Lent gets a bad rap; it has negative connotations as a time of drudgery. The whole tenor of these weeks is defined by expressions of repentance, conversion, sacrifices, and the frustration of having to give things up and finding ourselves quite feeble in the face of even the meagerest temptations. Perhaps some of us find ourselves feeling this way, especially as we are in the depths of the desert now, and our initial fervor is dwindling and Easter is still so, so far away. If so, we can overcome that temptation to become downcast by reflecting on the “why” of the season. Why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you fasting, praying, and giving alms for forty days? What is the goal of all this?
Maybe you like a challenge; you want to prove yourself and the strength of your will. Perhaps you are frustrated with your weakness and it’s the final straw; this year you’re going to kick “that” habit. Or maybe it’s just rote habit – it’s just the thing Catholics do during Lent. Likely, there is a combination of all of this at work within you, and that’s all fine and good. But none of that is sufficient for the “why” of Lent; we must go deeper. Lent will have very little effect on our lives beyond these forty days if we are not primarily motivated by this: growth in our relationship with God, greater dependence on Him as the source and object of our whole lives, and the healing of the wounds of our sins. This three-fold list is by no means “canonical”, and there are many other good reasons for Lent; but no list is complete without these three, which smack of certain primacy regardless of what else may make the list of reasons for entering into Lent. I want to focus on the latter of these three and offer some catechesis, because I think it is especially helpful in giving Lent a “personal necessity”.
We enter into Lent to heal the wounds of our sins; or, rather, to give God greater freedom to do the work of healing those wounds. Certainly, we fast, pray, and give alms our of love for the Lord: love for Him must be the foundational motivation of all that we do. But we also recognize that He “gets” nothing from these acts of penance; being supreme and perfect, He needs nothing, and we cannot add to His perfection. As far as “need” is concerned, it is not God who “needs” our Lent at all; it is we, ourselves, who truly need our Lent. Our English word for Lent comes from an old English word, “lencten”, which means “springtime or spring”. This offers an insight into the meaning of this season: Lent is meant to be a season of life for us, or better yet, a season of coming to life, much like the world comes to life in spring. But why must we come to life? Because in very truth the works of death, the works of sin, are still at work in each of us. Sin produces a winter in the soul – venial sin offends charity, and mortal sin kills it; sin causes a chill wind to blow upon the soul, stifling the vital warmth of grace. We must daily make an effort to overcome these powers of death in our lives, but knowing how we benefit from set times and seasons, the Church gives us Lent as a privileged time for repentance, with a fresh outpouring of grace to help us along the path of conversion. We enter Lent because we have sinned, and must repent.
During these forty days we should seek life through conversion from our sins, and allow the Lord to do the work of healing us from the wounds of our sins. This truth is revealed beautifully in the prayers we offer at Holy Mass during this season. There we pray to “take up battle against spiritual evils” (Ash Wednesday); that our “virtue be strengthened in temptation” (1st Sunday); that God “sanctify [His] faithful in body and mind” (2nd Sunday); there we admit that we “are bowed down by our consciences” and “beseech pardon for our own sins” (3rd Sunday); we ask that He rescue us “by [His] mercy from every evil” (4th Sunday); that He “graciously purify [us] by the working of This Sacrifice” (5th Sunday); there we renew our faith in Christ, Who, “though innocent, suffered willingly for sinners and accepted unjust condemnation to save the guilty” (Palm Sunday), and that guilty one is each one of us. He suffered for you and me, He died for you and me. Saint Peter summarized this truth powerfully in his first letter, which we recite each Sunday in the Liturgy of the Hours:
Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on His lips. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten; but He trusted to Him Who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 21-24).
Do not let His wounds go in vain; let them have their effect in your life by the renewal of your mind, the strengthening of your heart, and the conversion of your soul. Do penance for your sins, seek reconciliation with Him in confession, and make a valiant, daily effort to resist temptation and the works of death. Do all this out of love and gratitude for the One by whose wounds your soul has been saved from death, and in this way, be healed. May God bless you in the week ahead and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
