CAMDEN – Calling the Lenten season a gift from the Church, as well as a time to reconnect, recognize one’s weaknesses and ask, “How am I living life in Christ?” Bishop Dennis Sullivan celebrated Mass on Ash Wednesday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Before blessing the ashes that were distributed Feb. 14 to the faithful, the Bishop referenced key words and phrases in the day’s readings from the prophet Joel, Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians and Matthew’s Gospel – all of which will “help us get back to the basics with God,” he said. “Rend your hearts; be merciful; spare your people; return to me; proclaim a fast; be reconciled; pray to your father in secret.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Ash Wednesday at Camden’s Cathedral
The ashes for the season – “a severe reminder of our mortality” and the need for God’s grace – are “external marks that represent an internal personal journey transformation,” he said. “They are about now, the acceptable time, this Lent, to which we should be fully committed.”
Bishop Sullivan urged all to eliminate, through personal change, “any inclination that I am the center of it all. Seek God’s forgiveness; show to others the mercy that God has shown [you]. … Dedicate time, in secret, to strengthen your relationship with God, and deepen relationships and friendships,” he said, encouraging all to reach out to others in charity.
“Lent breathes anew God’s life into each one of us, but we got to get into it. Now, rend your hearts,” he continued.
Before his final blessing, Bishop Sullivan blessed the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowls that were available.
He urged all to take one of the cardboard boxes home, fill it generously during the Lenten season and return it to the church to help combat hunger and malnourishment throughout the world.
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