Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are three traditional practices of Lent. They are meant to help us turn away from self-defeating habits and open ourselves to God so he can help us be the people we were created to become. So, why do we pray?

Thinking of prayer as a genuine relationship, or friendship, with God may be help us understand prayer better. Why do we spend time with friends? As I thought about this, I realized that I treasure time spent with good friends. If I have not had good conversations with dear friends, life seems to be out of sorts. When I spend time with good friends, I feel more whole and alive. If you want to know God, and if you want to know yourself, pray. Talk to God. There are many kinds of prayer (adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving), but in the end, prayer is simply conversation with God. This is especially true during Lent.

Dear Beloved in Christ,

As pastor here at St. Francis Xavier Parish, I am learning more about how our parish has traditionally carried out the important work of faith formation of our children and young people and prepared them to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. I have reflected on the good work being done here and have listened to the concerns and hopes of many parents, grandparents, and others who care deeply about our parish faith formation efforts.

I’ve noticed that, for a variety of reasons, parents and families are not always well prepared to pass along the Catholic faith to their children. Sometimes it is because parents themselves have not been properly rooted in the Catholic faith or feel unsure about their readiness to teach and model that life within their family. Quite frankly, it saddens me when I don’t see more families celebrating Sunday Mass together with the parish community, even those who have children in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS), EDGE, Life Teen and St. Francis Xavier Elementary School.

On Saturday and Sunday, February 15 and 16, 2020, Fr. Sean Carroll, S.J., the executive director of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), will be at St. Francis to speak about this cross-border migrant ministry in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Since January 2009, Fr. Sean has served at the KBI, which works in the areas of humanitarian assistance, education and research/advocacy. Last year, the KBI provided over 130,000 meals to deported persons in Nogales, Sonora and offered other critical services to deported persons as well as families fleeing violence and seeking asylum in the United States. The KBI also offers a variety of educational activities, including immersion experiences of direct service, dialogue and reflection for students and adults from a variety of schools and parishes. Over the years, the KBI has collaborated as well with various organizations to publish reports that address issues such as family separation in the process of detention and deportation. Thanks so much in advance for welcoming Fr. Sean to St. Francis.

Ever since I returned from my pilgrimage to the Holy Land last week, I have been asked many times how my experience was. It has taken me several days floating through ten time zones of exhaustion to arrive finally at a place where I can begin to put my time there in perspective.

First some facts about the trip: it was organized out of the Tijuana/San Diego area by three very competent and patient priests from the Archdiocese of Tijuana. This was not their first rodeo but their first of such size: 150 pilgrims. The mere logistical issues would have driven anyone to distraction but they handled it all with great aplomb.

If you have ever been on such a pilgrimage you know the pace: many events crammed into a single day, going from dawn to dusk, sleeping in a new bed every other night, pushing, pulling, repacking luggage at every turn.