Search
-
February 15, 2018My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We have begun the 40-day Lenten season of prayer, penance and almsgiving that precedes the re-birth of Easter. You and I need Lent because we are sinners called to repentance. However, Lent’s journey is not just aimed at repentance and, through God’s grace, overcoming sin. Lent and Easter lead us to accept Jesus Christ more fully, that we may have the abundance of life he came to bring. Too often, we settle for less.
St. Augustine captured well the human condition on earth when in his “Confessions” he said, “You have made us for thee, O Lord, and restless are our hearts until they rest in thee.” Our restless hearts long for peace, joy and fulfillment. Too often, in that pursuit, we waver in our commitment to the Lord, as compromise, weakness and rationalization lead us to pursue our peace, joy and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ and his Gospel. In his Lenten message, Pope Francis asks, “How many of God’s children are mesmerized by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness! How many men and women live entranced by the dream of wealth, which only makes them slaves to profit and petty interests! How many go through life believing that they are sufficient unto themselves, and end up entrapped by loneliness!”
Lenten prayer, as well as the desert starkness of its penance, fasting and sacrifice for others, give us the opportunity to see through the allure of sin, dispel the trance of materialism and free ourselves from the things that can attract but not satisfy our hearts. Those disciplines then incline our hearts to be more receptive to God’s grace, Easter’s joy and the sublime wonder of our baptismal adoption as God’s children called to share in his divine life.
Reflecting on the Easter Vigil, Pope Francis speaks about the “fire of Easter” and the prayer that “the light of Christ rising in glory may dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.” It is my prayer that through a fervent Lent, we may deepen the holiness of our lives by repenting and rooting out sin from our hearts. Then, with a clarity of vision that can only come from purified hearts, may we, in Holy Week, grasp anew the fire of God’s love for each one of us. In the light of that deepened realization may our restless hearts discover the abundance of life for which we long.
With every prayerful best wish, I remain
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester
