Lent: A Call for Conversion

"Penance does not mean sacrifice and self denial in the first place, but a "change of heart," a victory over sin and a striving for holiness.  The sacrifices of fasting and self denial are only means and signs of this spiritual penance.  If people understand this well, they will not put the main effort in Lent on technical feats of abstaining from pleasures (which sometimes makes them proud or vain), but in sincere contrition, prayer and humble fight against their faults." - Fr. Francis X. Weiser, SJ

Jesus in the desert - an image of focus for me this Lent
Thank you to the artist for this beautiful meditation!

In less than an hour, the season of Lent begins, a time when the Church unites herself to the 40 days of temptation that Jesus withstood in the desert.  During these 40 days, we focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  We traditionally give something up/take something up in order discipline ourselves...we say no to the things of the world and yes to God.  We reflect on our own weaknesses, the temptations we continuously fail to withstand, and strive for conversion.

The purpose of the Lenten sacrifice we choose should be to help us to achieve a closer relationship with God.  However, the only way that our sacrifice can do this is if the focus of our sacrifice is Christ, not on our ability to make sacrifices.  The above quote sums it up perfectly...if we focus on the "technicalities" of our sacrifice it can become a "look what I did" kind of thing...sounds a lot like our buddies the pharisees, doesn't it?  However, if we go at our sacrifice with a contrite and humble heart, seriously striving for conversion and union with God, it never becomes about us and remains about Him.

This whole thought process reminded me of a homily I have heard a couple of times by a priest I greatly admire.  Father asks us each year to remember why we receive ashes and why we make a sacrifice during Lent.  Is it just something that we do because we're Catholic and that's what Catholics do or is there a greater purpose behind it?  It's a real question that I know I must constantly reflect on each year during Lent to keep my focus where it needs to be...pride is a sneaky, sneaky sin.

But the beautiful thing about this whole process is that God's grace can change us in profound ways.  If we are aware of our weaknesses and truly strive to overcome them, acknowledging that God's grace is the only way that we can be successful, we have just opened our hearts to a very fruitful and purposeful Lent.

Lent is not an easy journey...I know I have experienced some of my greatest times of temptation and doubt during these 40 days.  But we persevere through this struggle with courage and humility, knowing that it is not in vain, knowing that we will encounter joy in the risen Lord on the other side.

May Christ's all consuming love be at work in your heart this Lent.

In His Love,
Lindsey