Lent Is Here!

Some questions that often come to mind are, “What will I give up this Lent?” or “What will we as a family or a community have to do this Lent?” What a drag! Yet when we focus on the practices of Lent, as good as holy as they might be, we lose sight of the purposes of Lent.

One of the purposes of Lent is for us to renew our identity as children of God. Being children of God is a grace. It is God who creates us in His image and likeness. And Jesus Christ, by His cross and resurrection, redeems us to be children of God. Now, the Holy Spirit sustains this life of children of God in us. A verse from the Gospel of John might help us focus on this aspect of Lent. Jesus died “not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God” (John 11:52).

Consequently, we can ask ourselves the following questions: “Will our Lenten practices help us to live better as children of God? Then, at this moment in history, as children of God, how will our Lenten practices continue Jesus’ mission of gathering into one the dispersed children of God?”