Editorial

Lent should be a humble spiritual undertaking with eyes set on Easter

Just two days ago, on Ash Wednesday, we began the season of Lent with a reminder from St. Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 6:1-6, 16-18) of what the Lord expects of us: 

Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. (Mt 6:1-2)

Lent is a time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These three virtues should characterize Christian life all year long, but they take on a special meaning during the 40 days before we observe Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

In order to prepare for the Lord’s sacrificial gift of himself, which made possible our redemption, we need to turn our attention away from ourselves—from our own wants, needs and achievements—to the good of others. We do this through the three Lenten virtues of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, but it’s not enough to do these things in a superficial or halfhearted way.

What the Lord expects from us is a wholehearted giving of ourselves in each of these three areas. “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God” (Jl 2:12-13).

Our prayer must be more than lip service—the rote recital of prayers; our fasting should not be gloomy, calling attention to ourselves and the sacrifices we are making; and, finally, our charitable giving should be done in secret, not broadcast to the world. In other words, we should pray, fast and give alms quietly, invisibly, in all humility and unselfishness.

The season of Lent is a time to let go of our self-centeredness in order to walk in the footsteps of Jesus who came among us to serve and not to be served. Lent is about letting go of our preoccupation with self and this must be evident in our spiritual lives as well as in our temporal affairs. As the Lord admonishes us:

When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Mt 6:5-6)

Humility requires a healthy dose of anonymity. It doesn’t matter who sees us as we perform corporal and spiritual works of mercy. On the contrary, the more hidden our actions are, the more they help us to mature and grow in holiness. As Jesus says, “when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden” (Mt 6:17-18).

Bishop Erik Varden, a convert to the Catholic faith, was the abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Mount Saint Bernard in Leicestershire, England, from 2015 until 2019. He then became the bishop of the region of Trondheim in Norway and offered this powerful insight into the humility of Ash Wednesday:

“When I remember I am dust I also recall that I was destined to be more. The confession echoes with a lost potential. To conduct my life with eyes set on Easter is to trust that what was lost has been restored and can be found again. How? … Through humility. When we humble ourselves, God responds with flexibility. … Our humility calls on God’s inclination to bend down, to touch and reform us.”

When we empty ourselves of egoism and selfishness, we make it possible for God to act in our lives. If we “rend our hearts” and “return to the Lord our God,” we can create spaces where the Lord can enter and redeem us. That’s why we pray, fast and give alms “with eyes set on Easter” so that we can share in the humility and selflessness of Jesus.

The holy season of Lent stretches out in front of us as a road that leads to the Cross of Christ, the greatest act of unselfishness ever made. We are invited to travel this road, but in quiet, hidden and self-sacrificing ways.

Our Lenten journey should be a humble spiritual undertaking with eyes set on Easter.

—Daniel Conway