Third Sunday of Lent (A)
27 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032711.shtml
“In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses.” I’m sure most of us have experienced a person or group of people, perhaps even seen in ourselves, how things as basic as hunger and thirst can drastically change a person’s demeanor or attitude. I think also of college dining halls and, dare I say, family kitchens where children complain about the food “always being the same” and how little they like it. Things as basic as hunger and thirst can change the way we interact with others precisely because of how much we need food and water to survive. The people were so desperate – so needy that they remembered slavery in Egypt fondly and forgot their miraculous rescue when God separated the Red Sea.
Water is essential to life – one of our most basic needs. Consequently, we are always seeking water, going out looking for it, and drinking it whenever we can. We don’t think about it much because it is so available and our search usually ends at the nearest faucet. In the ancient world, they would go to the town well.
This is where a woman of Sychar finds a man waiting for her. Jesus is thirsty, and asks her for a drink. But, soon we discover another truth – ordinary water does not fulfill us. We are not satiated by the water we drink. We must always come back for more. We must keep asking for water as we dine out. We must keep finding faucets and filling our glasses. But, Jesus promises “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman is attracted to this. She has been alienated from her community. While it is hot and everyone is in town having lunch, she is coming out to do the laborious task of fetching water by herself. Her life has gotten to the point where she doesn’t want to be seen by anyone. She is ashamed of what she has become.
Jesus sees this. This is why she is fetching water at noon. And, Jesus knows why she is so ashamed. She has been married five times, and has given up on marriage and is now living with a man. She is seeking something in these relationships that she is not finding. She is looking for the perfect relationship, the perfect man who will fulfill every one of her needs. And, she cannot find him. In a spiritual sense, she is thirsty for what will fulfill.
How many of us are like the woman at the well – looking for the perfect relationship, the one that will fulfill all our needs? How many of us expect too much out of our friendships, our marriages, our family, even our priests? No human is perfect, and no one human person will ever fulfill all our needs, our desires, our hope.
In truth, there is only one who can satisfy our thirst for this water. There is only one in whom we find our hope, and he is the man we found sitting at the well when we weren’t expecting him, calling us to come to him and ask him for living water. He is the one we first encountered sacramentally here at the fount of Baptism. He is the one whom our hearts have been desiring, longing, crying for all our lives, since our very creation. He is the one whom the people of Israel following Moses were really looking for when they were thirsty, and he gave them water from the rock. He is the one the prophets and patriarchs longed for. He is the one whom all peoples truly need. He is our God, who came to satisfy our thirst with the waters of Baptism and our hunger by offering his body and blood on the Cross. And, as the Samaritan woman was uniquely blessed to be told directly – He is the Christ.
“The woman left her water jar.” What an amazing change! She is no longer thirsty, for her true thirst has been fulfilled. She is so full of water – of life! – that she runs into town to share what she has received with everyone she can find. The thirsty woman, who avoided everyone, has now herself become a spring of living water through which everyone in the town would follow back to its source. Then, they too could have their thirst satisfied and say “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
In our tradition, we have the story of this woman who sought fulfillment in every possible way before discovering Christ. But, she is not alone. Countless men and women throughout the centuries have sought every worldly advice and pleasure seeking happiness and fulfillment, only to discover that our only true hope is in Christ. In a most beautiful passage summarizing his life’s journey, Saint Augustine says,
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.”
Lent teaches us that nothing created will ever satisfy us. That is why the Church proposes for us the discipline of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer focuses us back on God – we listen for him; we talk to him, because he is the fountain of life. Fasting disciplines us to know that ultimately, more that food or water, we need Christ. Almsgiving teaches us that the gifts we have been given by God are meant to be shared out of love for one another, that these gifts may lead others back to God.
This week, let us pray – truly pray. Let us allow God to fill us today at this Mass. Let us discipline ourselves through fasting, submitting our own desires – bodily or otherwise – to the one desire which is more important than all the others – our need for God. Then, as we continue in true perfection, as we let ourselves be fulfilled, we can find a way to do something good for God, so that through the love of God flowing from the fountain of our hearts, others too may come to know the beauty, the joy, the hope that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Be Strong, all who hope in the Lord.
Second Sunday of Lent (A)
20 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032011.shtml
As we progress through Lent, as we grow stronger in our desire and ability to follow Christ and His Gospel, we begin to see how difficult being a disciple of the Lord can truly be.
