Our Lenten discipline isn’t just for our own sake, it’s also for the sake of others
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“You are lacking in one thing.” So says Jesus to the rich young man in Mark 10, which we “just happen” to read two days before Ash Wednesday!
It’s a great thing for us to consider as we enter Lent: What’s one thing in our life that gets in the way of having a deeper relationship with the Lord? Maybe the focus of our Lenten discipline could be addressing one such thing, so that we might follow Him more completely.
We also “just happen” to have a pair of readings the day before Ash Wednesday on the benefit of giving something up. Sirach 35 tells us this: “For the Lord is one who always repays, and He will give back to you sevenfold.” Then, on that very same day, we hear this from Jesus in Mark 10: “There is no one who has given up [anything] … who will not receive a hundred times more.” Whatever we may give up for Lent, we can be sure we’ll receive more than we give!
After Lent starts, a series of readings from Isaiah and Luke give us some helpful instruction regarding our Lenten discipline. They focus our attention on the fact that what we do for Lent isn’t just for our own sake, it’s also for the sake of others.
That lesson matters in a special way in Missouri this year. We — as a people — enacted Amendment 3. That means we’ve set up a structure in our law that is false in itself and creates a dangerous principle. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church points out “The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law” (CCC 2273). That’s our current situation. A positive law deprives the unborn of the protection they should have. That creates a spiritual atmosphere of inequality in our state. We can’t be surprised, then, when the spiritual smog of inequality results in a kind of spiritual blindness and asthma among us. It means some people are going to have to work extra hard to clean up the smog — to provide a spiritual atmosphere that respects the equal dignity of all.
Why should some people have to work hard to make up for the sins of others? I know: It doesn’t seem fair. But I also know this: That’s the way of Jesus. He came into the world because of the sins of others; He took the sins of others upon Himself. Our way is to follow Him — not just for ourselves, but for the sake of others. It’s not fair, but it’s the way of faith.
So, are you struggling to think of a good Lenten discipline? Think of this: The Constitution of Missouri now denies the equality of all before the law. That weighs upon us all. What discipline of prayer, fasting or almsgiving can I take up during Lent that will help to create an atmosphere that upholds the dignity of all?
