Feb

25

A Different Take on Lent

Posted By reynor | Filed Under Uncategorized 

 by Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D.  |  Catholic Exchange

Lent is a time of introspection.  We read Exodus and watch the Israelites grumble, even after the amazing things God had done for them (Ex 17:3-7).  In them, we recognize ourselves.  For many of us, then, Lent is time for the spiritual equivalent of New Year’s resolutions.  We set aside time to work on ourselves for forty days so we don’t end up wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years.  We do things to burn off the excess fat that’s weighing us down, try to improve our spiritual diet, and do some spiritual exercises to strengthen the muscles we call “virtues.”

But in the early days of the Church, Lent was not so much a time to focus inward.  It was time for Catholics to focus outward.  It was time not just for personal growth, but for growth of the Church. 

In the days of the Early Church Fathers, did the whole Church fast, pray, and give alms for the forty days preceding Easter?  Absolutely.  But Catholics did this primarily for the sake of others rather than themselves.  There were two groups of people that were the main beneficiaries of this prayer and penance: new Catholics to be baptized at Easter and lapsed Catholics to be readmitted to communion.  These folks were praying and fasting during Lent to break the power of darkness in preparation for their crossing over the Jordan into the Promised Land through baptism and penance.

We ought to recover this ancient tradition and do penance for and with those who will enter or return to the Church at Easter.  But there is something else that we should do.  There are millions more who should be returning or entering.  We need to tell them about Jesus.  Continue reading the article here…

Comments

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.