Ash Wednesday
2 Cor 5:20-6:2
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
The Acceptable Time
Ready or not, Lent begins today! (But wasn’t it just Christmas?)
Did you know that the word “Lent” actually comes from an Old English word “Lencten,” meaning springtime? Think of Lent as spring cleaning for your soul!
The 40-day fast emerged after the Council of Nicea in 325. But St. Irenaeus (c. 202) mentions that the pre-Easter fast goes back to the time of his forefathers. So fasting and other practices of preparation for Easter go back to the earliest days of the Church.
Lent is about getting ready for the greatest celebration of our faith: Easter. No one decides to run a marathon a few days before the race. The Holy Spirit will roll away the stone from Jesus’ grave, but we need time to strengthen our spiritual muscles to run with Peter, John, and Magdalene to the empty tomb. What spiritual flab needs toning for you this Lent? What spiritual exercises will help you?
—Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ, is a retreat master, writer, and spiritual director at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, Illinois. His weekly video reflections can be viewed here.
Prayer
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
—Psalm 51:12-14