
We take this journey of Lent every year and together with the Elect, we will renew our baptismal vows at Easter. We join them in scrutinising our own lives and praying to God for the grace to overcome temptation.
The sign of the cross in ashes upon our foreheads marked the beginning of our Lenten season – a symbol of fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. In this, we the faithful are called to adopt an attitude of internal penance.
In immersing ourselves in Lent, we embrace our cross that we might rise with Him at Easter. Many of us link Lent to penance, fasting, prayer and almsgiving.
Catholics are blessed with the Sacrament of Reconciliation and having confessed our sins with heartfelt contriteness, we stand with the Elect on Easter night – filled with great joy as it were, at the new life that God has given us.
Fasting in turn is a personal commitment. Many of us fast in different ways these days. Fasting is indeed an aid to prayer. Many of the saints fasted and prayed. The pangs of hunger mirror our hunger for God.
However, the prophet Isaiah warns us that fasting without changing our behaviour is not pleasing to God. "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own" (Is 58:6-7).
Fasting should draw our concern towards those who are forced to fast by their poverty, those who suffer from the injustice of our economic and political structures etc. Almsgiving is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude towards our loving Father. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the baptised Catholic.
In terms of scriptural meditation and prayer, a reflection upon the Lord’s Passion as narrated in the Bible will aid to us in inspiring devotion. As we contemplate the divine mystery that the Sinless One would die for our sins, our hearts will more deeply experience gratitude for His infinite love, how very astounding His mercy and forgiveness is and His example of abandonment to the will of the Father which so many of us grapple with.
Since ancient times, Catholics have observed Fridays during Lent as a time to meditate upon the mystery of the Cross. In our parish of St. Francis Xavier – our Lord’s Passion has been depicted vibrantly in stained glass windows. We have the traditional Via Crucis in the church proper, and additionally the Via Dolorosa (Scriptural Way of the Cross) in the Chapel of Santa Maria della Strada.
The images are evocative and rightly so.
The colours fill the church towards sunset during the 6.15pm Friday mass.
The features of Christ. Accused. Convicted. The weight of the cross upon His wounded body. In pain. Meeting His beloved Mother. The crucifixion. His redemptive sacrifice. The scenes come alive and in the quiet mournful songs that we sing, the faithful accompany Him on His final earthly journey.
As we contemplate and pray the Via Crucis, we remember that this life is but a journey. A pitstop on the way to our true Heavenly abode. We acknowledge the need to carry our crosses courageously united to the will of the Father. His mercy is boundless. Therefore, let us journey towards Easter assured of His love.
“Lent is like a long ‘retreat’ during which we can turn back into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, in order to defeat the temptations of the Evil One. It is a period of spiritual ‘combat’ which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance. In this way we will be able to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism”.
Benedict XVI
Kathleen Sammy
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