“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” is a popular phrase that refers to the experience of cold weather at the beginning of the month of March and warmer weather at the end of March with the arrival of spring. Until recently, this had been our weather pattern in the Northeast. As I write this column, bitter cold and snowstorms are not roaring like a lion. It is a spring-like “lamb” day. A TV weather forecaster announced this is the warmest winter ever!
Our Holy Father Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Exhortation (words written by the Pope) “Laudate Deum” (On the Climate Crisis), a follow-up to his encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si” (Praise be to You My Lord), warns about the disastrous effects of climate change on people and on the earth. The papal warning deserves our attention: “As for climate, there are factors that have persisted for long periods of time … for this reason, we are now unable to halt the enormous damage we have caused. We barely have time to prevent even more damage.” (no.16)
Frequently, on my visits to our shore parishes, I am told about the ever-growing issues those communities face with erosion and flooding. The Holy Father wrote, “No one can ignore the fact that in recent years, we have witnessed extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought.” (no.5) The popular phrase about weather in the month of March (referenced above) will make no sense in the near future.
This year during the entire month of March, the penitential season of Lent continues. There are four weeks to make better efforts at practicing the three pillars of Lent: charity, prayer and self-denial. These traditional practices of more time with God (prayer); more awareness of the Law of Christ, love of God, love of neighbor (charity); and growing more dependent on God (self-denial), can help us spiritually develop fuller lives in Christ. They turn us more toward our relationship with the Lord and our relationship with others.
Prayer, time with God. Set time aside each day. Undisturbed time. With regularity. It requires some discipline. Fasting, denial, intentional sacrifice. To give up. Make an offering. Do an act of penance. Charity. To reach out. To love like Christ. To give willingly. To show practical concern for others who are in need. With resolve, let us use these tried and true practices in the remaining four weeks of Lent to grow as Disciples of Christ.
During the final week of March, Holy Week – from Palm Sunday to the Easter Vigil, our annual celebration of the Mystery of Faith, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – will be celebrated. The Sacred Triduum – Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday – is the principal liturgy of Holy Week. The Triduum is followed by the Sunday of all Sundays, Easter Sunday, the Paschal victory from Death to Life of our God. The month of March will conclude with our celebration of the triumph of Christ over sin and death and our sharing in it through Baptism.
A book I am reading this Lent is “The Modern Saints” by Gracie Morbitzer. It is a collection of portraits and reflections on the saints. I connect with the stories of saints who were real human persons, women and men, like us, who achieved holiness by following Christ. Their stories encourage my following Christ.
On the Church calendar during the four weeks of our Lenten journey through the month of March, there are memorials of saints whose stories stimulate our faith. To know their stories helps us to follow Christ and become His disciples. Among the Saints of March this Lent are: Saint John of God, Saint Casimir, Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. Each one of these holy men and women has a fascinating story about following Christ.
On the 17th of March, Saint Patrick, the Apostle to Ireland, is celebrated. He responded to God’s invitation to go among the Irish with the truth of the Gospel and plant the Church on that island. A missionary with not a drop of Irish blood in his veins, Saint Patrick converted the pagan Celtic tribes. He is an example for us whom Pope Francis has called to be missionary disciples.
Standing out among the heavenly company of the saints celebrated in the month of March is Saint Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary. On March 19, his feast is observed as a solemnity. Saint Joseph, the man of no words but of tremendous actions. Presented with a difficult personal choice when confronted with the pregnancy of Mary, Saint Joseph’s decision to take her as his wife and thereby taking her child as his child shows the depth of his faith. He dealt with other choices as he took care of the Holy Family. The example of Saint Joseph can help us to choose Christ.
The traditional Lenten practices can strengthen our relationship with God and our identity as Disciples of Jesus Christ. May that be our experience during the remaining four weeks of Lent, no matter the weather “like a lion or like a lamb.”
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan, D.D.
Bishop of Camden