Observing Lent

"There is no one who has given up house, or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age." Mark 10:29

Is God asking us to give up these wonderful gifts He has given us? I don't think so! I think Jesus is saying that if we put Him first, we will have all this and more! The rewards of following our Lord far outweigh anything this world offers. In Matthew 6:33, we see a variation of this verse: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

It’s not easy because somewhere along the journey of following in His footsteps, He will ask us to give up something. At the very least, we have to painfully shed our old skin of selfishness. Or He may ask us to abandon ugly habits and addictions. We have to learn to forgive, be generous, and most especially repent of our sins. God is very creative, and He will know exactly what we hold on to too tightly, and that is the very thing He will ask us to sacrifice. Will we be able to let go? 

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, a perfect time to review our lives, and see if we can work with God for our transformation. Pope Francis challenges us to learn “to change our attitude towards others and all of creation, turning away from the temptation to ‘devour’ everything to satisfy our voracity and being ready to suffer for love, which can fill the emptiness of our hearts.”

In his homily on Ash Wednesday two years ago, the Pope asked us to think, “How often do we get caught up in our own wants and needs, lose sight of the heart of the matter, and fail to embrace the true meaning of our lives in this world! Lent is a time of truth, a time to drop the masks we put on each day to appear perfect in the eyes of the world.”

Observing Lent can be so much more than what we give up. Perhaps this year we can commit to MORE, more time with God, more time helping and encouraging and praying for others. Whatever we do for our families, our office mates or schoolmates, our neighbors, and “the least of our brothers and sisters”, we do for Jesus. 

https://papemelroti.blogspot.com/2025/03/get-ready-for-lent-2025.html