Lent is a 40-day period of preparation for the Church’s celebration of the Paschal Mystery, the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. For the un-baptized and those not fully initiated into the Church, Lent is meant to be a 40-day retreat entered into as a final preparation for the sacraments of initiation.
For the rest of the Christian world, it is a time of conversion and renewal as we prepare to celebrate Easter with mind and heart renewed.
Christ’s own 40 days in the desert inspired the season of Lent. What can we learn from Christ for our journey in 2006?
The Evangelist Mark states rather simply, “The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” This journey preceded Jesus’ three years of public ministry. It was clearly a time of preparation for His work establishing the kingdom of God on earth. We should be able to relate to this. As human beings, we need special times of preparation for the important events of our lives. May the Lord bless each and every one of us with the desire to make this Lent a time of honest and dedicated preparation for our celebration of the central event of world history, the Paschal Mystery.
Aside from occasional visits with angels and wild beasts, Jesus spent the 40 days alone with His heavenly Father. It must have been a time of intense prayer and deep communion. It was indeed a retreat in preparation for the start of His public ministry. This context should shape our approach to Lent. This holy season calls us to increased prayer. May Christ inspire us by His example and strengthen us with His grace to enter into a fuller communion with our Heavenly Father through a focused commitment to prayer.
Christ’s sojourn into the desert fortified Him for His mission because it was a time of trial and purification as well. Other Gospel writers make it clear that Jesus fasted during this time. He was tempted by Satan and persevered. Jesus’ love for His Father and His commitment to His mission were put to the test and He came out prepared to establish the kingdom and redeem the world. Lent is a time for us to seek purification. May Christ inspire us through our voluntary fasting in its many forms as well as through a prayer-filled embrace of God’s will in our lives and through a more courageous approach to our own fears, knowing that the Father is there all along, upholding us with His strong right arm.
Finally, we know that Jesus did not embark upon this journey for His own sake. As the eternal Son of God, He spends all of eternity in a communion of perfect love with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Son of God did not need 40 days of trial and temptation in the desert for His own personal well-being. He entered into the desert and commenced His saving work because of a burning love for you and me. Lent is a time for us to discover anew God’s amazing love for each of us and imitate that love in our daily lives. May Christ’s example spur us on to ever greater acts of personal sacrifice and almsgiving.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your time in the desert. You not only obeyed Your Father and followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but You endured this time of prayer and purification to serve us, Your brothers and sisters, and to help us overcome our pride and selfishness. Inspire us to take Lent seriously, to ask for the gift of conversion and renewal. Teach us anew to pray, fast and live with great charity so that we may do the will of our heavenly Father, celebrate the Easter mysteries with our minds and hearts renewed, and enter more fully into the life of the Holy Trinity.
Fr. Peterson is Campus Minister at Marymount University in Arlington and interim director of the Youth Apostles Institute.
(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)