Going Deeper: Life and Death Saturday at 9:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross Friday at 7:00 p.m.  Lent: A Time To Prepare for Reconciliation

MARCH MADNESS…OF ALL KINDS    

Those of us who like basketball will certainly enjoy the many high school and college basketball tournament games taking place in the next few weeks. It’s exciting to see who can excel and which teams will win. But tournaments also present some sadness. As one of my sisters said regarding high school basketball, “For every team but one, their final game of the year is a loss.”

Maybe basketball tournaments are so exciting because March could be an otherwise miserable month. Those who live in northwestern Ohio know that spring never quite gets here. Even local schools don’t usually take spring break until April.

There is something else that is happening in March, which may seem like madness to many. That is Lent. This year Easter is the first Sunday of April, so we have this entire month to immerse ourselves in Lent. Taking this penitential season to heart is actually the best way to spend March, which in itself is a transition from winter to spring, death to life. Through Lent we leave the deadliness of sin behind and seek new life in the resurrected Jesus.

Is it madness to deny ourselves food or other self-indulgences? To the outsider, it may seem that way. But in truth, it may be the wisest thing we can do. Let March roll!