By Rev Fr Giles Ngwa Forteh
Lent is a collective retreat for the whole Church, a time for entering more consciously into the mystery of Christ's Passover from death to resurrection. It is a time for imitating Christ in his forty days in the desert when, drawing strength from the Father in prayer and seeking to do only the Father's will, He faced the devil's temptations.
This is a season for doing spiritual battle against the devil who exploits all the good things of this life to achieve his purpose of ruining souls. Change of mind and heart (metanoia) is the destination to which all Christians move during this period. Mother Church recommends some practices in keeping with biblical tradition and spirituality, which, if carried out with sincerity and effort would, most certainly, free us from self-imposed slavery and help us witness the joy of the redeemed. These practices are: meditation on the life-giving Word of God, intense prayer, fasting and almsgiving (good deeds).
Lent is about a decision. It is about an action. It is about a return to the fundamental questions regarding our vocation- where we come from, where we actually are and the direction we are moving to. It is about contemplating the love that God has lavished on us and our deviating response to it.
The Psalmist wonders at the infinite dignity with which God has clothed man in the following words: You have made him inferior only to your self; you crowned him with glory and honour. You appointed him ruler over everything you made; you placed him over all creation (Ps 8:5-6).
In his folly and weakness man is tempted to settle on the futile, to waste his efforts on earth and deprive himself of the unfading crown of glory prepared for all the children of God. The good news is that God never abandons his own, "Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you… I have written your name on the palms of my hands" (Is 49:15-16).
Divine mercy continues to knock at the human heart and whenever we respond to it, we make a fresh start.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, we find the inspiring and challenging decision of someone who resolutely decides to turn over the page of his filthy past. In the practice of debauchery and reckless living, he had fallen below his family's dignity, even far beneath that of his father's servants. He was depriving himself of his father's warmth and favours, thus making himself a stranger to what belonged to him. He needed to do one thing- the only thing: to retrace his steps; to return to his Father with a contrite heart.
"I will leave this place and go back to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against God and against you" (Lk 15:18).
These are the words which precede the great action. The difference between the Prodigal Son and many of us is that we end at the level of reflection and intention. We appreciate the lives of the saints and admire their courage, assertive nature and devotion, but often fail to act like them. We would like to be like them, even without risking anything. What began as a reflection on the Prodigal Son's part blossomed into action. "So he got up and started back to his father."
Our meditation on the Word of God during this season must lead to action, if we are to be something more than the rock, the torn and the edge of the path on which the seed fell (cf Mt 13:1-9). The purpose is to transform us into the fertile soil in which the seed grows, matures and produces its crop in abundance. Let us subdue ourselves during this period by means of intense prayer, fasting and good deeds, so that at Easter we may rise beyond our weakness and regain the vigour of life in Christ. For this to happen, we must be sincere in all we do.
"Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness and ready to relent" (Joel 2:13
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