"Lent: A Time to Listen to God's Voice"

February 8, 2013
When I was a first grader at St. Boniface Catholic School, I had a part in the Ash Wednesday school play. A small group of us performed in all of the classrooms in the building. I played the part of a candy bar, with a group of others called “The Temptations.” My line was to say, “Pick me! Pick me!” As temptations, we represented the things that pious people were instructed to avoid for Lent.

It’s clear to me now that giving up candy bars during Lent is fine for children, but as we grow and mature in our faith, Lent becomes an opportunity to hear again how God would have us live and what God would have us do.  If we have drifted away from awareness of God’s moment to moment presence with us,  if we no longer enter into intentional silence in order to recognize God’s plan and our role in it, then Lent is an opportunity for us to return to the love which surpasses all understanding so that we may love others in return.

Earlier this week in my morning meditation on a reading from the Book of Isaiah, God reminded me, as he was reminding the Israelites, that outward displays of piety are empty and meaningless unless we are in right relationship with God,  understanding God’s will.  We are instructed

    …to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke.

… to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Consider this as you think about what you would like Lent to be like for you.

Just like the first week in January when the otherwise-empty exercise room in my apartment building is suddenly filled, Lent can sometimes be a time of trivial commitments which wear off quickly. It is meant to be a time to remember God’s presence, and to consider what we can do to support God’s kingdom in the world.

Fasting and prayer as spiritual disciplines play a role. When we notice our hunger, we are meant to notice our hunger for deep relationship with God and others.  When we are at prayer, we are meant to be mindful of the presence of God, alert and listening for God’s voice urging us to be Divine instruments in the world.

In order to experience the true joy of The Resurrection, we must walk with Jesus toward his death.  It requires our openness to God and our presence in the Community of Faith.  May your Lent be holy and may the Feast of the Resurrection find you growing in your knowledge and love of God.

– Robert R. Gepert, VIII, Western Michigan