Lent is the time of the Church’s annual ‘Retreat’,
when, with the approaching commemoration of Jesus’ Passion and Death
and the joyful celebration of His Resurrection,
we are called to reflect on our identity as His disciples,
baptized as sharers in His Paschal Mystery,
passing with Him through death to life.

Lent presents an opportunity to ‘re-set’ our priorities,
reminding us of our mortality (“Remember that you are dust…”)
and of our mission, while on this earth,
to spread the Good News of salvation in Christ (“…be faithful to the Gospel”).

I liken the disciplines of Lent to two recurring realities familiar to us:
— Spring cleaning (clearing out the built up clutter and the closed-in mustiness of Winter)
— Spring Training (getting ‘in shape’ and ‘toned up’ for the performance demands required for a winning season).

At Easter we will be asked to renew our baptismal promises,
after this period of evaluating our success/failure rate in the ways of discipleship during the past year.

Our annual review is conducted in a spirit of gratitude for God’s mercy,
which looks not primarily to the record of our sins,
but to our potential for good
and to our call to start anew on the path of following Jesus more consistently.

May our Lenten journey,
aided by the disciplines of prayer, fasting and charity,
prepare us well
to renew our commitment
to live as Jesus’ followers,
actively reflecting God’s love for every person.  ~ Msgr. Shugrue