Fr Antonio Pineda
his Sunday is the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday. Lent begins this week, and so do our Lenten traditions, including asking each other the question, “What are you giving up for Lent?”
St Paul’s words in our second reading this Sunday tell us why penance matters. He instructed the Corinthian Christians: “Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.” He issues three commands — “never give in”, “never admit defeat”, and “keep on working at the Lord’s work always”.
Paul’s three instructions to the Corinthians are no less relevant to us today than they were when he first wrote them in his letter. They give us a nifty itinerary for our Lenten journey: be firm, be steadfast, and be devoted. In our present world of excess — excess food, drink, entertainment, news, social media, and everything else that consumes our time and dulls our senses—we need to take a step back, to hit the mute button on it all, to hear God’s voice so that we can respond firmly, steadfastly, and devotedly. We hear our Lord in the Gospel this Sunday speak about good trees having to bear good fruit, but if we are to bear good fruit, we have to first receive proper spiritual nutrition by hearing God’s word. And Lent is the time to do it.
As Ash Wednesday approaches, the Lord invites us to prepare for this annual forty-day spiritual journey. What needs to come with us, and what needs to stay behind? During these final days before Ash Wednesday, let us accept the Lord’s invitation to leave all the excess behind and journey forward with faith, knowing that the Lord — who comes to us in this Eucharist as our Bread for the journey — has something greater to offer us: eternal life. St Paul says it so beautifully in today’s second reading: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” It was the Lord’s own death that swallowed death up in the victory of his empty tomb. Let us hasten to meet him there.