Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome to yet another season of Lent, through which the Church calls us to individual conversion and communal renewal.
In accordance with the focus of this Jubilee Year, as an Archdiocese, we shall use as our Lenten theme: “Pilgrims of Hope: On A Journey of Healing and Reconciliation.” Never has this theme been so apt, as it is for the times in which we live. As such, this Lent affords us an opportunity to renew ourselves individually, as a Church community, and as a nation.
The first step towards this end, I believe, is for us to take individual and collective responsibility for the state of the world around us. Lent is not a time for finger pointing; it is not a time for engagement in any form of blame game. Instead, it is a time for lamentation, both individually and communally; that is, a disposition of sorrow for the part we each play in the destruction of the world. It is not the time to
tell God how good we have been, but rather, to recognise how we each have wounded of the body of Christ. It is, indeed, a time for taking responsibility.
When we examine the gravity of the situation in which we live, whether on the individual, family, church, community or state level, it is so easy to exempt ourselves from blame and direct it towards others; especially those we perceive to be different from us, or even worse than us; those bad people out there. Let us remind ourselves that we all are products of the environment in which we live.
The late great Dr. Martin Luther King jr, speaking of the collective nature of sin and evil, coined the saying: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” By this he means that, any form of human infraction or sinfulness adds to the destructive effects of evil in the world in which we live. It means that whatever
wrong that happens on the domestic, professional, social, or spiritual level, affects the entire nation. This also tell of the effect that one person of good character can have on a community—on a nation.
St. Paul in his analogy of the human body, as recounted in his First Letter to the Corinthians, arrives at the same conclusion. In Chapter 12 verse 26, he affirms thus: “If one part of the body is hurt, all parts share its pain. And if one part is honoured, all the parts share its joy.”
Brothers and sisters, we all dream of a renewed world, and better church community, a more united family, and even, a better version of ourselves individually. Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, provides us this season of grace precisely for much-needed self-examination and collective reflection. It is, indeed, an opportunity for each of us to pursue that dream; to seek after something different: a different mindset, a different lifestyle, a different disposition. She tells us that the only way towards that difference is the way of self-denial and sacrifice: fasting, weeping, moaning, says the Prophet Joel.
It is not without in reason that year after year the Church calls us to return to the ancient tested-and-tried methods of prayer, fasting and almsgiving; methods that embrace all three subjects of renewal: God, the Self and others. It is another way asking us to stretch ourselves a little more for the sake of the greater good this season.
May this season of Lent in this Jubilee Year of Hope, healing and reconciliation, bring us all one step close to our desired goal; one step close to God’s kingdom, one step closer to perfect union with each other.
A happy and holy Lenten season to all of you and your family.
