Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ’s will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ’s death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.
Many know of the tradition of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent, but we are also called to practice self-discipline and fast in other ways throughout the season. Contemplate the meaning and origins of the Lenten fasting tradition in this reflection. In addition, the giving of alms is one way to share God’s gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us: “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2446).
In Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.
Join us at our Lenten Parish Mission on Monday & Tuesday, March 9 & 10!
Sam Nunnally (PhD, CMHC), the Director of Catholic Ministry at Florida State University and founder of It’s Okay To Be Catholic, began to feel God calling him to the Catholic faith over twenty years ago while he was still a Protestant minister. After years of discernment, he made it official. The desire to return to full-time ministry led him to Florida State where a thousand students attend Mass each weekend. Presently, FSU is the fastest growing FOCUS campus ever in the history of that organization. Sam blends his pastoral and business experience for this unique ministry.
Sam has a combined 30 years of experience within the financial and nonprofit industries. For the past decade, Sam was a regional executive for a financial group. Prior to that, Sam pastored non-denominational and Methodist churches ranging from 300 to 1300 members. Sam attended Samford University, Beeson Divinity School, and International Seminary earning bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in history and theology. Sam previously served as an academic field evaluator for Vanderbilt Divinity School. He is a Certified Mental Health Coach and is known for his straightforward style and authentic listening skills. Sam is also in formation for lay Dominican life.
As the founder of It’s Okay To Be Catholic, Sam speaks regularly on issues of spiritual formation, apologetics, and encouraging others that it’s truly “okay” to be Catholic. Whether someone is a lifelong Catholic, a convert like him, or just curious, his goal is to encourage others to confidently live out their faith and see the beauty of the Church Christ founded.
Sam is a regular podcast and radio guest as well as an author with the Coming Home Network. He has also appeared on EWTN’s The Journey Home television series. Sam leads Catholic pilgrimages annually with particular focus on converts experiencing the beauty of the Catholic Church. Sam is married to Amber, is a father of four, an adoptive parent, and a foster caregiver.
The Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way of the Cross, commemorate Jesus’s passion and death on the cross. There are 14 stations that each depict a moment on his journey to Calvary, usually through sacred art, prayers, and reflections. The practice began as pious pilgrims traced his path through Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa.
Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church throughout the world. Similarly, the 150 Hail Marys that were recited for the rosary were an adaptation of the medieval monastic practice of reciting the 150 psalms in the Psalter.
Following Stations, we will have a light soup supper in St. Mary’s Hall. RSVP required.