Four-letter words

Richard A. Sokerka

Unfortunately, in today’s society nasty four letter words are commonplace in many conversations at home and in the workplace. They have become so much a part of the language that they pepper most conversations without an eyebrow being raised at their usage.

Fortunately, for Catholics we are in the midst of a liturgical season where certain other four-letter words should be on our lips, discussed in small group sharing and as a parish community and acted on. These key four-letter words will truly lead us to understanding the journey we are on as followers of Jesus Christ.

Think about theses four-letter words and what they mean to us as Catholics:

• Lent. We are in the midst of an important time on the Church calendar and in our individual lives as Catholics. It’s a time to look deep within ourselves to see who we are, what we are about and what we can do to bring us closer to modeling our lives according to the words and deeds of Jesus Christ we find in Scripture. It’s also an excellent time to take advantage of various Lenten programs offered in the Diocese, such as every church in the Diocese being open from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and all those listed on The Beacon’s What to Do page.

• Alms. The season of Lent is also the time to make sacrifices. One Lenten tradition for Catholics has always been to give (there’s another four-letter word we need to use more) alms to the poor (yet another four-letter word we need to remember). There are ample opportunities throughout Lent for all of us to do what should be part of our daily lives — reaching out to the needy.

• Hope. By helping those in need, we give them hope that someone in our “me first” society actually cares about them. The late Maryknoll Father James Keller, founder of The Christophers, said this about hope: “It draws its power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness of human nature.” Lent is also a season of hope.

As believers in the Risen Christ, if we keep these certain four letter words on our lips and in our hearts, we will truly know the joys (a wonderful four-letter word) of Easter on April 1.