A story is told about a preacher who wanted to stress the importance of fasting and abstinence during the Lenten season. Seeing that many in his congregation were well-fed, even overfed, he started his homily by saying, “Remember, our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, not cathedrals or basilicas!"1
In a few days, we are going to start a 40-day season of prayer, fasting, and abstinence. This period is called Lent in our Catholic Church. It will start on Wednesday, which is known as Ash Wednesday. The latter reminds us of the themes of death (Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return) and penance. From Ash Wednesday, we will be journeying through the Lenten season until its culmination on Easter. With their foreheads marked with an ash cross, which represents mortality and penance for their sins, Catholics embark on the season of Lent. It is a long season that enables us to purify our Christian life. Every year, our mother church proposes this special moment so that we can reconcile with God. As its title expresses it well, this short article comes to remind us that the Lenten season should be a propitious time to practice a continuous way of repentance. The Lenten season should continue even after the designated period known as the preparation for the celebration of Easter.
Logically speaking, if we hold in our minds that the Lenten season is the only moment for repentance, this means that the period before and after the Lenten season is considered a period of slavery to our own idols. However, this is wrong. Yes, we focus on repentance and abstinence during the Lent season. Yet, we can adopt these disciplines as our way of living out our Christian life. As this Lenten season will fall on the same day as Valentine’s Day, I am wondering how Christians, who are asked by the Church to fast on that day, will manage to celebrate their love and fast at the same time. Maybe this coming Wednesday will be a good time for Christians around the world to show their love in Christ to everyone, so that this Lent helps us move beyond navel-gazing.
Personally, every time I receive the imposition of an ash cross on my forehead and hear the words from the priest reminding me that I am dust and unto dust I shall return, it’s a reminder or a call to humility. The key to a meaningful Lenten observance is humility. We turn back to God in humility, acknowledging our sinfulness and our need for Him. Our fasting, abstinence, prayers, and devotions, if not done in humility, become empty practices done out of self-gratification or manipulation. The bottom line is that we are all sinners, we are in need of God, and we all need conversion. Period! What is consoling for me is that God knows our weaknesses, and He is happy to welcome us back when we decide to turn back to him like the prodigal son. Often, we go back to God because we have nowhere else to go, or because of fear, or just to play it safe, but no matter how shallow or impure our motives are, God accepts us as we are. During this coming Lenten season, let us look at our lives. What are our temptations and shortcomings that impair us in our search for God? What prevents us from offering our lives to God as a true sacrifice from our hearts? After pinpointing these obstacles, let us decide to fully live this Lenten season as if it were our last. May the Lord help us to get closer to him and strengthen our relationship with him. Amen
1The story belongs to Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD