Why Lent?

We are about to enter into the holiest time of the Catholic year:  Lent.  But what makes it such a holy time?

Most people view Lent as basically a time to give up something that you really like, such as chocolate or alcohol.  The Internet abounds with ideas for Lent, some pretty silly, and other more serious ideas. There is even a website entitled, whattogiveupforlent.com.  It has some interesting ideas on what to give up for Lent, e.g.:

• Television (or certain shows)
• The radio (all the time, certain time of day, etc.)
• Favorite foods (pizza, ice cream, etc.)
• Eating out
• Alcohol
• Soft drinks/caffeine/coffee
• Smoking
• Clutter
• Debt (using credit cards)
• Certain books/magazines (read ones that will help you grow spiritually)
• Social Media sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.)
• Computer use/blogging

Lent: All About Weakness

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The teachings of Jesus Christ go against everything in our world and in our universe. Charles Darwin taught us that "only the strong [or fittest] survive." And certainly our physical world bears out the truth of that statement. It is the smartest, the brightest, the strongest, the most beautiful who rise to the top. We see this in nature, where the weak are devoured by the strong.  We see this in our culture everywhere: in the sports world, in academia, in the business world, in entertainment and, sadly, in religion.  

Adolph Hitler was one of many who led - or better stated, misled - an entire country with the philosophy which originated with the atheist Friedrich Nietzsche: weed out the weak and the helpless and create the Master Race, the "Übermensch".  Sadly, despite the defeat of Adolph Hitler, the world has continued to elevate this demonic philosophy in the practice of abortion and euthanasia, not hesitating to kill and destroy any person who does not measure up or is in any way "inconvenient."  

Yet, Jesus Christ told us just the opposite: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn. Isaiah 66:2 tells us that God looks to " those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word." St. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 2:10, "when I am weak, then I am strong."

Meditation on the First Station of the Cross: Christ is Condemned

Pilate Condemns Jesus

A main focal point of the season of Lent is the Passion of our Lord. Many if not most Catholic churches have the Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. I personally think it would be a good thing to do this during the rest of the year as well to remind people that Friday is a penitential day both during and outside of Lent, but I'll leave that discussion for another time.

I am going to try to do a mediation on each Station of the Cross during this Lenten season. I emphasize the word try because I don't know if I'll actually make it.

Jesus Before Herod
Artist:  James Tissot, French, 1836-1902

The first Station of the Cross is the condemnation of Jesus. Jesus was arrested on what we now call Holy Thursday. He was whipped and beaten that night for no apparent reason other than the enjoyment of his captors. He was first brought to the Jewish Council and the High Priest who held an illegal, mock trial. They then dragged Jesus over to Pilate who declared. "I find nothing criminal about this man." When Pilate found out Jesus was a Galilean, he sent him over to Herod, who was in charge of Galilee. Herod basically played with Jesus, asking him ridiculous questions while Jesus stood in front of him completely silent. "And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.  Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other."  (Luke 23:11-12).

Now Jesus stood once more before Pilate who had to make a decision. Pilate had been warned by his wife, who had had a vivid dream, to have nothing to do with "this righteous man." So Pilate comes up with the brilliant solution that if he just "punishes" Jesus, that will satisfy the bloodthirsty crowds, and then he will be able to let Jesus go free and "nobody will get hurt". It never occurs to Pilate that there is anything wrong with scourging a completely innocent man.

Jesus is then handed over to the Roman scourgers who made scourging into an art. They beat and whip Jesus so mercilessly that he was barely alive and barely recognizable as a human being when they were done. Pilate then took Jesus, mutilated and bleeding, before the crowd and announced, "Ecce Homo", which means "Behold the Man." This not only did not satisfy the crowd, it incensed them more and they cried all the louder, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!"

Barabbas

Pilate was now scared because he knew Jesus was a completely innocent man, and he knew that he was no ordinary man. He wanted nothing to do with this. But he also did not want a riot on his hands. At one point he gave the crowd a choice between freeing Barabbas, who was a revolutionary who tried to overthrow the government, and releasing Jesus. The crowd called for Barabbas. Interestingly, Barabbas means "son of the fathers."

Pilate finally gave into the crowd and took the coward's way out, literally washing his hands of the matter, and then handing Jesus over to be crucified.

Each of us starts our spiritual journey at baptism as the reverse image of our Lord. We stand before God and acknowledge that we have sinned and are guilty and deserving of death. That is when Christ steps in and stands before God, just as he did before Pilate, and our sin and guilt is transferred to Him. Barabbas was the symbol for all of us. We, like Barabbas, were the "son of the father" as Christ told the Pharisees in John 8:44:

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

There was never a more innocent human being in the entire world than Jesus Christ. Every word and act in his life was one of total love for others. The words "self defense" did not exist in Jesus' vocabulary. He never fought back against anyone who maligned him personally. The only time Jesus fought was on behalf of others and to save souls. It was total Innocence that took on Barabbas' guilt, allowing him to go free, and it is total Innocence that takes on our guilt and frees us from enslavement to the the devil.

Romans 8:1-3:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.

We were all Dead Men Walking, but our Lord took our condemnation upon Himself. When He stood before Pilate, He was laden down with our sin, beaten and scourged for us, as Isaiah 53:5 says:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Barabbas wasn't the only one who symbolized our guilt. Every time we deliberately sin, we are putting ourselves in the place of Pilate and in place of the crowds crying out for Jesus to be crucified. Our sins once more condemn our Savior to the Cross. We, like Pilate, can try to wash our hands and walk away, but like Pilate, our guilt will follow us. We must acknowledge our guilt. Only then will Christ be able to truly cleanse us.

When we meditate on this first Station of the Cross and think of Christ standing before Pilate who condemns Him to death, we must remember that Jesus, who was totally innocent, was condemned in our place and for our sins. From the Way of the Cross by St. Francis of Assisi:

O innocent Jesus, 

I have sinned and I am guilty of eternal death; 

but that I may Live, 

Thou dost gladly accept the unjust sentence of death. 

For whom then shall I henceforth live 

if not for Thee, my Lord? 

If I desire to please men, 

I can not be Thy servant. 

Let me, therefore, rather displease the whole world 

than not please Thee, O Jesus!

Lent: Learning To Die Daily

Credit:  cvsfkuantan.blogspot.com 

Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the holiest, most solemn time in the liturgical year of the Church. This is a time when we should all be going on a spiritual and mental retreat from our worldly pursuits as much as possible as we mirror our Lord who, after being baptized by John the Baptist and before officially beginning His ministry, went into the desert for 40 days of prayer and fasting.
Did our Lord really need to spiritually fortify Himself against the snares and temptations of the devil as we mortal beings do? Hardly. Although Jesus could feel the same temptations we endure - He experienced the same pain and sorrow and pulls of the flesh - He was not capable of sinning. Everything He did in His Life was done as an example for us, His followers, marking the path we should follow. By going into the desert, Our Lord showed us that we must separate ourselves from the world as much as possible and draw close to God. To this end, the Church set apart 40 days prior to the Holiest Day of the Year - Good Friday - to get into the practice of saying no to our wants and desires. Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen explained it very well. From A Christian Pilgrim:

Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love – which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness. Pleasure is not the purpose of anything; pleasure is a by-product resulting from doing something that is good. One of the best ways to get happiness and pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, “How can I please God?” and, “Why am I not better?” It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures diminish with repetition.

 Lent is about sacrifice as Bishop Sheen said:

“Unless the grain of wheat falling to the ground die, itself remaineth alone.” The power to find life through death makes the seed nobler than the diamond. In falling to the ground it loses its outer envelope which is restraining the life within it. But one this outer skin dies in the ground, then life pushes forth into the blade.

So too, unless we die to the world with its vices and its concupiscences, we shall not spring forth into life everlasting. If we are to live a higher life, we must die to the lower life; if we live in the lower life of this world, we die to a higher life, which is Christ. To put the whole law in the beautiful paradox of Our Divine Lord: If we wish to save our life, we must lose it.

