Lent is a season of conversion. Conversion is of course giving up sin and living the life of grace. But much more, it is a radical renewal of our relationship with God, with fellow human beings and with nature.
Three pillars of Lenten spirituality:
Lenten season calls for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. They are the three pillars of Lent. They not only invite us to our personal sanctification but more, to renew our relationships. Christian salvation is never mere personal holiness; rather, it has a communitarian and social dimension. This is clearly taught by the Lord in many parables, especially the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31). Here we can clearly see that there was something deficient and wrong in the relationship between the rich man and the beggar at the door. The Jewish faith was essentially a communitarian faith, and hence the rich man was obliged by his faith to share his food with the hungry. We can see this in many of the prophets (Isaiah 58:3-7). That is why Jesus tells us that at the end of our lives we shall be judged on love, that is, feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the prisoners and the sick (Mt 25:35-37). Here we can clearly see the renewal of relationship among us, between the well-off and the deprived, by recognizing the face of Christ in the poor, the weak, the wounded, the weary, the last, the least, and the lost. This is summed up by the traditional Lenten practice of prayer, penance and almsgiving.
Sch Joseph Melvyn Govias SJ
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
