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In my sixteenth summer I had an unforgettable mountaintop experience. In April of that year, I had re-committed my life to Jesus in a personal way. My new Christian friends took me on a few practice hikes in the San Juans Mountains of Southwest Colorado. Then we traveled east to the Sangre De Cristo Range. On a warm July day, we began hiking from the Sand Dunes up into the high country and camped in a meadow beside a creek at the base of Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle. Early the next morning we began crawling up the boulder fields and reached the summit of both “fourteeners” by noon. Perched there at the top of the world, basking in the summer sun with mountains as far as I could see, I felt absolutely blessed. I realized then that “Happiness / blessedness is communing with God in the beauty of creation giving thanks.” Our Creator richly blessed me that summer by revealing his beauty through nature and letting me play in his amusement park. Eventually I came to realize that the most beautiful creation of all is the loving person: friends, family, and especially the family of the Church.

Lent means Springtime, and it certainly seems appropriate to the weather we’ve been having lately. But if we don’t get some rain (or snow) we probably won’t see many flowers this Spring! Spring is a time for new life and the Season of Lent leads us on the path of spiritual renewal. Our readings for this First Sunday of Lent make it very clear that the fundamental way for us to experience spiritual renewal is through obedience to the will of God.

Next week we begin the season of Lent which calls us to renewal in our spiritual lives. We follow Jesus into the desert for forty days of renewed prayer and penance. The Church calls this time a period of “purification and enlightenment” not only for those preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation, but for all of us. So next weekend we will focus on Stewardship of Prayer, and we will do so in a renewed way.

I’m sure there have been moments when you have been in a dark room or driving at night in a rural area where it’s pitch black and you’re trying to find your way. It can be a bit nerve-wracking and you may start to feel uncomfortable. In darkness, we can lose our way. Our senses are heightened because we’re not sure what is around us, so we become anxious.