President's Message - March 2019

With the beginning of Lent on March 6th, Ash Wednesday, I asked our State Chaplain,

Father William Smith, to write a few words this month. This is Fr. Bill’s Lenten message:

LENT 2019

Today, we begin the Season of Lent. Lent is a time of preparation to celebrate the most important three days of our faith: The Easter Triduum.

During The Easter Triduum we celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent we are encouraged to a more intense activity of daily prayer, giving to others, and fasting.

During the officer’s workshop in September 2018, State Vice-President, Elena offered us a reflection on “How to Plant Your Garden”. Using that format, I want to offer a reflection on fasting, one of the pillars of the Season of Lent.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO FASTING.

Fasting has a tendency to be oriented toward things like

giving up food, social media or candy. Here is an

another creative way to approach fasting.

Fast from anger and hatred. Give your family an

extra dose of love each day.

Fast from judging others. Before making any

judgements, recall how Jesus overlooks our

faults.

Fast from discouragement. Hold on to Jesus’ promise

that He has a perfect plan for your life.

Fast from complaining. When you find yourself about

to complain, close your eyes and recall some of

the little moments of joy Jesus has given.

Fast from resentment or bitterness. Work on

forgiving those who may have hurt you.

Fast from spending too much money. Try to reduce

your spending by ten percent and give those

savings to the poor.