By Fr. Michael Morin
Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Lincoln
Imagine you go to the doctor with an ailment, and he or she prescribes two tablets of acetylsalicyclic acid. Typically, you do not ask about the chemical formula for this prescription and if it will really help your ailment. Rather, you just accept it and take the two tablets. It is not like the doctor is keeping a secret from you, but instead he just gives you something he knows will work.
Jesus, the Great Physician, handles our ailments the same way. He gives us a prescription for our eyesight, which is simple enough: go out into the desert of Lent by way of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The desert, that place of discomfort, is where human vision improves many times over.
There is something about the comforts we pursue on this earth that distorts how well we can see. Our vision becomes myopic. When I see comfort as the only good, there is so much I cannot see about who God is and my relationship with him, who I am, where I am in my life, what my life’s purpose is. Instead, I can only see what is on television, and that is hardly satisfying.
What is amazing about this prescription is that we do not know how bad our eyesight is until we get into the desert. Sitting in front of the television, we may think we understand who God is, but that vision could be clouded. A good way to determine your visual sensitivity is to put yourself in the desert. Turn off the television and put a bible in your lap. In that way you will see how he describes himself in the scriptures and learn the true nature of God and your relationship with him.
It is worth pointing out that we were told about this promise of improved vision on Ash Wednesday. When we were marked with ashes to begin Lent, part of the prayer of blessing the ashes is offered this way: “…as they follow the Lenten observances, they may be worthy to come with minds made pure to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of your Son.” The purpose of Lent is to be made pure by our penances to celebrate the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which is the Paschal Mystery. Our minds are made pure and the result is that our vision improves, that is, we better see his perfect expression of love in his suffering, death, and resurrection. In scripture we can find that truth in many ways. Here are a few.
First, take the word ‘compassion.’ In front of the television, one may conclude the word means the same as everyday usage. “Officer, have compassion. Please don’t give me a speeding ticket. And here’s a napkin to get that powdered sugar off your perioral region.” (Note: parts of this essay have been assisted by AI.)
In the scriptures, however, the meaning of compassion is much different. When Jesus came upon the widow of Nain who was on the way to the cemetery to bury her only son, he “had compassion on her” and raised her son from the dead. (Lk.7:13) When we are told Jesus had compassion, it translates literally as “his viscera, his bowels, were moved.” We know what that feels like. When something in our life is so overwhelming and we are just about ready to cry, our abdomen begins to quiver. When you come across the word ‘compassion’ in the gospels, Jesus is telling you something about his own divine nature. He has that much regard for you that his bowels quiver. In the Lenten desert it is easier to see that.
Another example: you and I can see Jesus on the cross and hear him say, “I thirst.” Simple enough. Was he just physically thirsty? While sitting in front of the television, that might be something we would conclude. But if we set our toe in the desert sand, we can begin to understand what St. Augustine says about those words; “God thirsts after our thirst for him: that is, he desires to be desired.” We see Jesus on the cross and, if our vision is good enough, we can see God’s desire for us.
The word ‘love,’ is another example. In front of the television, we may conclude love has something to do with a particular kind of laundry detergent or antacid we should buy, but we suspect that is not it, even sitting there in our easy chair with the TV blaring. Instead, we see Jesus on the cross and recognize that is his expression of love. That is the kind of love he has for us. And Love always looks for a response. When a person says, ‘I love you,’ the hope is to hear the same in return: ‘And I love you.’
Of course, God is love, that is his nature. His life’s offering on the cross is the perfect expression of that love. On the cross, God says, ‘I love you,’ and desires to hear us say, ‘And I love you,’ and to express that love by following his example, dying to self in offering love to him. That expression of love is more readily seen and experienced in the desert.
In a real way, the better I can appreciate that he loves me this much, the more I will desire to turn away from my sinful life and turn back to him. There is a back and forth. The more willing I am to endure the tedious life in the desert (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), the more clearly do I recognize and am able to appreciate and celebrate the Paschal Mystery, his perfect expression of love. One feeds the other, and the result is that my vision improves. This is how I better see who God is, my relationship with him, who I am, where I am in my life, what my life’s purpose is.
Again, what is amazing is that Jesus our Great Physician just tells us, here is your medicine and you will get results. He does not even present it as an option for us, telling us: “When you pray… When you fast… When you give alms….” He expects that we take this medicine.
I love the wisdom of the Church in ‘mandating’ these 40 days of Lent. I am the kind of person that would not choose to do it if left to myself. Even though we are on the downward half of the Lenten season, I encourage you in your discomfort! Get out into the desert! It is good for your eyesight! It is there you will see much better how much God loves you, and that will give you a contentment you cannot find on television.
