PRAISE THE LORD, IT’S BACK!

 

PRAISE THE LORD, IT’S BACK!

            I would say Alleluia, it’s back, but we are burying the Alleluia after the 12 o’clock Mass this Sunday in preparation for Lent.  Therefore, I chose a different phrase, as we will replace the Alleluia throughout Lent in our celebrations.  In the Mass, as we prepare to hear the Gospel, we will chant “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory” or “Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ” or something similar.  This is not because Lent is supposed to be a sad season; rather, because the joy expressed by Alleluia is the direct result of the Resurrection of Christ, which we will celebrate with great solemnity at the Easter Vigil and the fifty days of the Easter season.  We hold back a little of our outward joy as we make our pilgrimage through a season of penance.

            Yes, I am sincere in praising the Lord for the return of Lent!  It seems to me that the season comes at the right time, just when it is needed to help to refocus on the essentials of our faith.  In the course of history, in preparation for Easter, Lent developed into a forty days observance, as a commemoration of the forty days Christ fasted in the wilderness before he began his public ministry.  In reality, Lent actually includes more than forty days on the calendar, but this can be explained by the fact that Sundays in Lent are not fast days, since each Sunday is a “little Easter.”  We also miss two fast days on the solemnities of Saint Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation (March 25).  The result is that we fall a little short of forty days of fasting – it will be thirty-seven this year.  More important than the number of days, however, will be the quality of our prayer, fasting and almsgiving during this allotted time.

            How should I increase my practice of prayer, fasting and almsgiving?  The answer is for each us to decide, with a generous disposition, by asking the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  To pray more could mean attending more daily Masses, spending extra time in meditation in daily devotions, praying the Stations of the Cross, making extra visits to the Blessed Sacrament during the week, reading a Psalm before or after lunch every day, or beginning every meal with grace if I have slipped out of this habit.  To fast more could mean watching less television, silencing the radio, eating simple meals, or simply skipping some of them.  To give more I might make a gift to a charity I do not normally support, or increase my contribution to charities which I regularly support.  I could volunteer more of my time and talent to a good cause, or perhaps visit someone I have been avoiding.  There are many possibilities of doing good and increasing one’s prayer, fasting and almsgiving during Lent.  If you seek the Lord for guidance he will inspire you!  And he will also give you the grace to persevere.

            The path of holiness for many saints was to meditate on the Cross.  As they came to a deeper understanding and experience of Christ’s Passion, they more easily accepted suffering in their own lives.  They learned to relate their anxieties to Jesus’ sweating of blood in Gethsemani.  They were consoled when they felt rejected by contemplating Jesus standing before the jeering crowd at Gabbatha.  The disloyalty of people they loved felt less burdensome when they considered the betrayal of Judas Iscariot and the flight of the disciples upon Jesus’ arrest.  They more easily accepted their pains and infirmities when they thought of the whip, the crown of thorns, and the nails which tortured Our Lord.  They avoided despair when they considered Jesus’ prayer taken from Psalm 22 as he hung on the Cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  And they were moved to forgive when they heard Jesus say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Surely, the saints were able to persevere through all their trails by remembering the promise of the Savior to the good thief: “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”  Their faith was further fortified when they considered the final words of Christ: “It is finished.”  All that was needed for our salvation had been accomplished.

            The season of Lent is a chosen time to draw near to Christ, who experienced all that we experience except for sin.  By our personal devotions and by joining in our communal celebrations may each of us be drawn ever closer to Christ and become greater witnesses to his love for humankind.  By the grace of the Holy Spirit may we be moved to a deeper experience of his Passion, so that we may experience more of his risen Life.  May we stand with Saint Paul and echo his words: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:2).  For by your Cross and Resurrection, Lord, you have set us free!