Lent Is a Two-Way Street
February 6, 2008

Readings for Ash Wednesday

Reading 1: Joel 2:12–18

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 51:3–4, 5–6ab, 12–13, 14 and 17

Reading 2: 2 Cor. 5:20–6:2

Gospel: Mt. 6:1–6, 16–18

Link to Readings

By Monsignor Charles M. Mangan

Our forty-day pilgrimage of prayer, self-denial, and charity has begun. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who trod the path that we now start, wants to mould our hearts so that we become as He is—more devout, temperate, and generous. Prayer, penance, and almsgiving undertaken with the assistance of the Holy Spirit will lead us to a greater likeness to Jesus.

If today were not Ash Wednesday or any Sunday, during this Mass we would be commemorating Sts. Paul Miki and Companions, who were martyred in Japan towards the end of the sixteenth century.

In a famous account of the martyrdom of these outstanding persons, which was composed by a contemporary of theirs and which we find in the official prayer of the Church known as the Liturgy of the Hours, we read that once the four murderers unsheathed their instruments of terror, the horrendous deaths of these heroes took place quickly. The author wrote: “At this dreadful sight (of the weapons being readied), all the Christians cried out, ‘Jesus, Mary!’ And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very skies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear, then a second blow. It was over in a very short time.”

Some of us may admit that our wish for this Lent is that it will be “over in a very short time.”

And it will be. It always is. These six penitential weeks will conclude rapidly, but, let us pray, not before we have thrown off what keeps us from loving Jesus as we ought. We must use Lent well if it is to have its desired effect: a more intense union with Christ.

Cooperating with God's Grace

Lent is really a two-way street.

God does His part by drawing us to Himself, urging us to choose Him over all the distractions that cloud our minds. He pleads with us to allow Him to unshackle the stubborn chains of sin and everlasting death that bind us.

We do our part by cooperating with His ever-abundant grace. We see how imperfect and needy we are. Prayer, mortification, and works of charity strengthen us in the tiring fight to embrace Christ anew. We accept and heed His anointed message to deny ourselves, take up His Cross daily, and follow Him.

The Lord’s invitation to us couldn’t be clearer: “return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.”

True, as Christ reminds us in the words of the Holy Gospel, our Lenten efforts are to be seen by God; they are not meant to impress our neighbor. Yet, it may be that someone will notice our fresh fervor in prayer and self-denial, and our kindness towards those who suffer, and be encouraged to assess his own relationship with Our Lord.

If, as St. Paul asserted, now is the acceptable time to be reconciled to God and now is the day of salvation, then we must recognize the gift that we call “Lent” which the Lord has graciously granted to us. We look to seize the many opportunities for prayer, penance, and almsgiving that are ours. Perhaps we will be able to attend daily Mass and join in the Stations of the Cross at least several times during “these forty days.” And going to Confession sometime in Lent should be the goal of everyone who has made his First Holy Communion.

Yes, this season of Lent will be “over in a very short time.” May we make the best of it and exclaim in union with those who have gone before us: “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” Such a genuine petition moves the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus to be overwhelmingly good once again to His brothers and sisters.

Monsignor Charles Mangan is a priest of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD, a member of CUF's advisory council, and a frequent contributor to Lay Witness. He currently works in Rome as a member of the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life.

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