In the first reading, we hear the call of Abraham. God called Abraham to leave everything he knew, everything that gave him identity – his father’s house, family, land – and God asked him to go to a land he “would show” him. That’s it. God didn’t promise him riches, wisdom, fame, or anything else we expect to motivate others. God simply said, politely, “Go, for your own sake,” and Abraham went, not even knowing where he was being led.
Abraham had faith, he trusted in God. He was not perfect, and his faith would continue to be purified and refined as his life continued on. But, he took these first, difficult steps in faith.
When we meet Peter, James, and John in the Gospel, they have already heard the voice of Christ calling them to follow him. They have already taken the first steps, leaving their boats at the sea and following him. Now, Christ calls them to follow him up a mountain as he is about to make his final turn to Jerusalem. It has been difficult. There has been infighting among the twelve. They haven’t understood much of what Jesus has said in his preaching. Peter has been called Satan for tempting Jesus. Yet, they are still called to ascend the mountain, take the difficult road, and follow Christ.
However, it has not been without rewards. They have been with Jesus when he has healed the sick, cast out demons, and performed many other miracles. Peter has been given the knowledge that he is following the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Peter, James, and John have great faith. In following Christ, they have come to know him not as a mere human, but have understood him to be God. Today, for a brief moment, they see briefly behind the veil of their master’s human nature, and see the Light of God, shining from the face of Christ. And, they let this light shine upon them. They let themselves bathe in this glorious light which Moses and the prophets before them saw. And, they hear the ancient voice of the Father, confirming them in their faith. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him”
But, it is only for a moment that the veil is lifted, that this experience lasts. Then, they see again with ordinary eyes their master and teacher just as he was. Why do they have this experience? Wouldn’t it be great if they were able to stay in that heavenly light forever? This is exactly what Peter wants to do – to set up tents and stay there with Jesus forever. Why must it end, and why must they go down from the mountain? Why can they say nothing about it?
Have you ever been on a retreat or had an experience of prayer which has filled you with light, energy, excitement? Which has enflamed your heart with powerful, inexpressible love of God? Why must it end?!
The gifts we are given by God – whether our talents or treasures, or our experiences of grace and prayer – none of these are meant solely for us individually, but are for the building up of the whole Church. Peter, James, and John have a brief glimpse of the glory of God shining from the face of Christ. It gives them sure knowledge that this is the long-awaited Messiah, hope that they will follow him into his glory, and strength to follow him to the end.
They must have this strength for what God has in mind. They are the leaders among the 12, among all of the disciples of Jesus. In just a little while, Jesus will prophesy a second time that he will suffer and die. Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem, and these men must have faith that not only will he suffer and die, but that, as he promised, he will rise from the dead. They must know he is the Christ whom God has sent, and that all of this is God’s plan.
In our own lives, we all can have great and exceptional moments in prayer. However, these moments are not just for ourselves to help us know Christ. They also empower us to help the whole Church – to console those who suffer, to teach those who want to learn, to pray with those who do not know how. The next few Sundays of Lent, the readings are picked to speak in a special way to those in the RCIA. They are stories about an individual person touched in a unique way by Christ – how their life of faith begins. We’ll see how this changes not only their life, but the life of everyone around them.
Today, let us remember that we have a responsibility to stand beside these elect, to help them grow in their faith. This requires us to be strong in our faith, and to ever become stronger. Oftentimes, this involves trials of our own. But, think of Peter, James, and John as Christ was being led to his death – every human impulse in them telling them to run away, have no association, forget they ever knew the man – and yet, this one experience, this one insight into his divinity, knowing there was truly nowhere else they could turn, for he is the Son of God, and he alone has the words of everlasting life.
“Be strong; let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.” (Ps. 31:24)
20 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/032011.shtml
As we progress through Lent, as we grow stronger in our desire and ability to follow Christ and His Gospel, we begin to see how difficult being a disciple of the Lord can truly be.
In the first reading, we hear the call of Abraham. God called Abraham to leave everything he knew, everything that gave him identity – his father’s house, family, land – and God asked him to go to a land he “would show” him. That’s it. God didn’t promise him riches, wisdom, fame, or anything else we expect to motivate others. God simply said, politely, “Go, for your own sake,” and Abraham went, not even knowing where he was being led.
Abraham had faith, he trusted in God. He was not perfect, and his faith would continue to be purified and refined as his life continued on. But, he took these first, difficult steps in faith.
