God, may Your light guide my day, and your spirit bring me peace. Amen.
-Lenten prayer
“Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job 42: 1-6
In Lent, Catholics make an effort to sacrifice. When we say sacrifice, I think most people think it means to give up little things (or big things) in an effort to orient ourselves towards God. This practice is so important as part of yearly Christian formation: because at the root of good spiritual practice is discipline. And without discipline, there is very little relationship to be found with God.
When I was young, there were many cartoons, media, etc. that talked about the end of the world. On those signs it always said "REPENT, the end is near!" (Which is an odd stance in some ways, if everything is ending, it's like trying to do your homework at 12am before it's due the next day)
Repentance, in the Lenten tradition, is not about asking for forgiveness at the last moment (though that is more than acceptable in the Catholic and Christian tradition, which is good). Repentance is about right thought, right action, right orientation towards that which is divine. And in our case, as Christians, orienting ourselves towards the divine course corrects many problems that arise through normal life.
Ordinary Christians cannot move the waves of the world, nor is a triumphant return by fire desirable. The way of the common Christian requires dedication and reflection, forgiveness and humility. There is a reason that the path to heaven is called 'the narrow path.' It is very easy to slide into patterns that are bad for us and those that love us.
Lent is a time of remembering the importance of taking away, so that what may be filled, is something better, and more appropriate.
