Bishop Kemme records video urging the faithful to persist in their Lenten efforts
Bishop Carl A. Kemme urges the faithful to persevere in their Lenten practices in a video now available at YouTube.com/DioceseOfWichita. (Advance photo)
Lent helps the faithful enter more fully into the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ, the bishop says while standing near his cathedra in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita.
“I like to remind myself that it is a season – it’s not just a short time – it’s a relatively long season, a season that is so important for us as Catholics, as Christians, as disciples of Jesus, to purify ourselves from our sins, to strengthen our faith in our witness to Christ, and to prepare ourselves for the Easter sacraments and for the celebration of Easter.”
The bishop says he hopes the faithful have entered Lent fervently and are persisting in their journeys.
“We reach that conclusion by being faithful, by persevering in our Lenten penances, our prayers, and the promises that we made to the Lord on Ash Wednesday to enter into that life of penance and to use this time well.”
Read the scriptures, go to Mass
He urged the faithful to continue to read the scriptures, to go to daily Mass, to confession at least once during Lent, and to pray the rosary and the Stations of the Cross. “These are marvelous ways to spend our time in this season – taking ourselves a little bit out of the ordinary of life and entering more fully into the spiritual realm, which is what Lent and the church’s liturgical life is all about.”
Bishop Kemme said he doesn’t generally share his private Lenten practices, but said the Lord is calling him to incorporate more silence in his life for private prayer and devotion.
In closing the bishop said he is offering his prayers for the people of the diocese. “I invite your prayers for me as we give the Lord these 40 days to be able to come to Easter with so much joy and hope for the future, which is which is what the season Easter season is all about.”