I would be lying if I said I look forward to Lent, that it is something I enjoy. Lent is like spiritual boot camp. The soldiers in boot camp are forced to go beyond what they think is their physical ability to endure. They push their bodies to the extreme because they are being made ready for war, and if they are not physically and mentally ready, it could literally mean the difference between life and death. There is nothing fun about boot camp.
But as Christians, we must go far beyond anything a soldier must endure in preparing for war. We must actually die to ourselves. Colossians 3:5 tells us: "Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." This is what Lent is all about: overcoming and putting to death the sin that is within each one of us. We cannot win the spiritual war for our souls if we allow sin to dwell in our minds and bodies. The question is, how do we do eradicate sin? How is it possible to say no to our desires and wants? Unlike the soldiers in a military boot camp, we don't have to do this using just our own strength and fortitude. In fact, by ourselves we cannot overcome the sin that dwells within. We can't even begin this journey until we have been given the saving grace of God through baptism and the other sacraments, and we can't finish this journey without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the graces offered to us through the sacraments on a continual basis throughout our physical lives.

The Christian life means opening ourselves up to the Saving Grace of the Trinity, just as Mary, our Blessed Mother, did. We must follow her lead in saying yes to the Holy Spirit. She never argued, she never looked for excuses or another way of doing things. She completely trusted in God in whatever He asked of her. This is how we "put to death" the "sin that does so easily beset us", as described in Hebrews 12:1. This is what Bishop Sheen told us:

If we are to live for Christ, we must “die daily”. Lent is an ideal time to think about our own death. A happy death is a masterpiece and no masterpiece is ever perfected in a day. Dubois spent seven years in making the wax model for his celebrated statue of Joan of Arc – and it stands today as a ravishing perfection of the sculptor’s art. In like manner our death must appear as a ravishing perfection of the many years of labor we have given over to its mold by dying daily.

The greatest reason we fear death is because we have never prepared for it. Most of us die only once – WHEN WE SHOULD HAVE DIED A THOUSAND TIMES – yes, even daily. Death is a terrible thing for one who dies only when he dies; but it is a beautiful thing for him who dies before he dies.

Lent means dying before we die.  Remember what Our Lord told us:  "He that findeth his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me, shall find it."  (Matt. 10:39)

Go into the desert with our Lord during this Lenten season. Turn off the world as much as you are able. Go to confession, spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, do some spiritual reading, pray and fast, give of your time and treasure to others. These are all ways of saying Yes to God and no to yourself. These are the ways in which we die to ourselves so that, as Venerable Bishop Sheen told us, when we come to the end of our physical lives, we will have already died to ourselves so often that physical death will not be our enemy but merely the culmination of our struggle on earth.

Credit:  blog.beafranciscan.org

Michael Voris and Father Z: Say What?!

Two of the biggest "stars" among "traditional" Catholics are Michael Voris of Churchmilitant.tv and Father John Zuhlsdorf, often called Father Z, of wdtprs.com. I go to their websites on a fairly regular basis, and while I admit to having disagreements with them both from time to time, they seem to promote a very traditional, orthodox Catholicism.

They are joining together for what they call a "Retreat On the Sea", a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Princess Cruise Lines. You can watch a video promoting this event here. The link to sign up for the event and describing it in further detail is here. This is how Michael Voris is promoting this event:

It’s important for Catholics who LOVE Our Blessed Lord, who LOVE the FAITH, who LOVE the Church to be in touch with one another – to come together as like minds and console and enrich and share with one another.

The Church is under such vicious blatant attack in some quarters and sneaky subversive attack coming from other quarters that sometimes a good solid Catholic can feel like they are all alone .. or as crazy as everyone around them says they are.

That’s why ChurchMilitant.TV is happy to announce our first ever Retreat at Sea where Catholics who are authentic in their concern and love for the Church have the chance for a week long time of prayer .. Mass .. Confession .. talks .. and sharing all in the beautiful setting of a cruise to the Caribbean.

Our special guest will be Fr. John Zuhlsdorf .. affectionately known as Fr. Z .. who runs the awesome blog .. What Does the Prayer Really Say.

Fr. Z is an awesome [Michael, can you find another word besides "awesome"?] speaker with terrific insights and knowledge accumulated from his years of doing battle in the Church Militant.

