We are now into the season of Lent.  But, we might ask ourselves:  “What is Lent?”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines Lent as:  “The liturgical season of forty days which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter).  Lent is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer” ( CCC , nos. 540, 1095, 1438).

Wednesday, February 25, was Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.  Many began Lent by attending Mass and receiving the imposition of ashes on their foreheads.  Ashes are a sign that nothing is more important than God and that we have committed ourselves to an interior conversion of heart during Lent.  We pledge to turn away (convert) from sin and be more faithful to God.  The penances that we do during Lent, such as fasting, should assist us in our conversion of heart and should be the fruit and bodily manifestation of a heart in the process of conversion.

“Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, ‘sackcloth and ashes,’ fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion.  Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance” ( CCC , no. 1430).

In our day, fasting is a particularly bold sign of an interior conversion of heart.  This is so because fasting is so difficult for us to do in our culture, which promotes immediate satisfaction.  Many feel that they should have what they want, when they want it, with no delay.  This expectation is unrealistic and causes much dissatisfaction and even anger.  Fasting helps to stabilize us, discipline our passions, and return us to reality (to God). 

In his Lenten Letter for this year, Pope Benedict stresses fasting.  He writes:  “Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word.  Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being:  the hunger and thirst for God.”

Fasting manifests the power of conversion.  Fasting or refraining “… from food and drink as an expression of interior penance, in imitation of the fast of Jesus for forty days in the desert.  Fasting is an ascetical practice recommended in Scripture and the writings of the Church Fathers; it is sometimes prescribed by a precept of the Church, especially during the liturgical season of Lent” ( CCC , Glossary).

“Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed.  At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace” ( CCC , no. 1431).

The help of God’s grace comes to us through prayer and the celebration of the sacraments.  That is why it is so important for us to pray often during Lent.  For example, praying the Stations of the Cross or the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.  If possible, it is important to make time to attend some daily Masses.  Mass is a wonderful place to meet Christ and to speak to Him, to listen to Him, and to bask in the radiance of His grace.  The sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession, with individual confession of sins and absolution by a priest, assists us greatly in the conversion process and brings into our hearts God’s merciful grace. 

Fasting and penance are not only personal acts; they also have a communal dimension.  Returning to Pope Benedict’s Lenten Letter, we find:  “At the same time, fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live.  In his First Letter, Saint John admonishes:  ‘If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him – how does the love of God abide in him?’ (3,17).”

“Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother (cf. Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, 15).  By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger.”

I ask that our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, be our guide and intercessor as we make our way through this Lenten season of penance, fasting, and prayer.  Through the practices of Lent, I pray that we will experience the interior conversion that will make Easter a truly joyful celebration of the Resurrection of Christ.