God so loved the world. . . that God sent Jesus to dwell among us. . . to show us the way back home to God.. This love surpasses all our understanding! At Christmas we celebrated Jesus’ coming among us as a babe. During Lent we prepare to walk the road of love to Calvary with him as an adult. Our Christmas tree near the main entrance to church will become a Lenten cross. The red ribbons that greeted us during the holiday season have turned into red hearts, reminding us of God’s great love for each of us.

We distributed small wooden slices from our evergreen trees and invited School and Religious Education children and teens and all families in the parish to decorate these small slices with their family name and some symbol of what Lent meant to their family. From these wooden slices a Saint Linus Family Cross will be  constructed.

As we begin Lent this year, we make a journey of love to Good Friday and Easter morning. . . a journey to the very heart of Christ. The outside of our church is adorned with hearts this Lenten season to remind us of God’s great love for us and the challenge Jesus gives us to love one another. Each week during Lent we will suggest something that we might do to BE the love of God to someone else.

February 28/29 First week of Lent: HANDS OF LOVE

Write one letter or e-mail each day to a friend, near or far. Tell someone how much you appreciate him or her. Don’t forget those with whom you live! Prepare a meal or treat to share with an elderly neighbor. Do something kind for someone but don’t tell them you did it. Say the Guardian Angel prayer and thank God for your special angel.

March 6/7 Second week of Lent: VOICES OF LOVE

Telephone someone each day for a short chat just to say what they mean to you or to say "Thank you" or "I’m sorry." Call people you’ve intended to call but haven’t. Say the rosary for someone who needs to feel loved.

March 13/14 Third week of Lent: ACTS OF LOVE

Take something you have made or bought to a friend who means much to you, but for whom you rarely express your love—a pie, a plant, a small remembrance that has your love as a wrapping. Visit an elderly neighbor. Do a "random act of kindness". Pray for the souls of those who have died. Make a donation to charity or a homeless shelter.

March 20/21 Fourth week of Lent: HEARTS OF LOVE

Make a list of at least ten people for whom you will pray. Include your friends, your enemies and those you don’t like. Forgive them if they have wronged you and ask forgiveness if you’ve wronged them. Pray for those who need your prayers, those for whom you have promised to pray and those who are "forgotten." Pray the Stations of the Cross.

March 27/28 Fifth week of Lent: MINDS OF LOVE

Use this week to pray for yourself and look inward. Read the First Letter of John or the Gospel of John from the Bible. Plan to go to church a little early on Palm Sunday so you can spend a few minutes of quiet with your God. Take some time this week to visit the Adoration Chapel and spend a few minutes in prayer and reflection.

April 3/4 Sixth week of Lent: THE VICTORY OF LOVE- - - HOLY WEEK

This is the week of celebration! God’s love for us is revealed in so many ways! Get outside and breathe the fresh air of spring. Have friends in for lunch or dinner. Take a walk around the block and look for signs of spring. Let your joy be filled with life abundant in faith, hope and love as you journey with Jesus through Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and into Easter Sunday!

April 11 Easter CELEBRATION OF LOVE

They will know we are Christians by our love! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!  We are nearly the heart of Christ now than on Ash Wednesday!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

In due time over 1100 slices were completed

and ready for gluing onto the cross.

Adults, teens and children all participated.

All contributed to Saint Linus' Easter cross. . .

a cross made from four evergreen trees

cut from in front of the church.

Who would have imagined the new life that could come from the death of four trees?  Who would have guessed the creativity of those who personalized their wooden slices.

Making the cross for our wood slices.

Wood, in the hands of a skilled carpenter, becomes a cross

for the wood slices.

Then comes the task of laying out the wood slices. . .

and gluing them to the cross. . .

One by one each wood slices is attached.

Thank God for glue guns!

The time came for moving the cross

to its place in the sanctuary.

With great care the cross was carried

down the aisle

and placed in the stand.

The cross is secured in place.

What once was an evergreen tree and then a Christmas tree

now becomes a Good Friday cross.

The comfort of His cradle becomes the challenge of His cross.

The Lenten journey nears its end as spring approaches.

A poinsettia remains to remind us of our journey

from Christmas to Easter!

Our Lenten Journey to the Heart of Christ.

* * * * * *

But the Journey didn't end here.

Preparing the cross to be mounted on the wall.

The cross was lovingly placed in the Red Tile Vestibule with the help of some members of the Saint Vincent de Paul so that it can be used as part of the prayer space for the Liturgy of the Word for Children, Catechist Formation and various Family Experiences.