Lent: Our Paschal Mystery Journey

I have to admit it—Lent is my favorite time of the Liturgical year. It is a time to reflect on who we are in relationship to God and who we need to be to be in union with Him. It is our walk through the Paschal Mystery with Jesus. A dying to our old ways and rising to new life in Christ.

Forty is a significant number to the people of God. It rained for forty days and forty nights before the waters subsided and Noah landed.  The Chosen People wandered for forty years in the desert before being led to the Promised Land. Moses was with God on the mountain for forty days.  God gave Nineveh forty days to repent. Jesus went out into the desert for forty days to pray, being tempted by Satan. The list goes on and on.  It is also significant that a woman is pregnant for forty weeks in the natural birth cycle.

Forty is a time of testing and trial. It is a time of struggle to overcome difficulties. It is a time to bear patiently as we allow new life to form in us—whether physically or spiritually. God’s hand in this miracle is the beauty of Lent. As we open ourselves up to His Presence in our lives, He fills us with grace and goodness. Lent is a time to contemplate what Christ has done for us so that we in turn may be the image of Christ for others. In the words of John the Baptist, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30).

For St. Thérèse of Lisieux, contemplating the cross took on a deep meaning as she grew in the understanding of Jesus’ cry from the cross, “I thirst.” For what does He thirst? For souls—for your soul, for my soul, for all souls. This understanding spurred Thérèse on in her faith life as she strove to seek Christ in others as she was Christ to them. St. Edith Stein wrote, “Whoever comes to me, I want to lead to Him.” Each and every soul is precious to God and He wants all of humanity to be with Him for all eternity.

Lent gives us an intense time to examine how we can be more like Jesus. Through prayer and contemplation, fasting and abstinence, through sacrifice and works, let us walk with Him on the dusty, rocky, and perilous path to the cross. As He extends His hands and feet for us, let us extend ours in sacrifice for others. As He cries from the cross, let us hear His cries as those of the poor and comfort them in their suffering. As He gazes out from the cross on the people He came to save, let us look out with eyes of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. As He hangs in His nakedness, let us bare our souls to Him.

Lent is a glorious time, for we know that through our suffering comes the great glory of Easter, if we believe in the One who loves us so. Just as a woman suffers through the pains of labor to give birth, so our sufferings in sin, when released to Jesus, bear new life filled with joy. Let us be opened to Him in new ways, giving Christ greater glory as we work to relieve His thirst for souls through bringing all we know to Him.


Amen!