As we enter the third week of our Lenten journey, we continue with acts of penance that allow the soul to make room for God’s grace and cultivate the fruits of wisdom and holiness. This week, we hear our Lord calling us to “repent.” While the word “repentance” means seeking forgiveness for our sins, it also involves transforming our attitudes and our lives – it calls us to undergo a profound change in spirit, mind and heart. We repent to repair the hurt that has ruptured the relationship between God, ourselves and one another – the Mystical Body of Christ.
Repentance also includes a personal sacrifice, a refining of the soul and sometimes self-denial. During this time, let us strive to be other-centered, making the needs of others our own, especially those who suffer with poverty and powerlessness. Let us take up his Cross and be Christ-like to others – comforting the lonely, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.
Lent is also the right time to set aside worldly things and spend time in contemplation and prayer. It is the right time to prepare for Christ’s rising from the dead, which calls each of us to rise out of the grips of sin and dysfunction. On Ash Wednesday, God said through the prophet Joel, “Return to me.” His call continues this third week of Lent – a call to return to him with our whole hearts. Let us surrender our willfulness and rely only on his mercy and redemption manifested in his Passion, Death and Resurrection.