Quinquagesima Sunday Homily (Extraordinary Form)

Lent begins on Wednesday and with it we will take up practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. On this first day of Lent many will receive ashes as a reminder of their mortality and thus the need to turn away from sin and to move towards Christ. Conversion does not come easily and thus it requires from us a struggle which we must be willing to undertake for our whole life.

Lent, much like our spiritual life, is filled with a continuous struggle. It is easy to be filled with energy at the start of the Lenten season, but to quickly give up hope as we begin to lose steam with the passing of time. Retreats are beneficial for our spiritual well being, but we must allow our faith to transcend a retreat mentality. What I am speaking about is leaving a retreat with an increased spiritual high which goes away with the passing of time and we in return stop the progress that was begun in us there. Retreats are beneficial for they assist us in coming to know God and the allow us to recharge our spiritual batteries.

In our Gospel we are given an example of all of this for we encounter a man who yelled out in his need, but did not lose hope when he was rebuked. Instead he only continued to cry out the louder. It may seem that we are without hope when we enter into the Lenten season. Maybe because of a sin that we struggle with that we have yet to overcome. I implore you to not lose hope, but to entrust yourself to the abundant mercy of Christ and you will be made clean.

Lent is easy for us to enter into with high hopes, but when temptation begins to knock at our door may we not allow ourself to turn back. If the man in our Gospel would of turned back Christ would of never acknowledged his voice because He never would of heard it. Instead Christ acknowledges him through his persistence. We must be persistent in asking of the Lord’s mercy. 

May we allow nothing to hold us back from coming to know Christ. Temptation and sin will raise up, but we must remember that none of this has any power over the healing embrace of Christ. The devil wants us to believe that their is no hope that we may be healed, but all that he utters into our ear is nothing more then a lie. If we want to acknowledge truth we will come to acknowledge Christ and to profess Him with our lips, heart, and mind.

Lent is the vessel which takes us on this journey as we take up practices such as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These practices help to rid from our midst all which turns us away from Christ. It wis easy to lose hope or interest and to turn away from these practices, but we must persevere with the confidence of faith. From our perseverance Christ will acknowledge our petitions and answer them. The only question is will we be willing to persevere or will we give of hope with the passing of time.