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My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:

This coming Wednesday, March 1, we begin our annual 40-day observance of Lent. In keeping with my custom of previous years, I want to offer some pastoral suggestions regarding ways to make this Lent as meaningful and joyful as possible.

As we approach Lent, it is important to remember that our starting point and main focus should always be God's loving mercy. As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has reminded us in his first encyclical, "Deus Charitas Est," ("God is Love") absolutely everything begins with God's love and flows from His love; all that we do by way of love, prayer, service, or penance are a response to His call and gifts. We embrace this season of prayer and penance not primarily out of guilt or sorrow for sin, but rather, out of gratitude for the incredible and undeserved love of God expressed for us and all people is the death-resurrection of Jesus Christ, His only Son. To be sure, part of the reason for our Lenten penance should be sorrow or contrition for our sins and those of others, but our first and primary motivation should be joyful gratitude and a desire to grow in our ability to accept God's loving mercy and to let it flow through us to others.

As we meditate on God's love and contemplate Christ's cross, we will naturally be moved to a desire for conversion and change in the light of God's great goodness; we will recognize our failings and want to change any pattern of thinking or acting which prevents us from communion with Him and His Body, the Church. Our Lenten prayer and penance are ways by which we manifest our desire for spiritual growth and change. It is important to note that we embrace those penances not only for ourselves, but also for the needs of others; as always, our good works should build up the whole Body of Christ and should be motivated by a sincere and intense desire for the salvation of the whole world.

Originally, Lent began as an intense three-day period of prayer and fasting with and for all those joining the Church at Easter; later, it was expanded to a 40-day journey in keeping with the example of Jesus, who spent 40 days in the desert.

In later centuries, since most people joined the Church at infancy, the focus on catechumens became less and less pronounced and the season was approached as a time of penance for the ways people had failed to live up to their baptismal calling. The spotlight was off the catechumens and more on personal sins and the need for repentance. The Lenten season tended to be a time for personal asceticism and practices of personal piety; the communal aspect of Lent was often under-appreciated and under-emphasized. Since Vatican II and with the restoration of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, we more fully appreciate the fact that our prayer, fasting and almsgiving are actions intended to build up the whole Church. We understand as well that our prayer or penance should inspire us to a greater concern for the poor and the vulnerable.

As you look ahead to the season of Lent, I would like to suggest various ways that you might fulfill the general intention of Lent — growing in love for God and neighbor, building up the whole Church even as we ourselves are renewed. Certainly, one of the very best ways to celebrate this holy season would be participation in daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the greatest prayer of the Church.

Fasting is always a good thing, provided we do it for the right motive and that it will not jeopardize our health. Church discipline requires that Catholics from the age of 18 years are expected to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday; fasting on other days of Lent is recommended but not required. By fasting, we are referring to abstaining from food between meals and consuming one moderately sized meal and two smaller ones. Everyone older than the age of 14 is bound by the law of abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Such abstinence from meat is also recommended throughout the Fridays of Lent.

As Isaiah 58 reminds us, the fasting God seeks must be more than just external ritual; He wishes us to grow in loving concern for the least of our brothers and sisters. Fasting, therefore, should put us in touch with the hungers of others and motivate us to be generous in their regard.

Fasting also connects with the other two great Lenten penances of prayer and almsgiving. As St. Peter Chrysologus teaches us in one of his sermons, "Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the life blood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God's ear to yourself."

As we fast, we recognize our dependence on God and our connection to others; naturally, we become more disposed to recognize the pain and suffering, the hunger and need of our brothers and sisters. And, therefore, our prayer will take a different turn as well, focusing more on the needs of others rather than just our own personal desires or anxieties. By embracing prayer and fasting, we will have new motivation for Christian charity and works of justice and peace.

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has issued a very beautiful pastoral message for Lent 2006 entitled "Jesus at the Sight of the Crowds was Moved with Pity." He suggests we need to make our own the compassionate spirit of Jesus Christ. He writes: "Indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the 'gaze' of Christ. Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a special way during the Lenten season, are suitable means for us to become conformed to this 'gaze.'"

We can become more in tune with the mind and heart of Christ as we study the Scriptures and pray over them each day. Since we are using the Gospel of Mark this year, you might want to make your Lenten penance reading a section of the Passion according to St. Mark each day. The more we come to appreciate the depth of the Lord's love for us expressed in the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus, the more we will grow in a loving response to Him and in loving compassion for our brothers and sisters.

Another way to deepen our conversion and come to a deeper communion with the Lord and the Church is by celebrating the Sacrament of Penance. As our Holy Father reminds us, "In turning to the Divine Master and being converted to Him, and experiencing His mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation, we will discover a 'gaze' that searches us profoundly and gives new life … ."

Our celebration of the sacrament of penance will be meaningful and significant if we take the time each day to make a thorough and honest examination of conscience. Consider taking time each day to reflect back on the many ways that God spoke to you and through you, asking yourself the question of whether you were open to the gift and possibilities of the Lord's spirit in each and every encounter. An examination of conscience does not need to be morose or ponderous; it should be a joyful recognition of the many ways God has manifested Himself, a call to humble gratitude.

For most of us, there is already some "penance" or challenge built into the fiber of our daily lives — for example, chronic aches and pains, psychological burdens, problems with our employment, stress and anxiety with members of our families, etc. One way to approach Lent is by seeing these things as our way of embracing Christ's cross. Instead of complaining about our circumstances, we accept them with serene trust and ask that they become a pleasing offering to God — for our own salvation and that of the world.

As I mentioned at the outset of the column, our Lenten prayer and penance should always have as their motivation and perspective a desire to build up the rest of the Body of Christ, the Church. In choosing a Lenten penance, it is important that we ask ourselves: How will this particular activity help the rest of the Church? How am I being an instrument of reconciliation, healing, and hope for others? Ultimately, our own salvation does not depend so much on a series of pious practices, but rather, how generously we give of ourselves to others. One of the main messages of the death-resurrection of Jesus is the theme of solidarity — that we overcome the isolation and brokenness of sin precisely by a deeper immersion into the Body of Christ, the Church. We cannot come close to the Lord unless we also at the same time have a deep respect and loving concern for the whole Church, indeed, the well-being of the whole human family.

As we prepare to begin our Lenten journey, I ask that you remember in a special way all those who will be baptized or received into the Church at Easter, those seeking to return to the practice of their faith, all who are living with separation or brokenness in their lives because of war or violence, or all those who will be affected by upcoming announcements about reconfiguration of parishes within the archdiocese.

May this Lenten season of 2006 draw us all closer to the Lord and one another!

Sincerely yours in the Lord,
†Adam Cardinal Maida