True discipleship requires more than just celebrating the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday; it demands that we deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus through His passion, death, and resurrection.
Since Ash Wednesday, we have embarked on a journey to follow Jesus toward Jerusalem. This Lenten season is an opportunity to evaluate the authenticity of our discipleship. True discipleship requires more than just celebrating the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday; it demands that we deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus through His passion, death, and resurrection. We are called to combat the "culture of death" prevalent in our modern world. To make this season fruitful, the Church invites us to build upon three pillars: fasting, prayer, and penitence.
1. Fasting: Becoming Missionaries of Justice
Traditional fasting involves abstaining from food and excess to long for Jesus, the Living Bread. However, we are invited to go further by drawing inspiration from Isaiah 58. We must go beyond our traditional way of fasting by releasing those whom we burden with yokes and doing justice to those we oppress or discriminate against. This means becoming missionaries of justice who give right wages to workers, stop the cycle of corruption, and protect the rights of the defenseless—such as orphans, widows, and indigenous people. Often, the poor do not need our "generosity" as much as they need access to what is rightfully theirs, which we sometimes deprive them of through our own greed and thirst for self-gratification.
2. Prayer: Opening Up to the "Other"
While multiplying hours of prayer, rosaries, or attending extra Masses is good for staying connected to the Lord, we must ensure these spiritual exercises do not keep us focused solely on ourselves. The invitation this season is to open up to the "other" by praying for those we seldom think of: non-Christians, politicians, the lonely, and the sick who struggle to feel God's presence. Furthermore, as Jesus recommends, we should pray for our enemies—those who cause wars, conflicts, and oppression—asking that the light of Christ transfigures the lives of all people.
3. Penitence: Ministers of Mercy
Penitence is certainly about turning from our sins and frequenting the sacrament of confession to experience God's unending mercy. Yet, the disciple cannot stop there; inspired by God’s pardon, we must become ministers of that same mercy towards our brothers and sisters. This is possible if we listen and empathize instead of judging harshly, and if we become actors of reconciliation instead of fostering division. As sinners who have all been pardoned, we should not throw the first stone, but instead seek ways to reunite with those we have stopped talking to and help broken families reconcile.
By walking this path of conversion, our fasting, prayer, and penitence help build the Kingdom of God as we journey toward the joy of eternal life.