A more meaningful lent

Setting aside God's commandments puts one in a spiritual exile, the bishops said in their pastoral letter for lent, being read in churches in Malta and Gozo between today and tomorrow.

Mgr Paul Cremona and Mgr Mario Grech said: “The exile embodies all that which draws us away from God.

“Everybody experiences exile in a  personal way, but we can offer some examples: When we are under the impression that whatever we decide is right or wrong without considering our decision it in the light of the Word of God; when we feel that in our life we have no need for Jesus or the Church which he bequeathed to us, except in times of emergency (illness, death, problems); when we become totally consumed by materialism to such an extent that we ignore ethical principles and measures of  justice.”

The bishops said that the culmination of Lent is the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.  These events had to be reflected upon in the next 40 days through prayer by pondering upon their relevance in one’s life.

Even Jesus experienced an inner ‘exile’ on the Cross: as a human, he was separated from God the Father. At the point of death, he prayed hard to return to his Father now that his mission had been accomplished.

Mgr Cremona and Mgr Grech said:

“God created us for eternity, and the Christian should aspire to enjoy God in all eternity.  Unfortunately, we no longer speak very much about this, however it is fundamental for our spiritual journey.  If we acknowledge that we are in exile, we will not be very much attached to things of the world; rather we will focus upon those things which lead us to eternal life.”

In times of exile, the chosen people became conscious of the fact that instead of enjoying freedom, being distance from God and His commandments, they were enslaved by their own passions and desires and by those of others.

“In our contemporary world, there are many people who feel this way. They think that if they push God aside they will be freer to pursue their own inclinations.  In fact, they realize that this is not the case.  Often in such a miserable state, they wake up to the fact that they need God and they turn to Him once again. 

“Lent is the time when we choose to focus on the Kingdom promised to us by Jesus. During Lent, we should centre our thoughts on the Paschal Mystery – the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

“Lent becomes more meaningful if we choose a path that leads us out of our exile: more time spent in prayer; restraint from purely material things (this includes fasting from anything which tends towards materialism); reading the Word of God which illustrates the way to the promised land; the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) which helps us to discern better what is right and what is wrong in our lives; closer communion with the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  All these are indicative of the fact that the person is not only trying to renounce his exile but it is also a sign that he is initiating his journey along a path that will lead him to ponder more deeply the mystery of living as a Christian.”