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Southern Cross, Page 14
L ent is here again, a
time of spiritual
renewal and spring
cleaning. A season that we
greet with both welcome
and some pause. It is the
season the Church gives us to
prepare for the greatest feast
of the year, the Resurrection.
“Unless Christ is risen, your
faith is in vain,” (I Cor 15:12
ff.)
We are given a road map
for Lent in the Gospel for Ash
Wednesday, Matthew 6: 1-12.
There the Lord lays down
a blueprint for the spiritu
al journey of Lent. Fasting,
prayer and alms giving
(works of charity) is the pre
scription. Note, the Lord does
not say, “if’ you fast, pray
and give alms, but “when”
you do so. It is assumed that
any serious spiritual journey
will include these disciplines.
What this Gospel addresses
is not how to take these steps,
but rather the proper moti
vation for taking them. The
actions are to be taken for
God’s eyes only and not for
human ostentation or praise.
If carried out for any reason
less than God’s glory and
approval, they lose their spir
itual effectiveness.
I must admit that it is dif
ficult to have a pure moti
vation in carrying out these
Lenten practices. When I
fast from food and drink, I
am thinking that this is also
sliming my waistline. When
I give alms, I am thinking
that this assuages some of
the guilt I have for possess
ing more of this world’s goods
than I need. And when I
add extra prayer time, I am
thinking what an outstanding
Catholic I am, going beyond
the bare minimum.
But I guess this is why the
Gospel on the first Sunday
of Lent offers the temptation
story of Jesus. My Lenten
journey and the struggle to
purify my motives are shared
with Christ as he struggles
with his own mission.
The practice of Lent is
not primarily “giving things
up”. Fasting is a step in
creating more room in my
heart for the Lord’s presence.
Almsgiving is a move to make
more room in my life for my
neighbors who are in need.
Prayer is practiced to connect
Commentary
Thursday, March 5, 2020
It is that time of year again
me with both God and neigh
bor in a deeper way. And so
the 40 day Lenten journey is
a positive opportunity, a time
of grace, a time of growth, to
enter more deeply into our
covenant with God in Jesus.
As a practical matter
I would suggest that our
Lenten practice be done with
concrete steps and specific
goals in mind. Be specific
about your
fasting,
prayer and
almsgiving.
When fasting
from food or
drink, specify,
e.g., no eat
ing between
meals, or,
no alcoholic
beverages.
When fasting
from TV or
the computer,
be specific,
e.g., a certain
time limit
on these devices. Regarding
prayer, be specific, e.g., daily
Mass at least once a week,
or an extra spiritual reading
book. Regarding alms giving,
be specific, e.g., volunteer at
the soup kitchen once a week,
donate a certain amount of
money to a particular charity.
I urge specificity because
I have learned the hard way
that nebulous intentions are
just that, nebulous. One Lent
I resolved to be more encour
aging to the people I met
each day. A laudable goal, a
positive action, but it seemed
to get lost in the hustle and
bustle of the day’s activities.
Being a more encouraging
person is something to be
desired year ‘round, but a
specific focus helps to pin
it down for Lent. For exam
ple, “I will be
more encour
aging to my
wife, and my
children”.
I think that
the proph
et Hosea
suggests a
correct atti
tude for this
holy season.
Hosea 6:1-3
strikes just
the right
note: “Come,
let us return
to Yahweh,
He has torn us to pieces, but
he will heal us, he has struck
us down but he will bandage
our wounds; after a day or
two he will bring us back to
life, on the third day he will
raise us and we will live in
his presence. Let us set our
selves to know Yahweh; that
he will come to us certain as
the dawn, his judgement will
rise like the light. He will
come to us as showers come,
like spring rains watering
the earth” (Jerusalem Bible
translation).
This beautiful passage was
popularized in the song by
the Western Priory, Hosea:
“Come back to me with all
your heart, don’t let fear keep
us apart...”. These biblical
verses put to music express
the spirit of this season. It is
a time to return to the Lord
for healing and wholeness.
For Jesus and for Israel the
desert offers an experience
that helps shut out the noise
that suffocates our soul. Lent
is a time to find a desert
experience that attunes us to
the Lord’s call...’’Come back
to me with all your heart,
don’t let fear keep us apart”.
We are thankful for this
holy season. We are thankful
for the impetus to join with
Christians world-wide as we
walk the way of the cross.
We journey together toward
the celebration of the Holy
Triduum: The Lord’s Supper,
His death and resurrection.
The lasting benefit of Lent is
that our practice spills over
beyond the forty days of peni
tence and becomes part of our
spiritual journey year-round.
Monsignor Fred J. Nijem is retired
AND PASTOR EMERITUS OF SACRED HEART
Church, Warner Robins.
AS A PRACTICAL
MATTER I WOULD
SUGGEST THAT OUR
Lenten practice be
DONE WITH CONCRETE
STEPS AND SPECIFIC
GOALS IN MIND. BE
SPECIFIC ABOUT YOUR
FASTING, PRAYER AND
ALMSGIVING.
WE BELIEVE IN famHij. COME GET TO KNOW/swrj.
WELCOME dome TO BSS
WHERE IT'S GREAT TO BE
/tud.
Open House - March 11th, 8:30 a.m.