Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
We were all shocked by the news that last Monday, the Holy
Father declared his intention to renounce his ministry as Successor of St.
Peter to take effect at 8:00 pm of February 28, 2013. He cited advancement in
age and poor health as reason for his retirement and so he will spend his days
in prayer in a monastery in Rome. The world will definitely not understand what
the Holy Father just did. After all, we live in a time when people in power
hold on to what they have as long as they could. Isn’t this a reality about the
political dynasties in our country? Also just think of the Arab nations that were
under fire last year because of the refusal of their leaders to step down from
power. And who could be more powerful than the Pope? No one is able to wield
power over a billion Catholics except the Bishop of Rome. And this Pope did
what many leaders would not do…to give up power in favor of a life of silence
and prayer. This is an incomparable Lenten sacrifice. While we give up meals of
meat today…the Pope gives up the much coveted Papal authority for the sake of
silence and prayer.
Ash Wednesday, which ushers in the Lenten season, reminds us
of giving up not what is superfluous but what is essential. We are encouraged
by the Church to eat less, pray more and love without limits during this Lenten
Season. This is really an exercise in self-mastery. We have seen in yesterday’s
liturgy that God commanded Adam and Eve to have dominion over all creation. And
yet, we know that eventually, they fall into sin because they have not
exercised dominion over their own selves. Wanting to have more than what is
allowed, our first parents lost everything: their communion with God, paradise,
and even their own dignity. All was lost because they did not master
themselves.
How should we understand prayer, fasting, and almsgiving? I
would like to propose that we look at these spiritual exercises as part of an
“apprenticeship to self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The
alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he
lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. Man’s dignity therefore
requires him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a
personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere
external constraints. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all
slavery to passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is
good and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means
suited to this end.” (CCC. 2339) Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving are means used
by those who wish to remain faithful to their baptismal promises and resist
temptations. These ascetic practices help develop in us the virtue of
temperance, “which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses
with reason.” All the social ills of our times, be it the ecological imbalance,
or political dynasties, or poverty, or even sexual promiscuity, are
manifestations of our lack of temperance. We do not know how to say “no” to
ourselves. Constantly giving in to what we want, we become slaves of our
passions and appetites. Lent offers us the opportunity to grow in self-mastery.
I want to eat but I choose to fast. I want to spend time leisurely but I choose
to pray. I want to shop but I choose to give alms. If only we acquired the
virtue of temperance, we would become truly more human, and eventually, be more
of what we should be: image and likeness of God. Eat less. Pray more. Love
without limits.
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for
us who have recourse to thee!
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