Dear Friends,
We stand at the cusp of yet another observance of Lent. The Gospel today, a short passage from Mark, mentions Jesus spending a period of forty days in the desert where he was tempted by Satan. On his return from the desert, Jesus undertook his ministry, beginning with the bold proclamation of the coming of the kingdom of God and a call to respond to the presence of that kingdom. What are we called to do? We are called to “repent” and “believe in the gospel.”
Lent is not meant to be a time of drudgery and gloom. Quite to the contrary, Lent has been called the “springtime of the soul,” a time for serious reflection and for taking steps to detach ourselves from whatever sins cling to us and to embrace the gospel and the life and hope that it promises us. What is your program for Lent this year? What will you do by way of repentance so that you may more deeply believe in the gospel and the way of life, the hope it promises?
Lent is a time for us to focus on sin in our life, whatever leads us away from God, whatever alienates us from God, others, and ourselves. If you say you have no sins, you either are not being totally honest with yourself or you are not looking at yourself hard enough. Lent is a time to come face to face with whatever ties us down and keeps us from being the fully human, fully alive people that God always intended us to be.
Sin manifests itself in many forms in our lives. Sometimes it is something we do which we know to be wrong and do anyway. At other times it shows itself in our not doing what we are supposed to do. Sin can be serious, deadly, what we call “mortal” sin which isolates us from God, turns us in on ourselves, and if we do not repent of it, we could be lost to God forever. In other words, we can choose hell over heaven, everlasting death in place of everlasting life, and we would have no one to blame but ourselves. If you have committed a deadly (mortal) sin, you most likely will know you have, unless you have mastered the art of rationalization so well that you end up deceiving yourself, and that would be a great tragedy. For most of us, sin shows itself in little things, like malicious words or gossip, lies, cutting corners, avoiding responsibility, not doing what we are supposed to do as well as we can, and more. As for these little sins, we cannot simply excuse ourselves by saying that “everyone does it” or “it’s only a little thing.” All sin offends God. God does not wink or turn a blind eye toward sin.
The challenge sin presents to us is for us to face it head on, and using the weapons God has provided, root it out of our lives. For us as Catholics, we have some powerful weapons at hand. First and foremost, there is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, confession. In that sacrament, we admit our sins out loud to God through the agency of a priest and then, receive assurance of mercy and forgiveness from God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the greatest treasures entrusted to the Church by the Lord. In it all sins are able to be forgiven, no sin too great, and through the sacrament, grace is given as a strength in time of temptations to come. It should not be neglected in the life of any good Catholic, but sadly, I must say it is neglected, not used nearly enough. Other weapons include frequent reception of the Eucharist, daily prayer and an active spiritual life, and works of charity.
So, as we launch into Lent, take time to take stock of your soul, your life and its overall direction. Are you living for God, with God at the center? Or are you living only or mostly for yourself and your desires and pleasures in life? Where does God fit in our lives? Do we take time for prayer each day? What about others? Do we show love, care and support for others in our lives or are we living essentially in a selfabsorbed way? What do we do with our money? Are we saving only for ourselves, spending only on ourselves, or do we try to share from what we have with those around us, especially those in need?
I propose these questions, these reflections as a starting point for us as we begin Lent. May each of us make some effort to make this Lent a better Lent than we have had in some time, the best Lent we have ever had. If we do, we will not only celebrate Easter with joy, we will also find ourselves more fully alive and at peace with God, others, and ourselves.