Catholics. I welcome your letters to me at 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 and reece@raldioc.org.
- Rich Reece