Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
LENT. Ashes. Fasting. Fish on Fridays. These and many more things come to mind as we begin again this most important period of preparation in the Church year. Though the Church requires fasting and abstinence, these are not the most important things about Lent. Fasting and abstinence are no help to us unless they move us to deeper prayer, bring us to a deeper commitment to the most important truths about our life in Christ: baptism, forgiveness of sins and a share in the Resurrection through conversion of heart and mind.
The Catechism speaks of this conversion:
…Jesus insists on conversion of heart: reconciliation with one’s brother before presenting an offering on the altar, love of enemies, and prayer for persecutors, prayer to the Father in secret, not heaping up empty phrases, prayerful forgiveness from the depths of the heart, purity of heart, and seeking the Kingdom before all else.(Mt 5:23-24, 44-45; 6:7, 14-15, 21, 25, 33.) These are the works of Lent, and the reason for fasting and abstinence.
The Church from very early in her life has celebrated baptism for converts each Easter. The aspects of fasting, penance, and other disciplines of Lent, came into custom in imitation of our Lord in the desert and as a way of helping those already baptized to spiritually renew their own baptismal life. These are celebrated in anticipation of the resurrection promised to all the baptized in Christ’s own rising from the dead on that first Lord’s Day.
Let us pray for all who are preparing to enter the Church at Easter, whether through baptism or profession of our Roman Catholic faith for the first time. And may our own fasting, penance, almsgiving and prayer be the seeds which promise a more abundant life in Jesus Christ our Risen Lord.