It’s Lent!
Did you meet someone with a black blotch of ashes on his forehead this week? In millennia-old tradition many Christians enroll this week for the 40-day Lenten renewal by putting on ashes. The words we pray when putting them on are ‘Repent and return to the Gospel.?
Repent is ‘turn? or ‘change direction?. Lent says: get out of your rut of selfishness and other bad habits and follow the Gospel again. That is what we committed to at our baptism.
Fasting is not about losing weight. It is about fasting from self-indulgence and sharing what we have with those less fortunate. If you save money by fasting, be sure to give it to the poor. And keep the new habit, even when Lent is over.
Human nature makes it difficult to change bad habits. So we try to do better for a full 40 days. Psychologists say one must do something for at least 21 days to change a habit. Hopefully 40 days will help us do just that.
Maybe we need to replace those bad habits with more positive actions. As children we learned to make an examination of conscience every night before going to bed, to recall all the good things that happened that day and thank God for them, and to recall where we fell short and ask God’s help to do better the next day. Such an examination of conscience can help us decide on a positive action for Lent.
Recently I heard a colleague say ‘just because something sits in a garage doesn’t make it a car.? Well, just because someone goes to church and is baptized doesn’t necessarily make them a Christ-ian ? one who images Christ.
Lent is a time to check if we actually are what we call ourselves.
Sundays are not included in the 40 days of Lent. That is not intended for our benefit. It’s just that Sunday is the day when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Every Sunday is a ‘little Easter? and therefore not suitable for fasting – but rather for feasting, especially at the Lord’s Table at worship.
Why ashes? Why Lent? Why keep such ancient traditions?
Lent actually started 2000 years ago as a preparation time for adults preparing for baptism. Soon those already baptized recognized their own need for renewal and began entering into the Lenten time of prayer, fasting and alms-giving along with the catechumens.
At Easter then, all would renew their baptismal commitment, along with those who were baptized at that time.
Last month we sung ‘We Shall Overcome? at our worship services in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to recall that we must continue the work to overcome prejudice of all kinds. During Lent we ‘shall overcome? our temptations and renew our commitment to become all God calls us to be by our baptism.
Frieda Arpoika is Director of Faith Formation at St. Daniel Catholic Church in Clarkston.