For too many years I merely saw Easter as a relief from fasting and abstaining while I rushed to the freezer to thaw out my favorite chocolate candies! Now instead of chocolates, the paradox of the Cross cries out for my attention.
Lent is a time to reflect upon how we have changed in relation to God. It is a time to ask the question: Do I want to look Catholic or be Catholic?
Laetare Sunday is our day to recollect in the reality of true love existing in a hostile world. Jesus chose to suffer and die for us so that one day we will be resurrected in Him and live eternally in praise of our Father. By His grace, we experience moments of that now; a foretaste of Heaven to help us persevere.
Abstaining from food is easy. But how willing am I to give up control of my life to God?
Observing the joy of a small child, I asked myself, “how long has it been since I have felt this free?”
Jesus has forewarned us that anyone who exalts himself will be humbled and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted. To climb this ladder of humility to Heaven takes discipline. We must be patient and persevere quietly through all afflictions.
In our dying breath Jesus won’t ask our rationale for any of our poor choices. He will ask:
“Why were you willing to risk losing Me for eternity?
Each year around this time I start planning for Lent. What shall I give up? What shall I take on? Continually grasping to worldly things to console emotions and appease passions is self-punishing: we punish ourselves by stepping away from His grace. Jesus is the remedy.
Reflecting upon my new year’s resolutions, I realized one is missing: giving up the ‘baggage’ from my past.
Jesus is perspective-bending. People ‘don’t know what they don’t know”; since no other perspective but our own makes sense to us, we have difficulty even acknowledging that another way of seeing exists.