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Father Muench Says...

Grateful for the Lenten experience

March 20, 2019

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

Today, a little bit about my Lent. I love Lent. I am truly grateful for Lent. It only took a few days this year for me to again realize how much I love Lent. It is an important time for me and for my own spiritual life. Each year, Lent brings new life into my own spiritual life. For this I thank God.

Lent presents a real challenge for us all. Like you, I add several Lenten practices to my daily life as I try to draw closer to the Lord. I suspect I should have added them long ago, but I needed the challenge of Lent to remind me and to encourage myself to a better spiritual life. Lent is a time when the church reminds me that now is the perfect time to do something special and to do something special to be open to the Lord’s presence in my life.
So, a few things about my Lent. First of all, Lent is about prayer for me. I find that during Lent, my prayer life becomes new and more alive. I have been here before, but each year I feel called to something that is new and alive. These Lenten programs bring to me a real feeling of being closer to the Lord. For this, I am deeply grateful. Lent challenges me to spend more time in prayer in an effort to strengthen my relationship with the Lord.

Then there is Sacred Scripture. I spend more time reading the Sacred Scriptures, and they truly become a prayer for me. I have always loved the study of the Sacred Scriptures since my days in the seminary. The Scriptures that are read at the Masses each day during Lent are the same each year. They are like old friends. And each year something new comes up. Each day, as I prepare for Mass, and when I listen to the reading of the Scriptures and then read the Gospels myself, I know that God has a new and important message for me. I pray that I do not miss the messages that the Lord has for me this year.

Then as Lent draws closer to Holy Week, the daily Scriptures guide me to walk with Jesus each day as Jesus faces the sufferings and passion and crucifixion. The Scriptures help me to celebrate the resurrection of Our Savior, and I again truly realize that as I celebrate the new resurrected life of Jesus, I discover this new life in my own life. Lent leads me to the cross of Jesus but also to the empty tomb. I pray that the Lord will help me to be united with Jesus as I walk with him again to the Masses and rituals of Holy Week.

Here is one more thing I love about Lent. Lent challenges me to control my eating. I often think about this during the year but usually don’t do anything about it until Lent. Lent challenges me to a sound and good self-control about what I eat.

Lent is also about forgiveness. I know God forgives me whatever time of the year it is. However, Lent has always become for me a special time to celebrate God’s love for me and the forgiveness I receive from the Lord. Lent is about a time of conversion, which I celebrate through the Sacrament of Penance. This is a time to take a serious look at myself and seek the Lord’s forgiveness and the grace of conversion. It is a time for a few good resolutions.

So, Lent is an exciting time for me each year. I know that the Lord has something special for me each year. So I pray that I recognize exactly what the Lord has in store for me this year. Thank you, Lord, for Lent.

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