Lenten circular 2009

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The last year, it seems, has been a very long and difficult one.  Despite the many abundant blessings which our Lord Jesus Christ pours out upon us in northwest Iowa so generously – blessings of health, fertile land, bountiful harvest, families and communities, and so many more – still we feel the pressures of the day grinding down our joy and resilience.  The economy continues to weaken; we worry about jobs and debts for ourselves and our loved ones.  The national elections were bitter and divisive; we suffer from this lack of unity, perhaps even from broken friendships.  The threats to the sanctity and dignity of human life and of marriage grow sharper; yet we Christians fight amongst ourselves instead of rallying to defend the poorest and most vulnerable ones among us.  Even the winter weather all through December and January was cold and unusually snowy, encumbering our joy in life.

Yet, in the face of these many causes of pain, suffering, and division, we cling stubbornly to faith.  In the Age of Martyrs, and at other times and places, so many good and simple Christians suffered all these things along with their non-Christian neighbors, and they also had to fear discovery, torture, and even death, for loving Jesus Christ.  Faith in Christ, as the Fathers of the Church so frequently taught, does not promise immunity from worldly cares and distress, from persecution and death.  But in the face of suffering, faith brings hope, because, in Christ’s Paschal suffering, all our petty worries and grave dangers take on new and deep meaning.  Thus, the martyrs’ faith sustained them, and still today shines as an example to us. 

Our Christian hope in the Paschal mystery (the dying and rising of Christ) is not a mere slogan or wishful thinking.  It does not refuse to see the reality of suffering, nor minimize the real pain of real people in any way.  Rather, by sharing in Christ’s triumph over suffering and death, hope transcends suffering.  Suffering is hard, certainly because it hurts, but also because it tempts us to fear and despair.  The apparent randomness and meaninglessness of so much suffering seems to say that life is bleak, that joy is an illusion, that love is too great a vulnerability.  Without Christ’s Paschal victory and the joy of Easter, these illusions would indeed bind and defeat us.  But in the glorious, undimmed light of Christ’s Resurrection, these illusions are shown to be false.  Despair in suffering is rejected, because in Christ we see that no suffering is without meaning.  Fear of suffering does not overwhelm us, because we walk there in the footsteps of Christ.  The pain of suffering does not contradict the joy of love, but proves its life-giving depth.  The pain is ultimately bearable, because God’s love, proven and tested for all time on the Cross and in the tomb, is deeper and stronger than suffering.

Our belief in the dying and rising of Christ (the Paschal mystery) is the bedrock of our faith. We truly believe that Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, true God and true Man, died on the Cross for us, was buried, and then rose again.  Everything that we do and believe as Catholic and Christian flows from this belief, the climax and the very essence of God’s provident intervention in His creation.  Especially in such difficult times as these, as we struggle to live more fully the deep love of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection, the coming season of Lent calls us to return to the fundamentals of our faith.

The simplest and most fundamental act of faith is prayer.  Without prayer, faith cannot live.  Prayer is not just our asking God for His blessings.  It is most deeply listening to God and communicating with him in our heart.  Just as the prophet Elijah heard God’s voice in the quiet breeze, not in the thunderstorm or the earthquake, so too must we learn to pray with silence as well as words; to pray with listening as well as petitions; to adore and worship Him as well as to receive blessings from Him.  It is especially time spent with the Word of God, Jesus Christ in person, in words of Sacred Scripture and in the most Blessed Sacrament that teaches us to pray. 

Both in Mass and outside of Mass, we need to turn again and again to Jesus the Word.  To be well prepared to receive Jesus in the Mass, we should do two things.  First, we should spend time reading and reflecting on the Scripture readings we will hear proclaimed at Mass.  These readings are listed every week in our Catholic Globe, and are available in any Missal and in many worship aids used at our churches.  Everyone has the ability and opportunity to take a few minutes each day during the week to pray with these passages.  Second, we should perform a daily examination of conscience.  Especially at the end of the day, we should take a few minutes to reflect on how we have and have not that day lived up to our sacramental identity of being Christ’s body in the world.  These moments of silent and reflective prayer will seep into our souls, minds, and hearts, and shape us to be more faithful and more devoted to following the Way of the Cross with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Outside the Mass, so many other forms of prayer are just as useful.  I especially recommend the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and “lectio divina,” or structured meditations with Scripture, as a daily practice.  If we don’t practice these or similar forms of listening to God on our own, how can we expect to hear and receive Him when we show up for Mass?

Another fundamental of faith is to fast and abstain, especially during Lent, but also during the whole year.  “Fasting” means eating little or no food.  “Abstinence” means not eating any meat.  The Church asks us to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday; a minimal fast means eating only one full meal that day, with two small meals and nothing between meals.  Fasting is required of adults aged 18 to 60, unless illness prevents. All Catholics aged 14 and older are required to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays in Lent.  Some measure of fast and abstinence is also encouraged throughout Lent, even for those for whom it is not required.

Another form of abstinence is the common practice of “giving something up” for Lent.  This practice helps us to follow Christ more willingly and more unreservedly, as He leads us to the Cross and the Paschal mystery.  What are the things that hold us back from giving everything to Him?  Do we watch too much television, or spend too much time on the Internet, for example?  We could change this bad habit by not doing it for a while, or at least by doing less.  We’re not supposed to return to the bad habit after Lent, either.  Choose this kind of abstaining carefully, and, once again this year, don’t just give it up for Lent; do so for the whole year!  You will find Christ filling the place vacated by the bad habit, if you look for Him there. We can also “do something more” for Lent, daily Mass, more prayer or spiritual reading. Whatever we give up or do extra is to help us become holier people.

Almsgiving, or charitable giving of one’s resources (time, talent, and treasure) to the needy, is another fundamental of faith to cultivate during Lent.  If you don’t already do so, find a new way to give this year.  Perhaps you have a relative or a neighbor who needs more of your time.  Perhaps you could find a way to donate something you would otherwise just throw away. If you do already give alms, use this Lent to renew your commitment and your willingness or cheerfulness in giving.

Still another fundamental of faith to return to during Lent is our Catholicity, our identity precisely as members of the Church, Christ’s body and spotless bride.  Our faith is never an individual effort.  We all belong to Christ together.  Even when we pray alone, and give alms in secret, and disguise our fasting, as Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, still we do so as members of the “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.”  We may practice parts of our faith alone, but never in isolation.  We belong to Christ all together, not individually; and in the same way, we belong to Christ altogether, not just some bits of us.  This year, therefore, I urge each of you to practice in some way a deeper and more unreserved commitment to Christ.  Perhaps you may want to read from the Catechism of the Catholic Church or other books that are available to help us learn more about our faith. Is there some part of the Church’s teaching that you struggle to accept?  Pray to the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the fullness of faith!  Is there some part of the institution of the Church you dislike or disregard?  Seize an occasion to talk or pray with someone from that part of Christ!  Ask God to teach you Christ’s own generosity!  Pray for a deeper commitment to live only in the glorious Paschal life of our Lord Jesus Christ, here in the Catholic Church.

Finally, as always and with renewed commitment, let us all pray for and support each other, as we accept the voluntary “suffering” of Lenten discipline, and look ahead with purer joy to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.  Pray for me, also, as I struggle to know and to do His will in all things, for the glory of God’s name and the salvation of every soul entrusted into my care.  Know that I pray daily for all of you.  May the abundant blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ always fill you with every good thing, and especially with faith, hope, and love, in this Lenten season. 

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless