As a convert to Catholicism, it took me a while to figure out what this ‘Lent thing’ was all about. At first, I thought it was just about me, so I gave up meat on Fridays and stopped eating dessert and potato chips. I felt very holy. It took me a while to realize that the practice of Lent isn’t just a Church sanctioned diet plan! Thank goodness God is so patient and loving with us, because it took me some time before I came to see that Lent is not so much a ‘turning away’ from things as it is a ‘turning toward’ Christ.
I now see Lent as a time to examine my life in God’s presence, to recognize those things which prevent me from drawing closer to Him, and to see what areas of my life need to be transformed in order to be more like Him. It is a time for change! A few weeks ago, our parish priest upped the bar when he pointed out that our Lenten penitential practices are not meant to be something that we do for 6 weeks and then forget about; they are meant to be the beginning of a true conversion of heart that will continue throughout the entire year. So this Lent, I haven’t made any grand plans for major ‘spiritual surgery’. Instead, I have tried to pick small ways that I can be more Christ-like, ways in which I hope to be able to persevere despite my human weakness: things like praying with greater attention and love, giving of myself and of my material resources to others with greater generosity and love, and fasting not because of any self-imposed diet plan, but to strengthen my will and to grow in my love for Christ. And in the end, perhaps Lent is just about that, about love – because God is love. It is doing everything out of love, not for me, but for God and for His greater glory.
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