|
 It hardly seems that Christmas is over and already
we are in the midst of Lent. Such is sometimes the case with the moveable
feasts of the Liturgical year. As the calendar falls, we have a very early
Lent this year. Only five weeks into Ordinary Time and Ash Wednesday was
beckoning us to the annual spiritual journey of repentance, conversion, and
rededication to the mysteries to which we were first introduced when we were
baptized. "Remember, Man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt
return!" "Repent and believe in the Gospel!" Both of these acclamations
broke into our post-Christmas lull and once again reminded us that the
Christian Life calls us to be ever-poised to be in the service of the Lord,
to be on the "Battlefield" for Our Lord. Our Marching Orders don't come on
our time schedule but on the Lord's. The great question that remains to be
answered is whether or not we are ready to respond.
 One of the great benefits of the Liturgical
Calendar is that it structures the faith life and prayer life of the Church
in such manner that the Sacred Mysteries of salvation are regularly placed
before our hearts and minds for contemplation, prayer, and active response.
It goes without saying that this quality of the Liturgical life of the
Church will only have an impact on the lives of those who actively integrate
it into their own spiritual lives. In other words, if one is to live a fully
Catholic spiritual life, keeping in mind that the spiritual life itself must
be integrated into every other aspect of one's earthly sojourn, then one
must live a truly Liturgical life. Hence the seasons celebrated by the
Church must also be celebrated by the believer, individually, in the home,
in school or the workplace, wherever the Christian finds him or herself.
That is why, even though it seems that Christmas
was just yesterday, we Catholics must now be fully in tune with the spirit,
the themes, the signs and symbols, and the meaning of Lent, as Lent leads us
through the purgative experience so necessary for a truly meaningful and
rightly joyful celebration of the Easter mystery. Our Christian calling and
our Catholic faith require us to be in a state of extended meditation on the
mystery of Jesus' Passion and Death, as that mystery is unfolded during
Lent. This becomes ever more clear as the Lenten Season culminates with Holy
Week and the uniquely beautiful and instructive celebrations of the Easter
Triduum. The Catholic who opts out of these celebrations is like the student
who skips class. When exam time comes, he just won't be prepared!
Continue article on next page
|
|
