1 st Sunday of Lent (B) February 22, 2015 REPENT AND BELIEVE! It is very hard now to focus on things. We are bombarded by so many worries, so many concerns, so much tension on account of so many disturbing events: ISIS spewing threats all over the world … incompetence and selfish leaders bungling just about every imaginable situation that affects the common good … criminal elements apparently lording it over people everywhere. But Lent that started with a solemn imposition of ashes is a call to silence, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a call for all to be gentle, compassionate, forgiving, repentant and openness to renewal – all exact opposites of what we see and hear almost to the day. One thing about Lent is, it also tells us to go slow, to be attentive to signs, to watch out for clues and be reminded that life is not all about worries and tension, problems and threats to peace and security in life. It is a call to put focus on the afterlife, on matt...