Lenten Reflections

Click here for the daily readings

By Alex Horan ’23

Friends, something I have always found to be beautiful about Sacred Scripture is how vast and timeless it is. For every situation one may find themselves in, there is likely a passage from the Bible that is applicable and can offer spiritual wisdom and peace. In turn, I have always found the way in which the Liturgy selects and integrates Scripture passages based on important themes and vital messages. And, I think that today’s readings on this first Friday of Lent serve to orient our hearts towards the purpose of the season of Lent. For the purpose of this reflection, I think it makes the most sense to start with today’s Gospel and work backwards.

In the Gospel, the followers of John the Baptist asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast nearly as much as they and the Pharisees did. Our Lord answers by saying, “Can the wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them?” (Mt. 15). In Christianity, fasting is seen as a practice with purifying effects, in which one can grow closer to God through virtuous suffering. However, I think that the point Jesus was making was that as He is God, and He was in the presence of the people that had long awaited his arrival, fasting in His presence would not have been proper or made sense. When Christ is present, it is not the time to engage in fasting, but rather to engage in jubilation. Easter is the sacramental celebration of our Lord’s victory over death and Redemption of our souls. However, we would be remiss to celebrate this without first calling to mind the suffering of both Christ and His Apostles, and the hardships that they endured, as to do so would be to miss an important part of the story. As such, during Lent, we engage virtuous suffering (in varying degrees) in order to, at least in a small way, align our hearts and minds with the mission of our Lord and its numerous difficult stages.

The reading from Isaiah makes mention of the temptation to despair in the midst of fasting and suffering when the end goal may not be in sight. Isaiah notes that many of the Israelites lament to God, “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? Afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Even though the Israelites had the intention and desire to grow closer to God and were striving to put this intention into practice, He could not have felt farther away from them. I think that this verse can tie into a broader paradoxical element of the faith life, and one that has been on my mind and heart recently. Back home, over winter break, while praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament alone (or so I thought) in my home parish, a young man a few years older than me approached me. To briefly summarize our somewhat lengthy conversation, he shared with me that despite his best intentions and genuine love and fear of God, he had fallen away from his faith life and had made numerous decisions that he deeply regretted. He asked me to pray for him. One comment he made about his situation that caught my attention was this simple remark: “Sometimes you try to do your best, and it brings out the worst in you.” At the time, I did not know what to make of it, or of the encounter as a whole. However, looking back and meditating upon these Scriptures, I think this young man’s faith journey, with its struggles and suffering, is something that we can all relate to in some way. To grow closer to God is to die to oneself and to uproot one’s sins and vices (a painful process). It is easy, like the Israelites in Isaiah, to only see the struggles and pain, and to lose sight of God and His Hand in our faith journey through spiritual tunnel vision. When we become aware of our flaws and sins, it is easy to only see these things. Trying to do our best can bring out the worst in us; but, if we maintain our trust in our Lord, it will also bring out the worst from us. And, if and when we fall, our Heavenly Father welcomes us back with open arms. This season of Lent, let us pray that our Lord will grant us the grace and clarity to allow Him to uproot the sin in our lives so that we may celebrate the arrival of the Bridegroom, not only this Easter but also on the Last Day.

Peace and blessings to you all.