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Lent and
the sacrament of penance
PRAISED BE JESUS
CHRIST!
(Now and Forever)
During the time of my predecessors (Bishops Bennett, Carberry,
Gallagher) it was custom for the diocesan bishop to draft letters to be
read from pulpits at various times during the Church year. Bishop
Fulcher broke that tradition. I have followed his lead. Rather than
replace the homily with a letter (the General Instruction of the Roman
Missal directs that a homily be preached at all weekend liturgies), I
use this column as my primary “teaching tool.” A bishop needs to teach
in a timely fashion. The Lenten Season is one such occasion. It is a
most important part of the Church year.
In looking for an insight on what I might share about Lent this year, I
came across a Lenten letter written by Bishop Raymond J. Gallagher back
in 1982. Since in the past 20 years I’ve more or less exhausted what I
have to say about Lent, I found it interesting.
The bishop begins: “Thanks be to God, the holy season of Lent is once
more before us! I express a sense of gratitude to God for the occurrence
of this holy season since it provides us an important reminder that the
life we lead needs to be periodically reviewed and evaluated. We need
this in order that we do not become deeply immersed in religious
indifference, or, God forbid, in the toils of serious sin. May we all
take advantage of this holy season to evaluate ourselves and our
performance and thus come to objective conclusions about our lifestyle
as it fulfills, or fails to fulfill, Christ’s expectation of us as one
of his followers. Let us hope that by a serious participation in the
spirit and the law of Lent, we will emerge at Easter time as individuals
more truly in harmony with Christ.”
Although the Gallagher letter listed the mandated Lenten regulations,
they are well publicized in each parish. No need to repeat them here.
The bishop’s underscoring that these are minimal expectations does merit
mention, however. These are the bishop’s words: “More and more we
recognize the division of mankind between those who serve God faithfully
and do penance for their offenses as opposed to those who violate God’s
law and who know not the meaning of penance. It is my obligation as your
Spiritual Father, to remind you constantly of the situation in the world
of which we are a part. In order to honor God adequately we may not rest
after having performed a reasonable amount of penance for our own
offenses. Following in the footsteps of Christ, Our Lord, who did
penance for all mankind, we must carve out additional works of atonement
and satisfaction in order to make up for those who do no penance,
whatever. I, therefore, encourage you sincerely to approach this holy
season of Lent in a truly penitential spirit, not considering the heavy
responsibility of Lent as a suffering simply to be endured, but rather
to recognize it as an opportunity to approach greatness in the
achievement of the Christian ideal by praying, serving others and doing
penance in the spirit of Christ.”
The bishop expresses concern about neglect of the sacrament of
reconciliation. Twenty-three years later, that same concern was raised
during the first Roman Synod held under the pontificate of Benedict XVI.
This is the way Bishop Gallagher put it: “We are all extremely grateful
to God for the large number of our faithful who receive the Holy
Eucharist at Mass. Yet, there is a glaring difference in the frequency
that marks the reception of the sacrament of penance. None of us accuses
the other of receiving Communion lightly or unworthily, but it is
valuable for us to check out our attitude toward the sacrament of
penance. Neither should any of us question the prevalence of sin in the
life experiences and the lifestyle which we observe these days. The
flagrant disregard for God’s law, the careless disciplining in behavior,
omitting a sanctified approach to ourselves as physical, sexual human
beings, all these areas, plus many others as well, contain possible
violations of God’s law, which, more and more, are being taken for
granted by many of the people of God in the Roman Catholic Church. It is
my obligation as your Spiritual Father to share my concern for this
development and to urge your cooperation with me in reducing the danger
of disregard for the sacrament of reconciliation. Therefore let our
review of this Lenten Season reveal the true nature of right and wrong,
of sinfulness and virtue, in order to judge ourselves more accurately,
as we try to be followers of Christ in every respect of our liturgical
and sacramental lives.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs (1457) that anyone
who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy
Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first
received sacramental absolution.
It is simplistic to pretend that mortal sins (objectively speaking) do
not happen. Sexual morality is an easy area to focus on. Sex outside
marriage or living together before marriage is common. But, it is living
a lie, acting as though there was a marriage when there is not,
violating the commandments. It is a source of bad example to younger
brothers and sisters and a scandal for the Church community and society
at large.
Failure to take the Sunday obligation seriously is another area. Sunday
Mass is not an option. It is part and parcel of the covenant embraced in
the sacraments of initiation.
Then there are “faults” which impede our spiritual growth. The regular
confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight
against evil tendencies, and provides an opportunity for Christ to lead
us to holiness.
The basic theme of the Lenten Season is taken from Psalm 51: “Create
in me a clean heart, O God.”
Whatever we choose to do in the way of Lenten practices, the intent is
to generate a clean heart within, a reorientation of our whole life away
from the selfishness that impedes our relationship with God, a turning
away from evil and toward God. This change of heart (conversion) was a
central element of Christ’s preaching. He proclaimed: “This is the time
of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand. Reform your lives and
believe in the Gospel” (Mk. 1:15).
Next week I will share with you an examination of conscience. That will
be done with a recommendation that the Lenten Season be used as a time
to prayerfully reflect on things that we need to take into account when
we absolve ourselves of the need of the sacrament of reconciliation.
The sacrament of reconciliation is part and parcel of this call to
conversion. It should not be neglected. Hopefully Lent 2006 will open
our eyes to that reality. |
