Lectionary CatechesisFr. Alan Hartway, CPPS Guardian Angels Parish in Mead, CO
Thus Lent begins. God desires conversion of heart; our Lenten practices are directed to that goal or end. At the same time, the three penances commended by Jesus are done for others who have less than we have ourselves; at any angle, penance has some communal character connected with it, cf. the prophet Joel. We live in a culture that privatizes religion. God is a separate if not remote part of our lives; God is spiritual and therefore not tangible, immanent, or incarnate. Lent is our drawing close to God, to suffering, and to transformation.
FIRST READING: Joel 2, 12-18
Joel worked at some time after the return from Exile in the late 5thcentury BC, and in the context of a drought and famine in the countryside. While there is a temple and its priests and liturgy, there is no mention of a king. The text consists basically of two speeches, using the agricultural crisis as an image of the Day of Lord, a time for a wake up call, and foreshadowing a great, divine harvest. The prophet calls to conversion and repentance in order to renew the covenant. All the people are convened from greatest to smallest.
Vss. 12-13: CCC 1430 Jesus calls us to conversion and penance; the interior or spiritual work must precede the exterior work of fasting, mortification, self-denial and the like. Without the interior work of the Spirit, any external activity is “sterile.” Only the presence of interior conversion and penance can lead to exterior work or visible signs.
KNOW YOURFAITHWhat is the spiritual gift of compunction, and why have we lost this in the modern world? What happens typically when exterior or visible work is not grounded in interior conversion? LIVE YOURFAITHWhat does it mean for you to “rend your heart”? The prophet mentions some of the forms of penance. What would you add to his list? SHARE YOUR FAITHWhat role do you play in gathering the assembly of the church? In evangelizing, what is the stage of conversion? WORSHIPWhat...