The Bishop's Perspective - Welcoming an early "Spring"

February doesn’t always rank high on people’s list of favorite months but in reality there really are many great reasons to embrace this time of year. It’s the month that bridges the frigid, first month of January and the third month of March which not only celebrates the two great and well-loved Saints, Joseph and Patrick, but is also the month when winter officially ends and spring begins. And of course, February is normally the month of Super Bowl parties and Valentine’s Day celebrations; though, this year, since Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day collide, we will all need to plan ahead and have our Valentine’s Day celebrations before or after Ash Wednesday because of the obligatory fast and abstinence required of us on that solemn day. Ash Wednesday begins our annual 40-day Lenten journey which, though the actual date of Ash Wednesday changes every year, always begins sometime in February.

Does Lent qualify as one of the reasons why February, for me, is one of my favorite
months? It certainly does, because Lent brings us an “early Spring”; and Springtime is (at least for me) the best season of the year.

Now, I do realize that the first day of meteorological Spring is on March 1st, and
the first actual day of Spring is not until March 21st, but for us, Lent begins our spiritual springtime. The very word “Lent” is derived from an Old English word meaning “springtime”. Just as spring awakens nature to new life and growth, so each Lent issues a renewed invitation to us as people of faith to awaken to the Paschal Mystery, which brings hope to the world.

As I write this month’s article, it seems very clear to me that the entire world is
very much in need of that virture of hope, and therefore could benefit from this early spiritual springtime of Lent. The political divisions among our leaders, and their constituents, seem to be deeper than ever; the acrimony among people in general seems very strong; the ability for us as a people to have civil discourse and discuss issues rationally seems to have gone by the wayside. Whatever the topic of the day, tensions are high, emotions are strained and patience is in short supply. Aside from political divisions, or perhaps because of them, social movements are picking up in intensity, but sadly with an “if you don’t agree with the way I see things, you’re an awful human being” attitude, which actually creates greater divisions and decreases the likelihood of mutual understanding. We hear accusations of racism and sexism leveled at every level of society. We witness the tragedies of increased senseless acts of violence and brutality in school shootings and even among family members.

That’s why I say I think we are all in need of “an early spiritual springtime” and a
good season of Lent. Lent gives us 40 days to cleanse ourselves of whatever hold sin has on us, that which distracts us from following God’s ways. Lent is that time, as we are all reminded on Ash Wednesday when blessed ashes are placed on our forehead in the form of a cross to remember our mortality — that one day, at a time none of us knows, our life in this world will end; and to turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel/saving Word of Jesus, rather than the messages that are barked so loudly by the world which create greater anger and deeper divisions.
What is wonderful about Lent is that it comes to us every year as an annual opportunity which can make a life-changing difference within us. If we approach it as just another 40 days that come and go, with no difference and no change, then we’ve missed an enormous opportunity. With each Lent we are encouraged to practice the ancient and powerful spiritual practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving/works of charity. But what is different each year is us; we are in a different place, with different needs, and different specific sins from which we need to be forgiven so we can move forward in hope.

Pope Francis, in his beautiful Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (The Joy of the Gospel) opens with these words: “The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and
lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept His offer of salvation are set free
from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, Joy is constantly born
anew.” (#1) Isn’t that exactly what we all want — to be set free from sin, sorrow,
emptiness and loneliness? Isn’t that exactly what we all need? Lent provides us with that opportunity, as long as we embrace these 40 days and are open to the “new life” that we can find in Jesus. As is the case in every season of Lent, we are able to accomplish that by prayer, fasting and almsgiving/works of charity.

Prayer: While some people like to paint Lent as a time of deprivation and self-denial, prayer can lead us to find the joy and renewed hope we long for through our deeper encounter with Jesus. Nurturing our relationship by dedicating time in the morning to reading the Bible and Lenten reflections, attending Mass as often as possible during the week in addition to our Sunday obligation, praying the rosary as often as possible, and spending time in Eucharistic Adoration when available to be in prayerful union with Jesus Himself — all of these are ways to encounter Jesus and invite Him into our daily lives to help us turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel/the Saving Word of Jesus. As Pope Francis wrote in his 2018 Lenten Message: “By devoting more time to prayer, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and…find the consolation God offers.”

Fasting: While it’s a great spiritual practice to “give up” certain foods or beverages that we like as an act of self-denial (not just to lose a few pounds), what if we also “fasted from words that hurt, from comments that divide, from expressions that are disrespectful, from arguments that are only onesided and mean-spirited. As my mother used to always to say to us as children: “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Needless to say, we had a lot of quiet times, but she had the right idea. As Pope Francis writes in his Lenten Message: “Fasting weakens our tendency to violence; it disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth…it makes us more attentive to God and our neighbor, and revives our desire to obey God.”

Almsgiving/Works of Mercy: The basic teachings about right and wrong are learned early in life by understanding, and even memorizing, the 10 Commandments, sometimes known as the “10 Don’ts”. The Good News of Jesus focuses our attention, not only on those acts which are told “don’t” do, but on all those that we are told to “do”, most especially the Beatitudes — the eight “Do’s” of the Gospel. We are also urged to “do”, that is put into daily practice in our lives, the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy . As Pope Francis reminds us in his Lenten Message: “Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbor as a brother or sister. What I possess is never mine….When we give alms (perform works of charity/mercy), we share in God’s providential care for each of His children.”

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, Lent is the favorable season for renewing and deepening our relationship with Christ and with one another. May this 40-day
Season of Grace truly be an early springtime. May our spiritual preparation to celebrate once more the Paschal Mystery of Jesus’ suffering, death and Resurrection for us bring a spiritual springtime to our weary spirits.

God bless you, now and always.