REFLECTION
HAPPY
LENTEN SEASON!
On March 5 we celebrated Ash Wednesday, and with it,
we started the season of Lent. The word
Lent in Spanish (Cuaresma) and other
languages comes from the word for forty (cuarenta)
and indicates the days that are between Ash Wednesday until Easter. It’s a time of preparation, just as in Advent
when we prepare ourselves for Christmas. Lent is a time of reflection, analysis
and of valuing honestly our attitudes, our decisions, our commitment. It is
time of entering into dialogue with ourselves and with God the Father in
prayer, in a sincere, honest way without fooling ourselves with excuses or
justifying our actions. It’s a time of
admitting who we are without being afraid of facing ourselves in the mirror even
though we may not like what we see.
We know that God doesn’t punish, but rather is
compassionate with us. Let us not be afraid of recognizing what kind of person
we are, remembering that we are all in the same boat. Here, there are no “good”
or “bad,” pure and impure, first or second class citizens. We all share the
same human condition, and by it we are able to do acts of generosity that make
the world a little better. But we also have our miseries and our selfishness.
Each one of us has to discover these two dimensions. If I only see the negative
things, I’ll have to look deeper in my heart. And if I only see my positive side
but find it difficult to identify my own struggles, I’m also fooling myself,
and I’m not examining myself honestly.
Sometimes we need other people, especially those persons that live with
us and know us best, who with love, understanding and respect can tell us that
which we should better in our lives.
From these lines then, we extend an invitation to
live out Lent as that time of reflection not geared to break us down, or to
depress us or to lose hope with regard to our struggles or those of others. The
season of Lent is meant to be ready to celebrate Easter, celebrate that Life
has defeated death through the Resurrection of Jesus, and we can celebrate it in
a healthy way, accepting our virtues so that we can strengthen them, but also
our weaknesses so as to be able to change them.
The season of Lent is a time of reflection for each
one of us to know our interior, to look at ourselves in the mirror. It doesn’t
have to be a sad or bitter time. Instead, may it be a time of joy and acceptance,
because we celebrate that the more we know ourselves and accept ourselves, the
easier it will be for us to change.
Happy Lent!
Esteve Redolad
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