"Lenten Check-Up" Mar 25, 2022

Lenten Check-Up

We're coming up on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, which means it is time for a Lenten checkup! How are you doing? What are you struggling with? I remember those Lents when I kept my resolution but still failed in what I set out to do. By giving up chocolate, soft drinks, the internet and social media, I emerged from those 40 days slimmer, less addicted to caffeine, and Facebook-free, yet no stronger spiritually. The Lents that drew me closer to God were those when I stopped trying to “better myself,” and submitted to the will of the Lord.

The Lent I remember most fondly was the year in seminary when I phoned a seminarian friend every day to pray a Hail Mary. I was studying at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, and he was studying at St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston, TX. We were one year apart in our formation and both dealing with the struggles of priestly formation and discernment. The 40 days we spent just reciting one prayer together each day made the struggles of life more bearable.

“Hail Mary, full of grace…”

As a Catholic, I say this prayer so often, it can become a mindless exercise, but it isn’t meant to be. Calling my friend, sometimes we would rush through it, like checking a box: I did my Lenten duty today. Over the weeks, however, the conversations grew deeper, and the Hail Mary came out slower. We prayed it together and meant it more. The Blessed Mother knit our hearts closer together in the process. Saying a single prayer might seem small, and yet that Lent bore much fruit because it was no longer an outward attempt at holiness, but an internal journey toward intimacy with God through Mary. Upon reflection, I can tell those “failed” Lents had good intentions, good plans, but they weren’t journeys into the desert. Seeking God always brings us closer to others. That Lent, the desert of our friendship bloomed.

So, if you’ve found yourself flunking out of Lent, perhaps it is time to reassess your practice and your goals. Have you gone into the desert? Have you chosen a Lenten resolution to deepen your relationship with God and others, or are you doing something for yourself and calling it Lenten sacrifice? If you find that this Lent you have not yet oriented yourself toward God by going into the desert, it’s not too late to begin. Yes, we are celebrating Laetare Sunday and are more than halfway through the 40 days, but God meets us where we are. Don’t let a good resolution today go to waste just because it isn’t Ash Wednesday.

Start over by going out into the desert toward the Lord. Find a prayer partner, even by phone. Help a neighbor, even one you’ve ignored before. Hold your tongue rather than gossip. Forgive a longtime wrong, lift a grudge from your shoulders, or free someone else from your anger. Look over the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy – 14 in all, one for each day of the final two weeks of Lent. Trust that God will work with whatever you bring Him and make your desert bloom.  

Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor
Divine Mercy Parish and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School