Readings
I - Joel. 2: 12-18
II - 2 Cor. 5: 20-6:2
II - Mt. 6: 1-6, 16-18
“RISE, AND DO NOT BE AFRAID”
Lent is a time of repentance for offending the loving God, a time of renewal of our covenant with God and a time of return to the Lord for we belong to God. We begin our forty days of fast from today focusing on the three ways given in the Gospel passage of the day: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Basing his Lenten message 2023 on the passage of transfiguration of Jesus, Pope Francis proposes two paths in order to ascend the mountain with Jesus and, with him to the attain Easter glory. They are:
1. To obey the command of God addressed to the disciples on Mount Tabor, “Listen to him.” The first proposal, then, is very clear: we need to listen to Jesus. Lent is a time of grace to the extent that we listen to him as he speaks to us.
2. On hearing the Father’s voice, the disciples “fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and do not be afraid.’ And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone” (Mt 17:6-8). Here is the second proposal for this Lent: do not take refuge in a religiosity made up of extraordinary events and dramatic experiences, out of fear of facing reality and its daily struggles, its hardships and contradictions. The light that Jesus shows the disciples is an anticipation of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow “him alone”.
Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. Adhere to the voice of God in every effort saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” May the Holy Spirit inspire and sustain us this Lent in our ascent with Jesus, so that we may experience his divine splendour and thus, confirmed in faith, persevere in our journey together with him, glory of his people and light of the nations.
