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First Sunday of Lent : 10 th February 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Experience tells us that there are moments in our lives when we are presented with an opportunity to do something which will be to our advantage if we take it up. That experience is summed up pithily in the old Latin adage, or maxim, “carpe diem” which is variously translated as “seize the day” or “seize the moment.” It is an exhortation to make the most of an opportunity when it comes, and not dither about indecisively because that opportunity may not come again at a favourable time! The wisdom expressed in that maxim seems to me particularly appropriate as once again begin we begin our Lenten journey towards Easter. Every year, the season of Lent offers us the opportunity to stand back a little from our daily concerns, and reflect on our lives in the light of the Gospel. As the great philosopher, Socrates said so wisely, “The un-reflected life is not worth living.” Yet we all know from experience that in the hectic and frenetic world in which we live today, it's quite difficult to make time to reflect - to reflect on our lives, it's meaning and where it is heading. The Church gives us the season of Lent as a time to recall, and to reflect on the meaning of our baptism and the commitment which flows from it. Do I understand and generously accept the responsibilities which arise from being baptised? Does my life mirror the fact that I have been created in the image and likeness of God? Do others see in me, and in the way I relate to others, something of the unconditional love, compassion and mercy of God? We are called to undertake this reflection during Lent always in the light of the great feast we are preparing to celebrate at Easter - the Paschal Mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. It was through that act of unconditional love that Christ won for us the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of communion and eternal life with the living God, Father, Son and Spirit. This is the season for each of us to enter into a closer union with the person of Christ and to reflect on how we deal with the temptations which afflict us all in different ways. To do that fruitfully we need to be serious about the three traditional helps towards that end, namely, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. But important and vital though these personal efforts are, we need to open our hearts humbly to the life-giving grace and presence of Christ and ask for his help. This is beautifully depicted in a famous picture by Holman Hunt, entitled the “Light of Christ”. In Holman Hunt's picture, Jesus is standing at a cottage door, holding a lantern. The surroundings are dark and gloomy, and the lantern shines on the door which is overgrown with creepers and vines. It looks as if it has not been opened for many a year and can't be opened easily now. But perhaps the most significant detail in the picture is that there is no handle on the door. Clearly, Christ is bringing his light to shine in the darkened and gloomy dwelling, but he can't do that unless the householder is willing and able to open the door from the inside. The scene is a pictorial represntation of the verse in the Book of the Apocalypse in which Christ says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and you open the door, I will come in . . . ”. The spirit with which we need to approach this penitential season is also well expressed by the writers of the Psalms, who were always conscious of our neediness and poverty before God. We might consider making a couple of the verses from today's responsorial psalm the basis of our prayer for this Lent: “Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.” Or again: “A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit.” In other words If we are to make the most of Lent, we need to invite God to help us, and not simply rely on our own efforts. Those efforts are important and necessary, whether we are thinking in terms of prayer, fasting or almsgiving. These are the means which help us to open our hearts and draw closer to God in the person of Jesus Christ. But they can so easily become a source of self-satisfaction and self-congratulation, rather than helping us to focus on God. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Lenten Message to the Church this year, reminds us that all that we do during this Lenten season should lead away from ourselves and focus on the glory we give to the Father. “The disciple is to be concerned with God's greater glory. Jesus warns: ‘In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven' ( Mt 5,16). Everything, then, must be done for God's glory and not our own. This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbour, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the centre of attention. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God's glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In today's world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great.” We can so easily get caught up in the cult of “celebrity”, which has an unfortunate and undue prominence in our culture. This self-centred approach to life and its meaning is very far from the Gospel and the values which the Gospel teaches us. Authentic love does not focus on the self, but rather on the ‘other' and seeks always the good of the ‘other' before ourselves. That way of genuine and unconditional love is in fact the way of the Cross - and the Cross is the great paradox of the Gospel. Christ has taught us by his words and his example in the Paschal Mystery, that the only way to the resurrection and the fullness of life, is the way of Calvary , the way of the Cross. If we focus on the person of Jesus Christ, rather than in a self-centred way on ourselves, we open our hearts to him and allow him to transform us into people who reflect ever more vividly his image and likeness. “Carpe diem” - seize the moment! Each one of us needs to ask in our prayer: “Lord, what do you want of me this Lent? Help me to remove the vines and creepers that have become wrapped round the door of my heart over the years. Help me to open it to you, and allow you to fill me with your transforming light and love. Make me truly a “light to the world” and “salt of the earth”. +Peter Archbishop of Cardiff |