Lenten Penances: What are they for?
Let me read out to you a letter a woman wrote to her spiritual director at the beginning of the lent:
"A couple of years ago," she wrote, "I tried fasting but that just left a terrible taste in my mouth. On the two days a week that I would fast, I ended up thinking more about Kentucky Fried Chicken than anything spiritual. One year I tried going to evening Mass at the parish and even spending 20 minutes a day in silent prayer. But, truth be told, these activities didn't do much to change my life, except make me aware of just how holy I can act when push comes to shove. And once Easter came along, I stopped going to evening Mass.
"Then last year," she continued, "I decided to take a more positive approach after hearing parish priest’s homily on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. So I volunteered one night a week at the soup run that we have in our parish. But talking to street people isn't my 'thing,' and I couldn't find anything particularly edifying about washing dirty dishes. After all, I had more than my share waiting for me in the kitchen sink once I got home. So with Lent fast approaching, I find myself in my yearly quandary about adopting a Lenten penance. I just don't know what to do or what it's supposed to mean exactly. Got any ideas?"
Friends, once the lent starts our acts of penance automatically start. But we seldom think about the reason why we do those things and what they mean exactly. Did you ever give a thought to these things. All the penances you do; what are they for?
Often Our understanding of penance is based on our understanding of sin. Unfortunately, many of us tend to think of sin as only individual and specific acts which violate the spirit or actually break one of the Ten Commandments: "I missed Mass on Sunday." "I deliberately lied." "I gossiped and dishonoured the reputation of a co-worker."
When we have such a limited and narrow sense of sin, we are naturally going to have a limited and narrow sense of penance, of righting the individual wrongs we have committed. So we decide to attend a weekday Mass, to tell the truth the next time around, to praise the co-worker. But Does telling the truth the next time around actually fix yesterday's lie? Does tomorrow's praise of a maligned co-worker really heal the harm caused by our gossip?
We think of Lenten penance as simply vacuuming up the dirty spots on the carpet of the soul, and thus we bring a legalistic mentality to this 40-day period of grace. We simply reduce it to an extended calculation of credits and debits. So much I owe so much I give.
Lenten penance really has less to do about vacuum cleaners and the soul's dirty carpets, and more to do with bringing back the harmony that was lost. Sin is all about violating the natural harmony of the soul. It deliberately skews the God-given interrelationships between God, self and neighbour. It slams the door of my heart in God's face. It is losing touch with my middle, my centre, and spinning out of self-control. Sin builds walls to hide behind and constructs bridges that lead me away from my neighbour.
So penance is not simply fixing a broken commandment. It is re-establishing the interrelationships, bonds and connections that our pride, anger, gluttony, envy, greed, laziness, lust--our sin--throw into disarray. It is getting back on track where we belong. It is experiencing the energy--the grace--that comes with maintaining and developing healthy, balanced bonds with God, self and others. In short, the purpose of Lenten penance is to re-establish and preserve the harmonious interrelationships intended by God at the dawn of creation. It is getting in touch with reality. Lwt me read out another story I read yesterday.
“A man went out on a Monday. It was a cold winter’s day. At a street corner he came upon a ragged little girl begging. He was so shocked at her condition that her image haunted him for the rest of the day. That night he slept very little.
He went out on Tuesday. She was there again, in the same spot, with the same sad expression on her small, weather-beaten face. His heart bled with pity for her. He didn’t get much sleep that night either.
He went out on Wednesday. He approached the location with dread. Yes, she was there again. He felt shame and guilt for her condition, and said to himself, ‘I must do something for her.’ But he quickly added ‘not today, I am too busy today.’ That night again the little girl again robbed him of some sleep.
He went out on Thursday. On seeing the girl he got angry and exclaimed, ‘It’s a disgrace! Why doesn’t somebody help her? Where are her parents?’ He slept somewhat better that night.
He went out on Friday. Unable to bear the thought of seeing the little girl, he crossed to the other side of the street. However he saw her in his mind’s eye, and that was just as bad. That night he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. But the little girl visited him in his dreams.
He went out on Saturday. He was late and was rushing. Before he knew it, he had passed the street corner where the girl was. Suddenly he realised, that not only had he not looked at the child, but he hadn’t thought of her either. Nor did he think much about her for the rest of the day. That night he slept soundly.
On Sunday he didn’t go out at all, except to go to church.”
Look how gradually his heart of flesh turned into heart of stone. Lost its touch with reality around it. Now Lenten penance is meant to turn this heart of stone back again to be heart of flesh. A heart which can feel the pain Jesus endured for us. A heart that can feel the sufferings of our brothers and sisters around us.
So Penance is not some “extra” tacked on to a person’s life. It naturally proceeds from living out the deepest truth about one’s life. Conversion is simply the means by which we surrender partial truths for more complete truths. That is why church often calls for conversion: ‘Metanoia’. The word metanoia connotes a change of mind and heart, altering one's mind-set toward whole new ways of thinking and acting. This involves taking a look at where we are and trying to see where we ought to be. It involves testing our values and discerning how they stack up against the values that Jesus offers his followers.
So during this season of lent let all our efforts or acts of penance be for ‘metanoia.’ Change of heart or personal conversion. Otherwise all our efforts will be like empty vessel making much noise.
