Lenten Reflection

So... I'm part of a group that is keeping a 40 day vigil during Lent on the sidewalk at a Planned Parenthood site. The vigil hours are from 8:00 AM till 8:00 PM. We had the typical responses from passing motorists which consist of; 5 honks and thumbs up for every 1 honk and middle finger/cursing. We even had a guy come up and give us all coffee and hot chocolate. My hour just happened to end at the same time that the Parish about 3 blocks away began Confessions. There was a nice handout that the priest gave that I will share with you here on my blog. Not sure where the reflection comes from, so I just want to give credit to whoever the unnamed source was.

Whatever Lenten practices we undertake, it is important to remember their purpose. Lenten practices are not about losing weight or finaly stopping smoking, but they are about deepening our baptismal identity as children of God and members of the Body of Christ. "If you are [children] of God"... this is the identity conferred upon us at baptism. This is the identity out of which we enter into our own Lenten desert. This is the identity out of which we face our own worst temptations. By rmaining faithful to who we are -- God's children, members of the Body of Christ -- we can resist temptations and grow in our relationships with God, self, and others.
Traditionally, Christian penance has always included three prongs: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (charity). This suggests to us that penance isn't a matter of "giving up" something, nor is it a single act -- even if performed faithfully over a long period like forty days. Christian penance has as it's purpose genuine conversion of life, so that at the end of Lent when we renew our baptismal promises we are able to do so with full throat, well aware of our own wonderful identity as sons and daughters of God. The new life we celebrate at Easter cannot happen without our dying to ourselves, without our going to Jerusalem with Jesus and willingly embracing whatever death is in store for us. For that is the road to new life. That is the road we travel during Lent.

Have a blessed Lent

Pyro