When we meet Peter, James, and John in the Gospel, they have already heard the voice of Christ calling them to follow him. They have already taken the first steps, leaving their boats at the sea and following him. Now, Christ calls them to follow him up a mountain as he is about to make his final turn to Jerusalem. It has been difficult. There has been infighting among the twelve. They haven’t understood much of what Jesus has said in his preaching. Peter has been called Satan for tempting Jesus. Yet, they are still called to ascend the mountain, take the difficult road, and follow Christ.
However, it has not been without rewards. They have been with Jesus when he has healed the sick, cast out demons, and performed many other miracles. Peter has been given the knowledge that he is following the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
Peter, James, and John have great faith. In following Christ, they have come to know him not as a mere human, but have understood him to be God. Today, for a brief moment, they see briefly behind the veil of their master’s human nature, and see the Light of God, shining from the face of Christ. And, they let this light shine upon them. They let themselves bathe in this glorious light which Moses and the prophets before them saw. And, they hear the ancient voice of the Father, confirming them in their faith. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him”
But, it is only for a moment that the veil is lifted, that this experience lasts. Then, they see again with ordinary eyes their master and teacher just as he was. Why do they have this experience? Wouldn’t it be great if they were able to stay in that heavenly light forever? This is exactly what Peter wants to do – to set up tents and stay there with Jesus forever. Why must it end, and why must they go down from the mountain? Why can they say nothing about it?
Have you ever been on a retreat or had an experience of prayer which has filled you with light, energy, excitement? Which has enflamed your heart with powerful, inexpressible love of God? Why must it end?!
The gifts we are given by God – whether our talents or treasures, or our experiences of grace and prayer – none of these are meant solely for us individually, but are for the building up of the whole Church. Peter, James, and John have a brief glimpse of the glory of God shining from the face of Christ. It gives them sure knowledge that this is the long-awaited Messiah, hope that they will follow him into his glory, and strength to follow him to the end.
They must have this strength for what God has in mind. They are the leaders among the 12, among all of the disciples of Jesus. In just a little while, Jesus will prophesy a second time that he will suffer and die. Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem, and these men must have faith that not only will he suffer and die, but that, as he promised, he will rise from the dead. They must know he is the Christ whom God has sent, and that all of this is God’s plan.
In our own lives, we all can have great and exceptional moments in prayer. However, these moments are not just for ourselves to help us know Christ. They also empower us to help the whole Church – to console those who suffer, to teach those who want to learn, to pray with those who do not know how. The next few Sundays of Lent, the readings are picked to speak in a special way to those in the RCIA. They are stories about an individual person touched in a unique way by Christ – how their life of faith begins. We’ll see how this changes not only their life, but the life of everyone around them.
Today, let us remember that we have a responsibility to stand beside these elect, to help them grow in their faith. This requires us to be strong in our faith, and to ever become stronger. Oftentimes, this involves trials of our own. But, think of Peter, James, and John as Christ was being led to his death – every human impulse in them telling them to run away, have no association, forget they ever knew the man – and yet, this one experience, this one insight into his divinity, knowing there was truly nowhere else they could turn, for he is the Son of God, and he alone has the words of everlasting life.
“Be strong; let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord.” (Ps. 31:24)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Joyful Season of Lent
First Sunday of Lent (A)
13 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031311.shtml
During this season of Lent, the Church meditates on the reality of human sinfulness. Today, we have heard the readings of the fall of humanity into Sin and Death. Saint Paul tells us how the Sin of Adam has affected all of his children – the entire human race. And, we see in our own lives how each one of us fails to follow God. We follow our own thoughts, plans, and desires. We yield to our temptations rather than heeding the voice of God.
However, we do not meditate on human sinfulness here at the beginning of Lent in order to fall into despair or “Catholic guilt”. Rather, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, the first preface of Lent says to God the Father, “Each year You give us this joyful season/ when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed.”
Lent is not about feeling sorry for ourselves, thinking “Oh, I’m such a miserable person.” While we do remember our own sinfulness, Lent focuses us not on ourselves, but on our need for God. We prepare this season, not to be miserable, but to rejoice in the amazing gift of God, who came to rescue us from the power of Sin and Death. We stand in awe, that “the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.”
Jesus himself redeems us from Sin and Death through the Paschal Mystery – his own suffering, death, and resurrection. He came to our rescue by his power as God, so that “Just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
We can see the beginning of this redemption in Christ’s temptation. Christ was tempted by hunger, and Satan encouraged him to turn some stones into bread. But, ultimately it is not physical food that satisfies us. Ultimately, we must completely depend and trust on God. Christ was tempted to make himself famous by being miraculously rescued, but God chooses to come to us in the ordinary events of life. Finally, Christ was tempted by what seemed to be an easier path to his goal of bringing everyone back to God, but it involved the falsehood of worshiping someone other than God.