Let me conclude with what our Pope on Ash Wednesday about lent. He said “What does it mean to enter into Lent? It is the beginning of a particular time of penance to combat the evil present in the world, to look evil in the face and combat its effects.” Let this our goal this lent
Amen
Let me read out to you a letter a woman wrote to her spiritual director at the beginning of the lent:
"A couple of years ago," she wrote, "I tried fasting but that just left a terrible taste in my mouth. On the two days a week that I would fast, I ended up thinking more about Kentucky Fried Chicken than anything spiritual. One year I tried going to evening Mass at the parish and even spending 20 minutes a day in silent prayer. But, truth be told, these activities didn't do much to change my life, except make me aware of just how holy I can act when push comes to shove. And once Easter came along, I stopped going to evening Mass.
"Then last year," she continued, "I decided to take a more positive approach after hearing parish priest’s homily on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. So I volunteered one night a week at the soup run that we have in our parish. But talking to street people isn't my 'thing,' and I couldn't find anything particularly edifying about washing dirty dishes. After all, I had more than my share waiting for me in the kitchen sink once I got home. So with Lent fast approaching, I find myself in my yearly quandary about adopting a Lenten penance. I just don't know what to do or what it's supposed to mean exactly. Got any ideas?"
Friends, once the lent starts our acts of penance automatically start. But we seldom think about the reason why we do those things and what they mean exactly. Did you ever give a thought to these things. All the penances you do; what are they for?
Often Our understanding of penance is based on our understanding of sin. Unfortunately, many of us tend to think of sin as only individual and specific acts which violate the spirit or actually break one of the Ten Commandments: "I missed Mass on Sunday." "I deliberately lied." "I gossiped and dishonoured the reputation of a co-worker."
When we have such a limited and narrow sense of sin, we are naturally going to have a limited and narrow sense of penance, of righting the individual wrongs we have committed. So we decide to attend a weekday Mass, to tell the truth the next time around, to praise the co-worker. But Does telling the truth the next time around actually fix yesterday's lie? Does tomorrow's praise of a maligned co-worker really heal the harm caused by our gossip?
We think of Lenten penance as simply vacuuming up the dirty spots on the carpet of the soul, and thus we bring a legalistic mentality to this 40-day period of grace. We simply reduce it to an extended calculation of credits and debits. So much I owe so much I give.
Lenten penance really has less to do about vacuum cleaners and the soul's dirty carpets, and more to do with bringing back the harmony that was lost. Sin is all about violating the natural harmony of the soul. It deliberately skews the God-given interrelationships between God, self and neighbour. It slams the door of my heart in God's face. It is losing touch with my middle, my centre, and spinning out of self-control. Sin builds walls to hide behind and constructs bridges that lead me away from my neighbour.
So penance is not simply fixing a broken commandment. It is re-establishing the interrelationships, bonds and connections that our pride, anger, gluttony, envy, greed, laziness, lust--our sin--throw into disarray. It is getting back on track where we belong. It is experiencing the energy--the grace--that comes with maintaining and developing healthy, balanced bonds with God, self and others. In short, the purpose of Lenten penance is to re-establish and preserve the harmonious interrelationships intended by God at the dawn of creation. It is getting in touch with reality. Lwt me read out another story I read yesterday.
“A man went out on a Monday. It was a cold winter’s day. At a street corner he came upon a ragged little girl begging. He was so shocked at her condition that her image haunted him for the rest of the day. That night he slept very little.
He went out on Tuesday. She was there again, in the same spot, with the same sad expression on her small, weather-beaten face. His heart bled with pity for her. He didn’t get much sleep that night either.
He went out on Wednesday. He approached the location with dread. Yes, she was there again. He felt shame and guilt for her condition, and said to himself, ‘I must do something for her.’ But he quickly added ‘not today, I am too busy today.’ That night again the little girl again robbed him of some sleep.
He went out on Thursday. On seeing the girl he got angry and exclaimed, ‘It’s a disgrace! Why doesn’t somebody help her? Where are her parents?’ He slept somewhat better that night.
He went out on Friday. Unable to bear the thought of seeing the little girl, he crossed to the other side of the street. However he saw her in his mind’s eye, and that was just as bad. That night he fell asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. But the little girl visited him in his dreams.
He went out on Saturday. He was late and was rushing. Before he knew it, he had passed the street corner where the girl was. Suddenly he realised, that not only had he not looked at the child, but he hadn’t thought of her either. Nor did he think much about her for the rest of the day. That night he slept soundly.
On Sunday he didn’t go out at all, except to go to church.”
Look how gradually his heart of flesh turned into heart of stone. Lost its touch with reality around it. Now Lenten penance is meant to turn this heart of stone back again to be heart of flesh. A heart which can feel the pain Jesus endured for us. A heart that can feel the sufferings of our brothers and sisters around us.
So Penance is not some “extra” tacked on to a person’s life. It naturally proceeds from living out the deepest truth about one’s life. Conversion is simply the means by which we surrender partial truths for more complete truths. That is why church often calls for conversion: ‘Metanoia’. The word metanoia connotes a change of mind and heart, altering one's mind-set toward whole new ways of thinking and acting. This involves taking a look at where we are and trying to see where we ought to be. It involves testing our values and discerning how they stack up against the values that Jesus offers his followers.
So during this season of lent let all our efforts or acts of penance be for ‘metanoia.’ Change of heart or personal conversion. Otherwise all our efforts will be like empty vessel making much noise.
Let me conclude with what our Pope on Ash Wednesday about lent. He said “What does it mean to enter into Lent? It is the beginning of a particular time of penance to combat the evil present in the world, to look evil in the face and combat its effects.” Let this our goal this lent
Amen
(Thoughts are based on the talk given by Albert Haase, O.F.M.)
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