7 February 2024
Dear Friends of St. Mark's,
This week we finished revising the Ash Wednesday leaflets, as well as the leaflets for the First Sunday in Lent. We are fortunate at St. Mark's to enjoy such fine worship and music. We are still relishing the Candlemas Solemn Mass from last Friday evening, and as I peruse the Ash Wednesday and Lent leaflets, I see that more liturgical riches are coming. Last Friday we were singing hymns by candlelight, and soon we will be contemplating our mortality and brokenness with ashes imposed on our foreheads.
But it is not only the mass which is a blessing at St. Mark's. This past Sunday at Vespers and Benediction, I was surprised that we had more people in attendance than at the said masses of the day. More people are discovering the beauty of Vespers, and Benediction is the perfect ending of our public worship on Sundays. The light in the church is radiant at 4:00 pm, and this is the backdrop for our chanted psalms, silent adoration, and intercessory prayers rising as incense to God the Father.
I would also be remiss if I did not laud Sunday Lauds. Every Sunday at 10:00 am the high mass acolytes and others gather to chant and pray this office which is the morning equivalent of Vespers. Some of us are fortunate enough on Sundays to pray Lauds, Solemn Mass, Vespers, and Benediction - a feast of liturgical riches.
Lent begins February 14 with Ash Wednesday. The good news at St. Mark's is that because we have so many wonderful liturgical offerings on display every week, we only need to invite people to observe a Holy Lent by entering into the mysteries we experience regularly. Daily masses are celebrated, Sunday offices are chanted, and high holy day solemn masses are faithfully scheduled. Confessions are celebrated every Saturday at 4:30 pm before the Vigil Mass, and we will walk the Way of the Cross, ending with Benediction, every Friday in Lent. If you are looking for outreach opportunities, the bike path across the street always needs volunteers to clean up the trash. Regarding study opportunities, we have the Rector's Study Group on select Sunday evenings.
Lent is the holy season that prepares us for Easter, renewing our faith and disciplining our lives. That being said, if one is doing the work of being a Christian all year long, Lent will not be much additional work. The season is a tune up, helping us refine what we are already faithfully doing. More than anything else, during Lent we make more room for God in our lives. Worship is the best way to do this, because it requires community, but outreach and study can also have their benefits.
Blessings to you and your loved ones as you observe the Lenten fast.
Father Paul Lillie +