As we continue through Lent, we have the example of Christ, who calls us to follow him. Certainly, we are tempted by those habits we have developed which we are trying to change. But, temptation isn’t a sin – for even Christ himself was tempted. Rather, temptation is a chance for us to choose again to follow Christ. On Ash Wednesday, when the entire Church fasted, many of us were hungry. At the seminary, some of us make fasts throughout the year for various reasons. Yet somehow, Ash Wednesday, one of the two days when the Church requires us to fast, somehow that day the temptation to eat is nearly unbearable. We’re doing something right, and we can spiritually join ourselves to Christ hungry in the desert.
Here, as we are still just beginning this Lent, perhaps we should ask just one question: Are we focused on ourselves, or are we really trying to become more like Christ? What are our Lenten promises? Are they really bringing us closer to Christ, or am I doing them for me? Have I done something to help me grow in faith, or am I giving up chocolate, planning to indulge when Easter comes?
If you find that you need something to help you to come to know, love, and follow Christ more closely, perhaps consider picking up a Lenten promise to do something. Perhaps you’re busy. But, I bet you could find even 15 minutes for God. How about reading scripture 15 minutes a day? Start in the Gospel of Matthew. Or, look at the Missalette at the readings for these Sundays of Lent. Read slowly, and let God talk to you through the text. Listen for what he might be saying to you. Pray. Give thanks for his love revealed in his Son.
Perhaps you could spend that 15 minutes and stop in the church on your way home from work and visit Jesus here in the tabernacle. Or, bring the family together to pray the rosary – or at least a decade – every day of Lent. Perhaps you want to understand the faith better. You could read the Catechism for 15 minutes.
Lent is not about misery; it is about joy – the joy of knowing Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, who has loved us so much that he suffered and died so that we too could rise to life in him. Dear friends, let us make the best use of this joyful season of Lent as we prepare for the glorious season of Easter. Let us become more fervent in our Lenten discipline, so that we who have sinned in Adam can become alive again in Christ.
13 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031311.shtml
During this season of Lent, the Church meditates on the reality of human sinfulness. Today, we have heard the readings of the fall of humanity into Sin and Death. Saint Paul tells us how the Sin of Adam has affected all of his children – the entire human race. And, we see in our own lives how each one of us fails to follow God. We follow our own thoughts, plans, and desires. We yield to our temptations rather than heeding the voice of God.
However, we do not meditate on human sinfulness here at the beginning of Lent in order to fall into despair or “Catholic guilt”. Rather, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer, the first preface of Lent says to God the Father, “Each year You give us this joyful season/ when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed.”
Lent is not about feeling sorry for ourselves, thinking “Oh, I’m such a miserable person.” While we do remember our own sinfulness, Lent focuses us not on ourselves, but on our need for God. We prepare this season, not to be miserable, but to rejoice in the amazing gift of God, who came to rescue us from the power of Sin and Death. We stand in awe, that “the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.”
Jesus himself redeems us from Sin and Death through the Paschal Mystery – his own suffering, death, and resurrection. He came to our rescue by his power as God, so that “Just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
We can see the beginning of this redemption in Christ’s temptation. Christ was tempted by hunger, and Satan encouraged him to turn some stones into bread. But, ultimately it is not physical food that satisfies us. Ultimately, we must completely depend and trust on God. Christ was tempted to make himself famous by being miraculously rescued, but God chooses to come to us in the ordinary events of life. Finally, Christ was tempted by what seemed to be an easier path to his goal of bringing everyone back to God, but it involved the falsehood of worshiping someone other than God.
As we continue through Lent, we have the example of Christ, who calls us to follow him. Certainly, we are tempted by those habits we have developed which we are trying to change. But, temptation isn’t a sin – for even Christ himself was tempted. Rather, temptation is a chance for us to choose again to follow Christ. On Ash Wednesday, when the entire Church fasted, many of us were hungry. At the seminary, some of us make fasts throughout the year for various reasons. Yet somehow, Ash Wednesday, one of the two days when the Church requires us to fast, somehow that day the temptation to eat is nearly unbearable. We’re doing something right, and we can spiritually join ourselves to Christ hungry in the desert.
