Lent is a time to prepare our hearts and souls to experience the Risen Christ on Easter Day. If we take a glance at a calendar we realize that we will soon be entering into this great season of the Church. We know that with this season we will be called to fast from the pleasures of the world and even to abstain from meat on all the Fridays of the season. Things will not always be pleasant, but with faith in Christ we can allow ourselves to grow closer to Him during this season. Peter, in our Gospel, was able to realize the sinfulness that was present within his heart that made him unworthy to encounter Christ. Despite this sinfulness Christ found him and challenged him to grow in faith by casting his net into the sea. The burden from this catch seemed to weigh him down because sin is indeed a heavy burden. Instead of giving up during this strenuous catch he continued to place his faith within Christ and was eventually able to overcome the burden of the catch and reap the rewards that were found within the net.
By the time that Lent comes to a conclusion for us we should be able to glance into our own nets and see the abundant catch that we have received throughout this season. The only way that any of us will see any results within our lives is to invest something into the season. If our attitude towards Lent is nonchalant we will glance into our nets and see that our lack of faith placed within Christ has left us unchanged. Work must be placed into something if change is ever to take place. If we take an old beat up home there is a lot of potential that exists, but it will never meet the fullness of that potential without a lot of work. This same image works for our faith because we know that we constantly fall short of the love that God is constantly bestowing upon our lives. If we can ever hope to reciprocate this love towards God we must put a lot of work into our life of faith. Lent is a way for us to be challenged to follow this path and to begin to find ways where we can progress towards Christ's love.
With the solemn Lenten season beginning on Wednesday we must take the time necessary to begin to think about our Lenten fasts. As we enter into this season we should not do so without first entering into prayer and reflection. Lent is not a season to bring punishment into our lives, but is a season that can truly set us free from the enslavement of sin. Sin constantly pulls us away from our relationship with God, but sacrifices and mortifications within our life can return us to the trust that we should have placed within our Lord. To give up candy, soda, or alcohol is okay, but we should ask ourselves where these sacrifices will bring us. Are we giving something up only because we have been asked to by the Church or are we doing so because these little sacrifices can help us to reform our lives? Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are all encouraged because they are ways that we can begin to liberate ourselves, like Saint Peter did through his unceasing trust in Christ when he casted his net into the sea.
The Church in her divine wisdom has always stood behind the importance of sacrifice. With sacrifice we are constantly being challenged to see the graveness of our sins. By depriving ourselves we are able to join with the cross of Christ and begin to counteract vice with virtue. These sacrifices are especially important in a society like ours where we have grown comfortable with all the pleasures of the world. It is especially important for us to claim temperance from which we can learn to not indulge and to become properly ordered towards God. According to Saint Josemaria Escriva: "Temperance is self-mastery. Not everything we experience in our bodies and souls should be given free rein. Nor ought we to do everything we can do. It is easier to let ourselves be carried away by so-called natural impulses; but this road ends up in sadness and isolation in our own misery." Sacrifice is the Lenten reality that aids us at moving away from this miserable road that we have grown comfortable walking upon.
Christ did not allow Saint Peter to grow comfortable, but challenged him to place his faith in Him and then work unceasingly at continuing to build up this relationship. This is the challenge that we face as we head into the season of Lent. However we plan to fast during this season should help us to overcome our disordered pleasures. Almsgiving should help us to see our need to give of ourselves in order to draw ourselves freely towards Christ. Prayer must also be a place of focus because without it we will always remain disconnected from Christ. Each of these three areas are able to help us to hear the voice of Christ and to respond to it. At times we will fill the pressure that comes with Lent and with sacrifice, but may we all continue to work hard throughout this season and for the rest of our lives. Even the smallest of actions are able to aid us in our pursuit for Christ, so may we open our eyes to the world and respond to Christ and His call that comes into our lives today. Christ is indeed present and desires for us to have a great catch by the end of this Lenten season. May we be willing to cast our nets into the sea and to work hard each day in achieving this great feat.
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