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For me,
this year’s season of Lent didn’t get off to a very good start at all.
It was such a bad start, in fact, that I only made it through the
season’s first twelve and one-half hours before stumbling and falling to
the ground flat on my face!
So, let
me begin with a confession.
Ash
Wednesday morning started off well enough, but events soon conspired in
such a way that things spiraled beyond my control. Everything started
to unravel completely around 11:00 a.m. I was busy writing a funeral
homily, I had a stack of student papers to correct, and I wanted to be
sure I was well-prepared for class that afternoon. Everything ground to
a halt, however, when not one but two telephone calls soon derailed my
plans. The phone calls ended up consuming a considerable chunk of time
I had otherwise hoped to devote to those other things. But, the content
of those calls was such that I couldn’t just say, “Look, I’ve got other
things I’m doing and can’t talk to you now. Good bye.”
With
time at a premium due in large part to those two telephone calls, I
ended up making sure I had my notes ready for class which was to begin
at 1:30 p.m. I had enough time for that. But, I also had scheduled a
short meeting with a student for 1:00 p.m. With time running short—it
was now around 12 noon—I didn’t have enough time to make lunch. So, I
recalculated my schedule and decided to grab lunch at McDonalds on the
way to school and, then, to gas up my vehicle.
I was
out the door at 12:15 p.m. and, yes, I drove a bit above the speed limit
to McDonalds. But, that’s not my confession. Once at McDonalds, I
pulled up into the drive-up lane, checked out the dollar value menu, and
proceeded to order two double cheeseburgers. “What a fantastic deal!” I thought.
“Only $2.12 for two double cheeseburgers. Hmm,” I calculated, “that’s
four burgers, four pieces of cheese and two sets of buns. How can they
make money on that?”
Picking
up the double cheeseburgers at the drive-up window, I parked in the
adjacent lot, chowed down the cheeseburgers, and headed over to
the Wawa to gas up. And, then, I was off to school.
I
arrived around 12:55 p.m., just in time for the previously scheduled
meeting with a student. As I parked my vehicle, I was so proud of
myself! With everything else going on, I actually got everything
accomplished that needed to be accomplished. “Whew!” I thought as I
wiped my brow with my hand, “That was a bit too close for comfort.”
As I
entered the building, a student was headed out the door. That’s when I
noticed the ashen cross smeared on her forehead. “Oh, feces!” I
exclaimed (privately of course). “You dope. You forgot this is Ash
Wednesday! It’s a day of fast and abstinence! How could you be so
stupid?”
Forget
about any Lenten resolution. Forget about becoming more spiritual.
From the very first day of Lent 2007, I blew it.
Yes, in
the back of my mind I did know it was Ash Wednesday. Yes, I also did
know in the back of my mind that we are obligated to follow the laws
regarding fast and abstinence. Yes, I knew in the back of my mind that
I had Ash Wednesday services to conduct later in the day. But, instead
of remaining focused upon the “things of God,” I invited the “things of
man”—this man—to redirect my attention away from God and toward myself.
Rather than keeping God in the forefront, I kept myself in the forefront
by making sure I did what I was supposed to do and was where I needed to
be when I needed to be there. At the root of all of my lack of
attention, of course, was pride. That is, I wanted to look good in the
eyes of men by meeting all of my responsibilities. And, because of
this, I overlooked what is required: doing good for the glory of God.
And, so, I fell flat on my face just like anyone who forgets about
keeping God in the forefront of one’s mind.
Lent is
not a period of time during which we perfect ourselves and, thus, prove
to God that He owes us something. No, Lent is that period of time each
year when we recognize our complete and utter dependence upon God and
that, without God, there is little good we can do to give glory to God.
Why? Simply because we are so busy about so many things and, consequently, allow so
many other trifling and trivial things to interfere with and to get into
the way of keeping God in the forefront of our minds.
It’s
easy to forget that fasting, abstinence, and self-sacrifice are not the
point of Lent. No, they are the “tools of Lent” that help us turn our
backs on self-idolatry—making ourselves into gods we worship—and,
instead, to use our lives to give glory to God by keeping God in the
forefront of our minds. “Ad majorem Dei gloriam” (“For
the greater honor and glory of God”) the Jesuits used to write at the
top of detention forms. That is the point of Lent.
The
season of Lent, then, exists as a help for all of us to remember our
relationship with God and to give first priority to that relationship.
All of the fasting, abstinence, and sacrifices we make—not matter how
small or how big—do absolutely nothing for God. Instead, they are
specially-designed tools we use during these forty days to help us
remember God. By fasting, abstaining, and making sacrifices, we uses
these tools to test ourselves to the point where we learn how it’s
almost practically impossible for us it is to remain completely focused
upon the only thing that’s truly important in this life: our
relationship with God and remaining focused upon that.
Like
Jesus, material things tempt us to give greater priority to things
rather than to our relationship with God. Once we allow these material
things to ensnare us, we turn our backs on God. Think about it:
·
It’s
much easier to lie in a warm bed, isn’t it, than it is to go to Church
on Sunday morning?
·
It’s
much easier to eat a nice Sunday breakfast or brunch, chow down some
candy, or chew gum isn’t it, than it is to fast one hour before
receiving Holy Communion?
·
It’s
much easier to bicker and argue over the question “Why do I have to go
to Church?” and to arrive late to Church, isn’t it, than it is to arrive
ten minutes early and to read and contemplate the Sunday readings before
Mass begins?
·
It’s
much easier to leave Church right after Holy Communion in order to avoid
the traffic and to satiate those hunger pangs with breakfast or lunch,
isn’t it, than it is stay for a ten minutes after Mass to give thanks to
God for the gift of the Eucharist?
