I would like to welcome all of you here today.

Last Sunday Pope John Paul II appeared at his window to deliver his sermon for the week. He called on all Catholic Christians to use this coming Ash Wednesday to pray for peace by offering the day’s fasting and abstinence as a prayer for peace.

The schedule of Masses for Ash Wednesday and the regulations for fast and abstinence are found in today’s bulletin.

Pope John Paul said that the future of mankind can never be assured by either terrorism or the logic of war.

I ask you to pray for peace at this Mass. Christians, Jews and Muslims will join at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church on Coggeshall St. tomorrow night to pray for peace.

Who is our God in all of this?

The Prophet Isaiah presents God as one who wants to enter into a marriage relationship with us. Jesus presents himself as the bridegroom and we, the Church, are his bride.

God tells us that He will be joined to us in everything that happens to us. He will never abandon us. We are called to change our lives so that we can respond to this faithful love.

What little and big ways can we change our lives during this Lent? Jesus explains his love as new wine. We need new wineskins to hold the new wine. We cannot use the old wineskins to take the new wine because they are torn and battered. New wine needs new wine skins.

The new wine of God’s love needs to be received in new lives.

I welcome the family and friends of John and Fernanda Augusta. John and Fernanda, you are celebrating your 60^th wedding anniversary today! For sixty years in good times and in bad; in sickness and in health you have been in your sacrament of matrimony a witness of Christ’s love for his church. The love of the bridegroom for his bride the Church was shown to all of us in your day to day living of the Sacrament of Marriage.