We are now almost half-way through the season of Lent. Holy Week is a little more than three weeks away. 

 

And the reason for our annual spiritual preparation, the sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the celebration of the Resurrection starting on Holy Saturday, is fast approaching.

 

Spiritually, each of us needs Lent. We need this time to take stock of where we are before the Lord, not only right now, this year, but also from a wider perspective. 

 

We must each ask ourselves, where is my whole life right now as the moment of meeting Jesus at the end of my earthly time draws ever closer? 

 

Can I identify ways in which my love and friendship with Christ have deepened and strengthened since last year? Since five years ago? 

 

Or have I, like the people of Israel in the desert, become tired and fallen into bad habits in need of change?

 

Lent is meant to be a period of just such reflection. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, our sins and our victories over evil. Lent is a time to examine all of them and to do so with a spiritual honesty before the Lord.

 

So we might begin by asking ourselves if we have done anything this Lent? Or have the last three weeks been indistinguishable spiritually from the rest of the year? Have I done any penance for my sins and the sins of the world?

 

Jesus specifically told His followers to fast, pray and give to the poor as a means of atoning for sins. So we might ask ourselves, have I kept the Friday abstinence from meat during Lent? How about moments of prayer or getting up to go to morning Mass during the week? What have I done this Lent to assist the less fortunate?

 

Jesus also told his followers that we are His friends if we do what He commands. In short, Jesus reminds us that the road to heaven involves keeping the Ten Commandments and, of course, the moral teaching of His Church which He guides through the ages.

 

In our time and society, so influenced by the sexual revolution, it’s important to use Lent to examine ourselves in regard to our friendships or relationships as these can unite us to Jesus or separate us from Him. 

 

For example, am I engaged in a sinful relationship with another that I know needs to end? Am I faithful to my spouse and children and to the promises made on my wedding day? Am I observing chastity before or outside of marriage?

 

Jesus also calls us to form our hearts continually so as to overcome grudges or resentment. We are to forgive others as He forgives us. He tells us in the Gospel that if we come to the altar and recall that someone holds something against us, we are to go and reconcile with them and then return to pray. (Mt 5:23-24).

 

Lent, then, is a good time to ask if there is someone that I am estranged from. Is there a relationship about which I need to swallow hard and reach out to seek reconciliation?

 

As always, the greatest reconciliation is the forgiveness of our sins in the sacrament of confession. I renew once more my heartfelt invitation to come to confession during this Lenten season. 

 

The annual Be Reconciled Day is scheduled for March 21 when confessions will be heard in the parishes of the Diocese of Rockford from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. As always, check your parish for specific details.

 

Easter will be here before we know it. Let’s not let Lent slip away!