[Pearls Ep 158: Bringing Sunday into the week.]
Only 9 more shopping days until Lent. Or something like that…
Each year Ash Wednesday creeps up like a thief in the night. It seems “Hark the Herald Angel” and “Auld Lang Syne” were just last week. Well … perhaps that’s because at the Smith house, we only just took out the tree (it was actually still taking water…).
In any event, here we are with Lent upon us.
Yesterday’s Gospel reading (copied in the postscript) provides a fine way to meditate and ask God His desire for our Lent.
Lent, as we know, is more than giving up sweets and volunteering our time. Both of which are fine in and of themselves (unless you’re a chocolatier…), but the foundational purpose of Lent is as a time of unique grace to shed another layer of our ego , our “false self,” and get closer to who Christ created us to be. That is our own personal Good Friday death and Easter resurrection – our path to inner freedom. Fulton Sheen has this to say:
The ego is made to the image and likeness of the spirit of the world in which it lives, as the “I” (our true self) is made to the image and likeness of the eternal God. The ego is a conformist; it is “adjusted” to its times, but the Scriptures warn: “Be not conformed to the world.” The “I” has attained inner freedom, through transcendence of the worldly.
On Friday we looked at how Jesus’ words in the Gospel are meant to take us from following the letter of the law to transforming our interior, and that we should hear His words, “But I say to you…” to each one of us personally – where is He inviting us to go deeper in our interior life? We can make that specific for Lent – “Lord, where are you guiding me to dig deep this Lent.” And continue with, “Lord, why do You desire that for me?”
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: MT 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”