Repent!

First Sunday of Lent

"Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Matthew 1:15)

Reflection

I thought I might pass on a great meditation I found from one of my Jesuit brothers here in the Chicago community:

The first reading of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, which marks the beginning of Lent, bids us to fast and weep and mourn and rend not our garments, but our hearts instead—all this to call upon the mercy of God and to re-center our lives on God.

But a year into the global pandemic, might we be tempted to ask, “Lent? Now? Really? Haven’t we been in an extended Lent these last twelve months”?

Fair question, in a way. But there is one crucial difference: We did not choose the pandemic; it chose us, like nothing else in history had ever done. Although we may have been able to control some of our normal routines and patterns, “the virus” left virtually no major aspect of life as we knew it untouched.

Yet Lent is different, for we are free to choose it, or not choose it. We can, of course, close our eyes, hold our breath, fast forward our lives to Easter and beyond, and then exclaim, “Well, that was quick!” Or we can treat Lent merely as a time of minor inconvenience by swearing off candy, desserts, adult beverages, cigarettes, and the like—and risk annoying others with the side-effects of our piety—and then breathlessly boast, “Made it.”

Or this: We can genuinely seek to “rend our hearts” as a way to reconnect with our God, who desires nothing less for any of us.

The traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving offer limitless ways of reordering our lives—our priorities, desires, relationships, fears, and hopes. Unlike the pandemic, Lent does not—should not—instill fear in us. Rather, it should awaken that deep awareness of the presence of God in our lives that can so easily be overwhelmed by disordered and false priorities, desires, relationships, fears, and hopes.

Throughout this holy season of Lent, may we take to heart and joyfully respond to Jesus’ proclamation as he began his public ministry: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  -- Dave Mastrangelo, S.J.