In the
end, all of those material things tempt us to want to have things “my
way,” just how Burger King caters to its customers! Be aware: this is the very temptation the devil used upon Jesus
to test whether he would keep love of God in the forefront of his mind.
In
today’s first reading, we heard how God had freed the Israelites from
slavery and of Moses telling the Israelites how much they now owed God.
As “proof” of their gratitude—a sacrificial gift that would cause enough
pain to remind them of what they owed God—Moses told the Israelites to
put ten percent of their gross—not net—income before the altar. That tithe was
the “first fruits” of their labor. Anything less than that tithe was a
“second fruit,” that is, something of value but not of much worth as the
first fruits. The important issue, of course, was not the amount—like
Lenten fasting, abstaining, and self-sacrifice, the tithe was merely a
tool—but the idea that the Israelites would remind themselves each
and every Sabbath day that they owe everything to God.
The
season of Lent is the period of forty days where we focus upon our
relationship with God. The purpose for fasting, abstaining, and
self-sacrifice is not to fulfill some external man-made regulations but
to engage in learning to give first priority in our lives to God.
Rather than spending forty years in the desert, as the Israelites did,
or forty days in the desert, as Jesus did, we spend the forty days of
Lent smack dab in the middle of the world where we live. It is in this
world where we will be tested day in and day out. And, it is in this
world where we will learn about and have to come to terms with the truth
about the person we’ve made of ourselves so that we will do what we need
to do if we really want to renew our relationship with God and keep God
in the forefront of our minds. Remember Moses’ law: God deserves
the “first fruits” not the “leftover crumbs.” Just consider how we
approach the gift of weekly Eucharist!
When I
confessed my Ash Wednesday madness on Friday, the priest said that God
really could care less about my having eaten two double cheeseburgers at
McDonalds. I retorted, “Yes, God does care!” But, in retrospect, I
guess the priest was correct. In the end, the issue wasn’t the rules
concerning fasting, abstinence, and self-sacrifice. No, the issue
was—and the lesson to be learned is—how I had allowed the things of this
world to distract me from what is truly important, namely, keeping my
mind focused on the things of God. I had forgotten that fasting,
abstinence, and sacrifice aren’t ends but tools to the end of growing in
love of God. Succumbing to the temptation of confusing the means with
the ends, God quite likely was laughing at me on Ash Wednesday because
Lent is all about being more focused upon God not myself and, by
extension, Lent is all about all of us being more focused upon God not
ourselves.
And, now, for
the Annual Top 10 Lenten Penances:
The 2007 edition...
The
following penances are arranged in order from those which fellow
parishioners have identified as “least demanding” to those which they’ve
identified as “most demanding.” Parishioners who want to practice a
more “muscular” form of Catholicism during the season of Lent should try
performing as many penances from the most difficult (“easier”) penances
to the least difficult (“very difficult”) penances as is possible.
(some easier penances)
10. Abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays
during Lent and give up something you enjoy—like second helpings, candy,
or desserts—for forty days.
9. Immediately upon waking up, begin each day
by making a very slow and thoughtful Sign of the Cross. Be sure to
press you hand against your forehead (mind), your stomach (source of
emotions), and shoulders (heart and lungs) so that you feel your body as
you say the words. And, before going to bed, do the same.
8. Come to Sunday Mass ten
minutes early. Study the Scripture for the day and prepare for
Mass in prayer. Stay ten minutes after Mass, thanking God for the
gift of the Word and Sacrament in the Eucharist.
7. Each day, pick out and offer to complete an
undesirable chore assigned to someone else at home, school, or at work.
(some more difficult penances)
6. Attend Mass every day.
Or, say the Rosary every day. But, do so by offering both sincerely from your heart for someone you are having difficulties
with, like your in-laws, brother or sister, etc. Or, in a private space
each day, stand up, stretch out your arms as if you are placing yourself
on the Cross, and envision your sins nailing Jesus to the Cross. Feel
the pain that sin causes and ask God to grace you with the strength to
turn from that sin.
5. Abstain from all foul language, filthy jokes,
gossip, and sarcastic or demeaning language each day of Lent.
4. Turn off the computer except for absolutely essential
work. That means: no Internet chatrooms, IMs (instant messaging),
non-essential emails, and absolutely no websurfing for forty days.
(very difficult penances)
3. (a choice): [especially for retired persons] Spend one
hour each week of Lent in Eucharistic adoration. Don’t bring anything
but yourself. Sit there in silence and contemplate the gift of the
Eucharist. [especially for married couples] Spend one hour one night
each week looking at your wedding album and discussing what your hopes
and dreams were. Ask each other: What do I need to do so that we can
fulfill our hopes and desires? [especially for kids] Each week, ask you
Mom or Dad what one thing you need to do to improve yourself during Lent
and then do it.
2. Turn off the television, radio, IPod, Playstation,
etc., for forty days. “What am I going to do?” you may wonder.
(especially for single adults and older couples) Try reading the Sunday
Scriptures each day of the week or a section from the Catechism of
the Catholic Church each day. (especially for teenagers) Along with
your parents, read Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, On The Family
(Familiaris Consortio). It’s free and available on the web.
Read one section each day and discuss it after dinner as a family. If
you don’t understand something, ask your parents to explain what the
Pope means.
1. Each day, sit down in absolute silence. Think about
yourself and your life for about five minutes. Then, write down a sin
or character flaw you know you need to improve upon. When you’ve
completed your list, go to Church and make a good confession. |
HOMILY
