“ Lord by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the World .” (Memorial Acclamation, Eucharistic Prayer - Option D)

Lent challenges every believer to reaffirm, in a deeply personal manner, an understanding and acceptance of the Church's teaching that the cross of the Lord is the way of life for Christians, the way to the Resurrection and the way to freedom. There is no other way!

Jesus is Saviour because throughout his life he emptied himself in obedience to the Father and he completed the mission given him through his death on the cross. His self-sacrifice was accepted by the Father and he was raised from the dead in the Spirit. Jesus set the pattern for the Christian life for all time and showed the way to freedom for all ages.

Each year the Church gives us the season of Lent to help us examine in a positive way whether, in truth, we are a self-emptying people, whether we are living the mission given to us by God, individually and as members of community, whether we are carrying our cross and thereby advancing to resurrection and finally whether we are committed to the road to freedom.

The season of Lent is not only helpful, it is necessary. During the year we tend to make compromises with God's message, to privatise our spirituality, to limit our response to the needs of the community with the result that we return to selfishness, which leads us to sin. Little by little we give up the freedom Jesus earned for us.

The method of Lent

Lent has a two-fold character:
1) it recalls Baptism or prepares for its celebration;
2) it helps us prepare to celebrate Easter. There are three forms of interior penance that hold a special place in the Christian life and are highlighted in Lenten tradition: Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving. Each represents conversion in relation to God, to oneself and to others. Taken together, they represent the radical purification brought about by Baptism. Let us consider each form separately:

Fasting has been called the prayer of the body. Through fasting, the body shares the spiritual attitude of the person who is praying. It implies an attitude of faith, humility and dependence on God. It is directed to a conversion of heart.

Fasting is useless unless it is directed to conversion of heart. Pope Paul VI lists the motives for fasting or physical discipline:
1) to chastise one's own soul;
2) to humble oneself in the sight of God;
3) to turn one's face to God;
4) to dispose oneself to prayer;
5) to understand the things of God;
6) to prepare oneself for the encounter with God.

Lent gives us the opportunity to look at the quality of our spiritual relationship with God. Prayer is, of course, at the heart of our relationship with God. The patristic tradition teaches that fasting is related to prayer. The Fathers of the Church tell us that if you do not fast, you cannot pray well. If you are unable to give up something, how can you say that your words to God are sincere?

In Lent we are invited to look at the quality of our personal prayer and our participation in the liturgical prayer of the Church. Obviously, before we look at the quality or our prayer, we must look at the issue of the existence of our personal and liturgical prayer.

As people look at conversion and growth during Lent, some have to admit that they just do not pray – ever. Others have to admit they just say prayers. Many have lost their sense of the sacred and their appreciation of the communal aspect of the Church represented in liturgical prayer e.g. Sunday Eucharist.

Prayer is the central moment in which we listen to God. Prayer does not happen automatically. It must be prepared for and accompanied by quiet, reflective reading, listening to others both experts in the spiritual life e.g. on tapes and to ordinary people who have great insights into the spiritual life.

One reason for fasting and prayer is social justice and concern for others. Eating too much while others are hungry is not right. Something should be given to the poor. In a real sense, almsgiving protects us from turning in on ourselves.

It takes us beyond ourselves. It reminds us that we are called to solidarity in community. Almsgiving is so basic to the Christian life that if we find ourselves praying and fasting without linkage to almsgiving, charity and service, we have to consider whether our efforts to live the Lenten message are authentic. We cannot turn to God without a willingness to share with others.

Papal assistance

Each year, the Holy Father helps us to prepare for Easter by offering us a theme for reflection during Lent. This year's theme is: Loving the Lord Means Life to You and Length of Days (Dt 30, 20). The theme addresses the world of the elderly. The issue of the elderly is a major pastoral challenge to the Church because medical science is adding years to life.

However, the quality of life of those added years is suspect in many cases due to the lack of respect for the human dignity of the elderly and due to the lack of recognition of the gifts of the elderly and what they can bring to the family, Church and society.

Reflecting on the theme during Lent can help us remember that one day we shall be the elderly and it opens us to the witness of the elderly who, as they near the end of their lives, show us how to concentrate on the essentials that give meaning to life. Finally, reflecting on the theme can help us to have a pastoral experience that is similar to almsgiving - it leads us out of an exclusive concern for ourselves.

Conclusion

“ Lord by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the world .” May the memorial acclamation help us to ask the right questions during Lent:
1) Do we choose the cross (not just accept the cross) as the only way to salvation?
2) Do we live as people journeying to the Resurrection?
3) Are we free and do we protect our freedom in prayer and through Christian discipline?
4) Are we grateful to Jesus for being Saviour at such a great price?
5) Have we accepted Jesus as Saviour with a firm and persevering decision?