by Bishop James Conley
On March 2, the Church celebrated Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. As we approach Lent, we routinely ask the question, “what am I going to give up for Lent?”
It’s a good question. We should think about what we are going to do during this holy and penitential season.
The Church calls us to incorporate into our lives the three traditional acts of the season of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Penitential practices, which include giving up legitimate goods help us in becoming less self-indulgent, which, in turn, helps us to turn away from sin and become more attentive to the needs of others.
So, thinking about what kind of penitential practices we will do during Lent is a good thing, but always within the context of “what will bring me closer to Jesus?” The whole purpose of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is to lead us to greater conversion, repentance and renewal in our lives.
When Lent begins and ashes are distributed on Ash Wednesday, a cross is traced upon our foreheads, and we hear a reminder: “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you will return,” or “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” These words we hear at the beginning of Lent remind us of our mortality and short time on earth, and the need for greater, daily conversion of heart. Lent should be a time for us to see our weaknesses and sinfulness, allowing the Lord to heal us and draw us nearer to himself.
A recent article that I read by my brother bishop, Bishop Robert Barron, points to the real purpose of Lent. Many of you are probably familiar with Bishop Barron, who is an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and the founder of Word on Fire ministries, which uses new media to spread the Gospel and introduce people to Jesus and his Church.
On his website, wordonfire.org, Bishop Barron recently had an excellent article entitled “The poison of gossip.” Barron observes that the devil is called diabolos (the scatterer) and satanas (the accuser).
We need to be very cautious with what we say about others. Our words are powerful. In speaking about the tongue, St. James says, “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9).
Spreading lies about others is always sinful, but even passing on truths of others that could cause a loss of one’s reputation should be done with caution. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “he becomes guilty of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them” (CCC 2477). How easy it is to fall into this trap of speaking about the faults of others with no good reason whatsoever and without helping them in any way, and yet, that’s the trap of the evil one.
Bishop Barron arrived at a practical suggestion: “Instead of giving up desserts or smoking this Lent, give up gossiping. For 40 days, try not to comment negatively to those who have no ability to deal with the problem.”
I like the point that Bishop Barron is making here. Lent is a wonderful opportunity to allow God to make real change in our lives through growth in charity. His suggestion of giving up gossip for Lent is particularly timely because we live at a time of such great division and animosity. Russia and Ukraine are literally at war with one another due to Russia’s violent aggression. This conflict needs our prayers to arrive at a peaceful end to this fight. In our own land over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced here in the United States a great divide over how to best respond to this crisis.
We live in a world marred by division among peoples, and yet this was not the Lord’s design. He has called all men to be saved. As St. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:8). Jesus instituted the Church as his Mystical Body where we are united in him.
It may seem very obvious, but the season of Lent is a journey that we travel through together. During Lent, the Church throughout the entire world ponders the mystery of Christ’s love for us as we enter into his passion. Lent is a communal activity, something which bonds us together as members of the Church in a penitential way. Throughout the year’s liturgical calendar, we have times to both feast and fast, that is, we celebrate solemnities with great joy, but also fast in penance.
The Church directs us to offer some kind of sacrifice during every Friday of the year—not just during Lent. Outside of the season of Lent, we can still choose to abstain from meat, or we may choose some other kind of sacrifice, but during Lent we abstain from meat throughout the universal Church. The point is that outside of these Friday penances, our sacrifices are up to us individually. In the season of Lent, we do this together.
Lent should not be a dreadful time, or a liturgical season that we coast through, but rather a time to draw nearer to Jesus, a time to focus on being a better disciple. It is a season where we strive to remove sin from our lives, the greatest obstacle to our happiness and joy.