Here, as we are still just beginning this Lent, perhaps we should ask just one question: Are we focused on ourselves, or are we really trying to become more like Christ? What are our Lenten promises? Are they really bringing us closer to Christ, or am I doing them for me? Have I done something to help me grow in faith, or am I giving up chocolate, planning to indulge when Easter comes?
If you find that you need something to help you to come to know, love, and follow Christ more closely, perhaps consider picking up a Lenten promise to do something. Perhaps you’re busy. But, I bet you could find even 15 minutes for God. How about reading scripture 15 minutes a day? Start in the Gospel of Matthew. Or, look at the Missalette at the readings for these Sundays of Lent. Read slowly, and let God talk to you through the text. Listen for what he might be saying to you. Pray. Give thanks for his love revealed in his Son.
Perhaps you could spend that 15 minutes and stop in the church on your way home from work and visit Jesus here in the tabernacle. Or, bring the family together to pray the rosary – or at least a decade – every day of Lent. Perhaps you want to understand the faith better. You could read the Catechism for 15 minutes.
Lent is not about misery; it is about joy – the joy of knowing Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, who has loved us so much that he suffered and died so that we too could rise to life in him. Dear friends, let us make the best use of this joyful season of Lent as we prepare for the glorious season of Easter. Let us become more fervent in our Lenten discipline, so that we who have sinned in Adam can become alive again in Christ.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Preparing for Lent
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
Quinquagesima Sunday
6 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030611.shtml
As many of us know, this Wednesday we will begin Lent. Many of us will come to Ash Wednesday Mass, where ashes will be placed upon our heads and we will be reminded that we are mere dust, and we will hear the call of conversion from Christ to repent and believe in the Gospel.
There are many devotional practices which surround this extraordinary season of Lent. Among them comes to mind praying the Stations of the Cross, going to Mass more frequently, and making some sort of Lenten sacrifice – that is, giving something up for Lent.
Have you ever wondered why we give something up for Lent? Oftentimes, I find that I struggle to find something to give up. I’m not sure what I should do, and I often get my reasons confused. I think, “perhaps I should exercise more so that I get in better shape and lose weight”, or “maybe I should engage my studies more so that my grades improve.” While exercise and study are both good things, the motivation given above is entirely wrong, and ultimately is not what Lent is about. My foundation is faulty, and, like the house built on sand, eventually my good intention collapses. Consequently, I find when I try to do these things, I fail within the first two weeks.
So, why do we give things up for Lent? What is the house built upon rock? I fail because I have not heeded the Gospel. There is little or no sense of conversion of heart in these motivations I have listed. A story is told of a priest who, after a long day of work, was at his rectory and decided to walk to the nearby grocery store to pick up some food. Along the way, a man came out of the shadows holding a gun and said “give me all your money”. The priest said “Alright, you can have the money, but I don’t have much.” As he opened his coat to reach for his wallet, his scarf loosened and the man saw his collar. At this, he said “Oh, sorry, Father! I didn’t know you were a priest. I can’t rob a priest!” Needless to say, the priest was relieved. Having looked through his pockets, he found some gum and offered the man a stick of gum. To this, the man replied, “Oh, I can’t, Father. I gave up chewing gum for Lent.”
Clearly, the man in the story has missed something. He is giving up something for Lent, yet he is still stealing, still threatening people for his own advantage. The man may be saying “Lord, Lord”, but doing the Father’s will is far from his mind.
Lent is first and foremost about turning away from sin and turning back to Christ. If we have any sin – especially big sins, mortal sins – we must first repent of these. Only then will we be following the Father’s will – the law of our God; only then can we find a true foundation for our Lenten discipline. If we still hold onto sin, we cannot hope to keep the least Lenten promise and expect it to do us any good in the end.
Having repented and turned away from our sins, then we can find the true meaning of Lent. Our foundation solidified, only then can we begin building upon it. In my personal example, I must turn away from my own pride and desire to be more physically in shape because of the images our culture gives us. Then, I find that I still have a desire – indeed, a divine will urging me to exercise more, but not for my sake. Instead, now the desire has become for the sake of God and for his people. If I’m not exercising, my body is undisciplined, doesn’t rest well, and I am much less effective in ways that hurt the people around me. I can become lethargic and irritable. Ultimately, this does no good to me, the people around me, and God, whom I exist to serve. So, I sacrifice by choosing to take better care of my own body for the sake of Christ and others. Now, I’m no longer doing it for myself, but for God. Isn’t that motivation to keep up with it?!
