Welcoming Lent
This is a time for personal, communal growth in holiness
Adam Cardinal Maida, Special to The Michigan Catholic
Published February 16, 2007
My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
This coming Wednesday, Feb. 21, we will begin our annual Lenten journey. Despite four decades of preaching and teaching about Lent as a joyful season of preparation for Easter, many of us still tend to think of Lent in terms of what we will be giving up and the extra prayer or service we will try to do. We need to think of Lent in positive terms; the Church invites us to consider these 40 days as a time of blessing, a graced opportunity for personal and communal growth in holiness. Perhaps a good analogy would be to say that Lent for the Christian is something like "spring training" for baseball players. Lent is about learning to stretch — reaching out toward the God who is already reaching out toward us. Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we also "stretch" ourselves by reaching out to our neighbors in need.
The purpose of Lent
Lent has a double focus — baptismal and penitential. Primarily and historically, Lent was the final phase of preparation for those about to join the Church at Easter, their time for purification and enlightenment prior to the Easter sacraments. The rest of the Church prayed with and for those who were catechumens; in solidarity with them, they fasted, prayed and gave alms, thus preparing themselves to renew their own baptismal commitment as well. The same reality endures to this day: Lent is a season of preparation for the catechumens as well as for each of us who have already been fully initiated. In the case of those already baptized, Lent is about a re-discovery, a new conversion, a deepening of our baptismal commitment to the Lord and the Church.
Joyfully, we embrace penance
In the Lenten liturgies, we are continually reminded this is a "joyful season," a time for us to be renewed in mind and body. By prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we are invited to enjoy a new kind of freedom. We set aside foods we might otherwise enjoy, not just to lose weight but as a means for a deeper kind of purification of spirit. By changing our diet somewhat, we become more conscious of the hunger of others and, therefore, more ready to be generous in charitable outreach to the poor and the homeless. As we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent, we are challenged to remember that for our own personal growth, it is sometimes necessary and healthy to deny ourselves things we take for granted. Saying "no" to ourselves opens us up to saying "yes" to God and to others.
Prayer
The Lenten penance most of us probably could use is more time devoted to contemplative prayer. Praying the Stations of the Cross or the rosary, or studying scripture, are all very beautiful ways of prayer, but the highest form of prayer is contemplative time with and for the Lord in silent communion, especially before His presence in the Blessed Sacrament. All forms of private prayer and devotion should ultimately bring us to the threshold of a more contemplative spirit in which we truly take on the mind and heart of Jesus and grow more deeply aware of His presence within us and within every other person. A contemplative soul, on fire with the love of God, sees the spark of God's presence everywhere and, therefore, radiates a quiet joy and is always ready to offer a helping hand.
Reconciling and merciful compassion
As I think about our world today, it seems to me that the greatest need we have right now is for more forgiveness. People seem angry and frustrated and often express their inner pain and sense of lack of control by being harsh and critical toward one another. Lent is a wonderful time to look in the mirror and ask the questions: Am I a peaceful person? Am I hospitable toward the stranger? Am I ready and willing to forgive others the way God has forgiven me in Jesus Christ?
At the very center of Christianity is the mystery of the cross and how God stretched out His arms in the person of Jesus Christ to forgive and to heal all humankind. On the cross, Jesus reconciles humanity with God and invites us to accept His love and to live at peace with each other. The dying words of Jesus on the cross are a powerful challenge to us: "Father forgive them for they know not what they do …." A good Lenten penance for all of us would be trying to inculcate and deepen a Christian spirit of forgiveness and peace.
The sacrament of penance
One of the best ways to develop a deeper appreciation of reconciliation and peace is through the celebration of the sacrament of penance. During this six-week period of Lent, I invite you to take the opportunity to reflect on the ongoing "drama" of sin and grace in your own life; to honestly and critically ask yourself how you would like to grow and what is holding you back from being more open to God. Then, come to Church and confess these things in the context of the sacrament of penance. You will find a great joy, peace, and a sense of new hopefulness and new beginnings.
With and for our brothers and sisters
It is important for us to remember that during Lent, we are on a common journey. We have the support and encouragement of each other as we try to embrace practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and meditate on the forgiveness of God. The Lenten charitable deeds we embrace and the penitential practices we undergo are done with and for each other. The journey of Lent is not only about our own personal growth and holiness, but also includes a genuine prayer with and for the salvation of the whole world.
This year on the Sundays, we are hearing from the Gospel of St. Luke, and on Palm Sunday, the Passion account will be that of St. Luke. Luke's is a Gospel that especially emphasizes forgiveness and compassion. As one more way to prepare for our Easter celebration, I suggest prayerfully reading sections of the Passion according to St. Luke each day of Lent.
A final word from Pope Benedict XVI
In his message for Lent 2007, Pope Benedict XVI echoes many of these same thoughts and insights as he invites us to the cross of Jesus Christ, and contemplates Christ who was pierced for sins and offenses. As he explains, Christ on the cross expresses the pure and all-powerful love of God for us. Contemplating Christ on the cross, we cannot help but be moved to words and deeds of love. As he writes: "Contemplating Him whom they have pierced moves us to open our hearts to others, recognizing the wounds inflicted upon the dignity of the human person; it moves us, in particular, to fight every form of contempt for life and human exploitation and to alleviate the tragedies of loneliness and abandonment of so many people. May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God's love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must 'regive' to our neighbor, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this way will we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter."
Every Lent is a special gift from God and there are unique graces God wants to offer us. Let us try to use it well — a joyful opportunity to grow in loving reverence for God and neighbor as we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ. Praying with you and for you as we share this Lenten journey 2007, I remain
Sincerely in the Lord,
†Adam Cardinal Maida
Archbishop of Detroit
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