Editorial

Use Lent to become people of truth, reconciliation and love

There was recently a beautiful example of Christian unity where disciples of the Lord from various Christian traditions came together to share their love for Christ.

Worshippers from across the country and beyond traveled to a chapel at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky., to participate in a non-stop session of prayer, praise, worship and testimonials. The event started on Feb. 8 and ended on Feb. 23.

Catholics were among those who journeyed to the Christian liberal arts college located southwest of Lexington, Ky., to be a part of the spontaneous event.

“It’s almost like a wellspring,” Father Norman Fischer, pastor of St. Peter Claver Parish in Lexington, and chaplain at Lexington Catholic High School, told OSV News. “You just know right away that God is there.”

“People are coming from all over—as far away as Hawaii, Mexico, New Zealand, Indonesia, everywhere,” Christel Broady, associate professor of English as a Second Language at Asbury, told OSV News.

Broady, who is also Catholic, said the sight of students “suddenly kneeling together … arm in arm” brought her to tears.

“To see all these young people in reverent worship, quiet and … giving God the glory, made me so happy, as a Catholic, as a mother, as a teacher,” Broady added.

Father Fischer said he visited Asbury after celebrating Sunday Mass on Feb. 12, and saw several current and former Lexington Catholic High School students there.

“Hands were raised, people were singing, and all were in one accord,” said Father Fischer, adding he was reminded of Psalm 133:1, in which the psalmist declares “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together as one.”

The Asbury phenomenon is “pure” and “definitely of God, definitely of the Holy Spirit,” the priest added.

Our faith instructs us the Lenten season is a time to focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving—what Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday called the three great paths to take on this journey of truth and reconciliation. He also reminded us it is a time to “break the chains of our individualism” and to rediscover “our companions along the journey of each day” through encounter and listening, and “to learn once more to love them as brothers and sisters.”

We believe if we take the Holy Father’s words to heart, we can use what transpired at Asbury University as a springboard in our lives of faith during this Lenten season and beyond. We have been reminded time and time again by the pope we are called to step outside of our comfort zones to encounter others on our journeys of missionary discipleship.

But what we do, the pope noted, must be done with a heart that is truly renewed and sincere.

“All too often, our gestures and rites have no impact on our lives; they remain superficial. Perhaps we perform them only to gain the admiration or esteem of others,” the pope said.

However, the pope warned, “outward displays, human judgments and the world’s approval count for nothing; the only thing that truly matters is the truth and love that God himself sees.”

Pope Francis asked that the faithful use the 40 days of Lent to: “rediscover the joy, not of accumulating material goods, but of caring for those who are poor and afflicted”; to put God at the center of one’s life and pray and dialogue with him from the heart; and to become free “from the dictatorship of full schedules, crowded agendas and superficial needs, and choose the things that truly matter.”

Lent is an opportune time to draw closer to Christ. When we look at the cross, we must remember it is the ultimate expression of what love looks like. If we put Jesus at the center of our lives, there are grace-filled moments awaiting us. We need to believe in the power of prayer.

Since we are imperfect, there will be times we fall and will need to repent. We must remember—not only during Lent but during each liturgical season—that the sacrament of reconciliation is awaiting us to cleanse us of our sins.

Let us strive to become more selfless and pray for the gift of humility during this time. And as we travel on this journey, may we strive to be people of truth, reconciliation and love.

—Mike Krokos