February 22, 1998Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time |
To be compassionate and love our enemies we need Jesus' example and the strength of faith which comes from listening with open hearts to His gospel message. We are called to grow in our likeness of Christ, measured by our attitude and behavior toward others.
Dear Friends in Christ,
On Ash Wednesday, February 25, 1998 we begin our journey of preparation for Easter. It is a spiritual journey of prayer and penance, by which we Christians allow ourselves to be purified and sanctified by the Lord who wants us to share deeply in His sufferings and his glory.
In this Lenten season, Jesus calls us to follow him on the way that leads to Jerusalem "Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps" (Luke 9:23). Of course this is a demanding and difficult invitation, but one that can unleash the power of love in those who accept it.
I ask you to respond to this invitation in real and visible ways through prayer, fasting and works of charity that concretely express our solidarity with our brothers and sisters. During this Lenten season ample opportunities in your parish and in the Archdiocese will be provided for you so that you may enter fully into this season.
May our Blessed Mother's care help each one of us to overcome all those things which hinder us from advancing to the foot of the Cross in joyful hope of sharing in the glory of the Resurrection.
1. Abstinence from meat (totally meatless days) is observed by all Catholics 14 years of age and older (no upper age limit) on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent.
2. Fasting is observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics between 18 and 59. Those who are bound by this eat only one full meal; two smaller meals are taken to maintain strength according to each one's needs.
3. Fasting on the other weekdays of Lent is not obligatory but recommended most strongly; if fasting is not observed, some other form of self-denial is obligatory not merely from Church direction but from Christ's command.
4. Prayer is especially necessary to maintain the perspective of penance and to keep the motivation spiritual. Some substantial time must be given to prayer each day.
5. Almsgiving or charity is necessary to maintain and intensify the movement of the soul away from self-centeredness. A substantial donation of monetary funds and/or time and/or personal effort must be given to those in need.
Lent and Confession...All Catholics associate Lent with the Sacrament of Penance, Reconciliation and Confession. Sometimes they "put off" going to Confession until the last minute depriving themselves of a much richer Lent, indeed a much richer life. Sometimes they put off going because it has been too long since they last sought the direct, personal forgiveness of Christ made tangible in the Sacrament; thus it only gets more difficult because of the procrastination. Everyone is urged to make the Lent confession early, during these first few weeks of Lent. In that way the richness of God's Lenten mercy may develop the full root and stem to blossom into a hardy and brilliant Easter joy.
A Special Responsibility...is incumbent on every Catholic during Lent. The Church directs each and every Catholic "to go to Communion worthily" (and hence confession) during the paschal time, the period extending from the beginning of Lent to Pentecost. It stands as an invitation that cannot be ignored, namely that we must not let any estrangement from God or from the Church or from each other in the Church to continue. Consequently, there are many for whom the days of Lent occasion a kind of struggle between conscience and the invitation of God on the one hand and on the other hand the pattern of living without or apart from God. Every Catholic in obedience to the solidarity that we share in Christ from baptism must pray for his brothers and sisters who are presently struggling within themselves to return through "confession" to the Lord and the whole Church. That prayer will be heard and the struggle will be won.
They also recommend that people should eat only one full meal a day, but not skip a light breakfast and lunch. These meals should consist mostly of cereals and grains, vegetables and fruit, and less meat and sweets. Sounds a lot like the lenten fast.
Maybe the Church was too quick to drop some of the old regulations. We never did get a clear explanation of why that was done. What seemed to make most sense was this line of reasoning: "People are not keeping the fast and abstinence anyway, so why force the rule on them?" Or this one: "People should freely choose what penance they do." Who of us is going to freely choose to do something hard? Everyone needs a little push in the right direction.
There is a lot of truth to the old saying in Christianity: Grace builds on nature. Now we see that Catholic penance and good nutrition go hand in hand.
Frs. Earl & Gilmary
Lent offers a beautiful opportunity to discover the mystery of Christ within us. It is a gentle but also demanding time. It is a time of solitude but also community, it is a time of listening to the voice within, but also a time of paying attention to other people's needs. It is a time to continuously make the passage to new inner life as well as to life with those around us.
(Adapted from "Called to Life, Called to Love"
by Henri Nouwen)
This Church must be the Church of Jesus and the Apostles, St. Ambrose, John Paul II, the Church of the Councils and Synods.
It must be a Church fully subject to God's Word; nourished and freed by this Word.
It must be a Church which puts the Eucharist at the center of its life; does everything "in memory of Him" and models itself on His gifts.
It must be a Church which is not afraid to use human means and structures to serve rather than be served, a Church which speaks with the words of the Gospels.
It must be a Church that speaks more with deeds than with words and is attentive to the signs of the Spirit present in our time.
It must be a Church aware of what people are going through and show a desire to share in their pain and to console them.
It must be a Church able and willing to seek out the "new poor" and to welcome the young and old alike.
In summary this Church must be founded in tradition and open to the Spirit of God, the teaching of the Church, and attentive to the signs of the times.
As Messiah and Lord, Jesus Christ came to fulfill "the law and the prophets." In doing so, he set a new ethical standard and moral code for those who follow him. No longer was it the norms of society or the agreed-upon behavior of a prevailing group of religious or political leaders, nor was it even the "Old Law" (the Old Testament characterized by the Ten Commandments).
This teaching of Jesus is a "new commandment," as he himself has said, a new criterion of behavior:
"Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you."
This teaching -- "bigger and better" than before -- has three phases or expressions:
First of all, it recognizes the grace of God within us to be able to identify for ourselves the compassionate, affirming, accepting, forgiving presence of God in our lives.
Secondly, it implies taking on into one's own life these characteristics of God: compassion, affirmation, acceptance, forgiveness.
Thirdly, it indicates that what we choose to make our own in regards to others will come back upon us a hundredfold: being compassionate toward others brings others to be compassionate with us, being affirming toward others helps others affirm us, accepting others makes us acceptable, forgiving others engenders forgiveness for ourselves.
It is this three-fold movement of becoming a disciple of Jesus that makes today's words of St. Paul ring true: "Just as we resemble the man from earth, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." In our humanness we embrace a Christlike attitude and take on a God- reflecting behavior. We are then lifted above our human limitations and soar toward the inexhaustible possibilities of life in the reign of God.
The season of Lent becomes the time to move beyond the limits of our earthly condition and transform our outlook and conduct into those which mirror Jesus. This is conversion. This is our project for Lent.
--Father Benet OFM
