Commentary on the Gospel of
Today we begin Lent, a season to re-commit ourselves to our baptismal commitment and to prepare our hearts for Easter through acts of penance, especially prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word meaning springtime and this is what Lent should be for us. In the spring, farmers prepare and plant their fields. They will tend those fields with care over the long summer, looking forward to the harvest.
In the same way we can use Lent to prepare our souls. We fast to remove the obstacles that keep us from sharing Christ’s mission like a farmer removes stones that might hinder his planting. We give alms to help unite our hearts with the less fortunate, as a farmer gently plants and nourishes the seeds. We pray that we may know God’s will and have the courage to pursue it, as a farmer conditions the soil to receive the seeds.
If we use this season to prepare our souls, our hearts, and our lives, we can come to easter ready to live more fully our baptismal call to follow Christ and to share in the harvest banquet of heaven.
