“I will take you to the desert and there speak to your heart.”
IT IS LENT.
A season tender and hard. It is a time when we hear in our hearts some of God’s most tender words to us, unfolds anew God’s eternal dreams for us. It is a time when, touched by God’s grace, we see our true selves. And it is not always easy to see what we are, to accept what we might have become. And so Lent becomes a time when we throw ourselves and leave ourselves deep into the love and mercy of God. Spiritual writers call Lent a season of Repentance and Renewal.
LIVING LENT.
The Rite for the Burning of Palms in preparation for Ash Wednesday has a prayer that suggests realistic and timely suggestions for living the traditional disciplines of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving and having a humble penitential spirit.
“Merciful God, you called us from the dust of the earth, and claimed us for Christ in the waters of Baptism.
Look upon us as we prepare for the forty days of Lent by burning these palms to create the ashes that will mark us as penitents.
Bless us through our Lenter journey to the waters of new birth at Easter.
May our fasting be a hunger for justice; our prayer; the song of humble and thankful hearts.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Redeemer who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.”
LENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE
“Let us journey together in hope.” Pope Francis
“This year, as we share in the grace of the Jubilee Year, I would like to propose a few reflections on what it means to journey together in hope, and on the summons to conversion that God in his mercy addresses to all of us, as individuals and as a community.
First of all, to journey. The motto of the Jubilee year “Pilgrims of Hope” evokes the long journey of the people of Israel to the Promised Land. It is hard to think of the biblical exodus without thinking of our own brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing from situations of misery and violence. A first call to conversion thus comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life; each of us is invited to stop and ask how our lives reflect this fact. Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, immobilized by fear and helplessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone? Am I seeking ways to leave behind occasions and situations that degrade my dignity?
Second, to journey together. The Church is called to walk together, as synodal Christians we are called to walk at the side of others. The Holy Spirit impels us not to remain self-absorbed, but to leave ourselves behind and to walk towards God and our brothers and sisters. Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God. (Gal. 3:26-28) It means walking side by side, without shoving or stepping away from others, without envy or hypocrisy, without anyone to be left behind or excluded. This is the second call to conversion.
Third, to journey together in hope. We have been given a promise “Hope does not disappoint.” (Rom. 5:5) May this message of the Jubilee be the focus of our Lenten journey towards the victory of Easter. As Pope Benedict taught us in Spe Salvi, “the human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present or to come, no power, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39) Christ, my Lord, my hope has risen. He lives and reigns in glory. Death has been transformed into triumph. And the great faith and hope of Christians rests in this: the resurrection of Christ!
This then is the third call to conversion: a call to hope, to trust in God and his great promise of eternal life. Let us ask ourselves: Am I convinced that the Lord forgives my sins? Do I long for salvation and ask for God’s help? Or do I act as if I can save myself? Do I concretely experience the hope that enables me to interpret the events of history and “inspires in me a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home, and in such a way that no one feels excluded?”
by: Sr Mary Lourdes Fabia, RGS