So, as we prepare for Lent, the Gospel reminds us to build our house upon a rock foundation. If you are like the man robbing the priest, cut it out! Otherwise, your sacrificed gum won’t mean a thing. Repent, and believe in the words of the Gospel. Come to confession and declare your sins before Christ, who wants nothing more than to have you come to him, acting in his priest, to offer you forgiveness and reconciliation.
If you are already making progress in grace and wish to continue to build your house, then remember that it is for love of Christ that you give the gift of your sacrifice. If you’re not yet sure what to give, then examine your life and see what attachments you have, and if those things are keeping you away from a deeper love of Christ.
May God bless you all this Lent.
Quinquagesima Sunday
6 March 2011
St. Hilary’s, Chicago
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030611.shtml
As many of us know, this Wednesday we will begin Lent. Many of us will come to Ash Wednesday Mass, where ashes will be placed upon our heads and we will be reminded that we are mere dust, and we will hear the call of conversion from Christ to repent and believe in the Gospel.
There are many devotional practices which surround this extraordinary season of Lent. Among them comes to mind praying the Stations of the Cross, going to Mass more frequently, and making some sort of Lenten sacrifice – that is, giving something up for Lent.
Have you ever wondered why we give something up for Lent? Oftentimes, I find that I struggle to find something to give up. I’m not sure what I should do, and I often get my reasons confused. I think, “perhaps I should exercise more so that I get in better shape and lose weight”, or “maybe I should engage my studies more so that my grades improve.” While exercise and study are both good things, the motivation given above is entirely wrong, and ultimately is not what Lent is about. My foundation is faulty, and, like the house built on sand, eventually my good intention collapses. Consequently, I find when I try to do these things, I fail within the first two weeks.
So, why do we give things up for Lent? What is the house built upon rock? I fail because I have not heeded the Gospel. There is little or no sense of conversion of heart in these motivations I have listed. A story is told of a priest who, after a long day of work, was at his rectory and decided to walk to the nearby grocery store to pick up some food. Along the way, a man came out of the shadows holding a gun and said “give me all your money”. The priest said “Alright, you can have the money, but I don’t have much.” As he opened his coat to reach for his wallet, his scarf loosened and the man saw his collar. At this, he said “Oh, sorry, Father! I didn’t know you were a priest. I can’t rob a priest!” Needless to say, the priest was relieved. Having looked through his pockets, he found some gum and offered the man a stick of gum. To this, the man replied, “Oh, I can’t, Father. I gave up chewing gum for Lent.”
Clearly, the man in the story has missed something. He is giving up something for Lent, yet he is still stealing, still threatening people for his own advantage. The man may be saying “Lord, Lord”, but doing the Father’s will is far from his mind.
Lent is first and foremost about turning away from sin and turning back to Christ. If we have any sin – especially big sins, mortal sins – we must first repent of these. Only then will we be following the Father’s will – the law of our God; only then can we find a true foundation for our Lenten discipline. If we still hold onto sin, we cannot hope to keep the least Lenten promise and expect it to do us any good in the end.
Having repented and turned away from our sins, then we can find the true meaning of Lent. Our foundation solidified, only then can we begin building upon it. In my personal example, I must turn away from my own pride and desire to be more physically in shape because of the images our culture gives us. Then, I find that I still have a desire – indeed, a divine will urging me to exercise more, but not for my sake. Instead, now the desire has become for the sake of God and for his people. If I’m not exercising, my body is undisciplined, doesn’t rest well, and I am much less effective in ways that hurt the people around me. I can become lethargic and irritable. Ultimately, this does no good to me, the people around me, and God, whom I exist to serve. So, I sacrifice by choosing to take better care of my own body for the sake of Christ and others. Now, I’m no longer doing it for myself, but for God. Isn’t that motivation to keep up with it?!
So, as we prepare for Lent, the Gospel reminds us to build our house upon a rock foundation. If you are like the man robbing the priest, cut it out! Otherwise, your sacrificed gum won’t mean a thing. Repent, and believe in the words of the Gospel. Come to confession and declare your sins before Christ, who wants nothing more than to have you come to him, acting in his priest, to offer you forgiveness and reconciliation.
If you are already making progress in grace and wish to continue to build your house, then remember that it is for love of Christ that you give the gift of your sacrifice. If you’re not yet sure what to give, then examine your life and see what attachments you have, and if those things are keeping you away from a deeper love of Christ.
May God bless you all this Lent.
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