I love Lent. When I say this, some people may think that I have a twisted affection for pain and suffering. I do not! The disciplines of Lent do involve self-denial, but these acts of penance and almsgiving, as well as our greater commitment to prayer, are liberating. They are directed toward renewal. Lent is the liturgical season which highlights the call to repentance and ongoing conversion more clearly than any other. It is the time to prepare ourselves with the Church for the celebration and experience of new life at Easter.

This renewal is expressed most clearly during the Easter Vigil at the celebration of Baptism and the sacraments of initiation with the catechumens who have responded to the Lord’s call to membership in the Catholic Church. Throughout Lent, they have reflected more deeply on God’s word, prayed with us and, after learning our beliefs and way of life, they commit themselves to follow the way which the Church proposes: the way of Christ.

During Lent, we baptized members of the Church make this journey in faith with them and prepare to renew our own commitment to Christ and our explicit renunciation of sin at the Easter liturgy.

If we are truly seeking a deeper conversion to Christ, we would be shortsighted to take on penances and disciplines during Lent simply to discard them at Easter. Unfortunately, that is often the way we approach this penitential season. The most fruitful Lenten disciplines will focus on where the Lord is calling us to deeper conversion and repentance in our lives.

In other words, it is not primarily about what legitimate pleasure we should “give up” during Lent but about what sin in our life do we need to repent so that we can follow Christ more faithfully. What relationships need to be repaired, improved or ended? What bad habits need to be broken? What virtues (good habits) need to be strengthened? Our acts of fasting, almsgiving and our prayer open us to God’s grace so that we can strengthen our resolve to follow Christ more closely.

Most Catholics recognize the importance of a good confession during Lent as a way to prepare for the celebration of Easter. It opens our hearts to the grace of renewal through reconciliation with God and with the Church. Unfortunately, far too many Catholics approach the Sacrament of Penance only during Lent. If it is really so beneficial, why would we approach it so infrequently? Like those who practice self-denial only during Lent and then indulge themselves immediately afterward, many Catholics have far too little appreciation of the year-round benefits of the Sacrament of Penance.

The grace of Lent is an invitation to seek permanent changes in our lives. This Lent consider a lasting change in the manner and frequency with which you receive the gift of the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation). Without the grace and healing that comes to us through the Sacrament of Penance, we will never achieve the spiritual growth and progress that the Lord desires for us.

St. John Vianney recognized the necessity of this sacrament for the renewal of his parish. He devoted untold hours to hearing confessions because he saw this great gift, which was being neglected in his time just as it is in our own, as the key that would free his people from their bondage to sin and lead them to great holiness. By preaching its necessity, praying for his parishioners’ conversion and making himself available in the confessional, he saw the fruits of a great spiritual renewal in his parish. The renewal centered on the Sacrament of Penance, which opened people’s hearts and minds to the fruitful reception of the Eucharist and the works of charity.

“It is beautiful to think that we have a sacrament which heals the wounds of our souls,” exclaimed St. John Vianney. Why would we not go frequently to receive the benefits of this great sacrament? Each of us longs for the profound experience of freedom and peace which comes from a clear conscience, from the experience of being forgiven. St. John Vianney describes the effects of this sacrament in just those terms: “The Good God at the moment of absolution throws our sins behind his shoulders; in other words, he forgets them; he destroys them; they will never reappear again.”

This Lent take the longer view. Recognize the need for lasting changes and ongoing conversion. A commitment to the frequent celebration of the Sacrament of Penance will transform that hoped-for outcome from a mere dream into a reality.

Published
The Register
February 18, 2010