We’re calling the trip .. the Year of Faith Retreat at Sea. We attached a link with all the latest up to date information. We’ll have Holy Mass every day, scheduled confessions, over a dozen talks by Fr. Z and your truly and all this is addition to time to meet and share the faith the dozens of other Catholics .. couples as well as singles.

When I was younger .. I heard a line once .. that the Catholic Faith needs reinforcing. It’s a line I’ve repeated often at various talks and presentations I’ve been blessed to be able to give around the world.

The faith DOES need reinforcing because it’s constantly being attacked and torn down.  That’s why opportunities to sit down with others in a relaxed and prolonged environment is so important.

Sounds pretty good: a chance to hear a couple of men who support and promote orthodox Catholicism and to spend time with like-minded Catholics on a beautiful Caribbean cruise.

There's just one problem - IT IS DURING LENT!!!! The dates are March 10-17, 2013. In fact, Voris is calling this a "Lenten retreat on the sea."

Say what?!

I have to say, this really has me scratching my head in confusion.

A cruise ship as a Lenten Retreat?

This just makes no sense to me. Lent is a time of austerity and mortification, a time to leave the world behind and go into the spiritual desert with our Lord as we prepare for the greatest event in history: the death and resurrection of the Savior of all mankind. Our Lord gave us the example by literally going into the desert for 40 days and fasting entirely from food and water. Many Catholics also spend the 40 days of Lent fasting from food and/or other material things. A lot of people turn off the TV and other media. It is a time for spiritual reading and prayer and quiet meditation, a time to stop spending money on our own selfish desires and give alms to those in need. Lent is a time to turn our attention away from the material world to the spiritual.

One of the "cells" to be used in the Retreat at Sea

Now Michael Voris and Father Z are saying we should spend thousands of dollars to go on a cruise (prices start at $1083.89 per person based on double occupancy and go up to $2869.39 per person) where food is constantly offered and there is worldly entertainment such as "live theater and the big screen to plush lounges, swanky casinos and dance clubs." There are several island stops where you can go sightseeing, such as Princess Cays, Bahamas (a private island) and St. Maarten, and of course spend even more money buying trinkets on these islands. I would hope that the Voris/Zuhlsdorf group will be the only ones on this ship, but that is not likely. And that will mean there will be many men and women on the ship walking around wearing next to nothing and engaging in activities that are decidedly not of a "Lenten nature." Not exactly a spiritual environment.

Jesus Christ in the desert, a long way
from a luxury cruise ship

Lent is basically a 40-day "Yom Kippur" for Catholics. Yom Kippur is the high holy day wherein Jews fast entirely from food and water and atone for their sins. Can we imagine Jews using this day to party on a Caribbean cruise? Would Jesus Christ spend any part of his 40 days on a cruise living the good life? How are we suppose to get our minds off of this material world and onto the things of God when we are surrounded by material opulence and other people engaged in, at best, "unspiritual" activities?
Voris says there will be daily Mass and scheduled confessions and also daily talks by both himself and Father Z. Now I could understand this "retreat" if it were being held in a monastery somewhere away from the material world. It could even be on a beautiful mountain or some other scenic setting, as many monasteries are. But I absolutely cannot understand having a Lenten retreat on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.

Cell in a monastery
missing some of the amenities of a cruise ship

I suppose some could argue that they can go on this cruise and not partake of the material opulence, but what is the point of spending thousands of dollars for luxury and then rejecting it? We are talking about Lent, when we should be limiting how we spend our money and give the money we save as alms to the poor and needy.

I did find one other blogger who is voicing the same objections that I have to this "Lenten retreat." From Man With the Black Hat a/k/a David Alexander:

Now, I don't know about the rest of you kids, but when I go on a retreat, I go on a retreat. When I go on a cruise, I go on a cruise. (I haven't yet, but that's not important.) Retreats might be of varying depth and severity, this is true, but in the Catholic tradition, they all have certain things in common, such as the denial of varying degrees of creature comforts, and a certain severity in routine. Unless an entire cruise line is prepared to cooperate, this is an implausible scenario, and it is so during the season of the Great Fast, known in the Western church as Lent. Dressing it up with a certain routine, bringing a priest along, and calling it a retreat doesn't change any of that.

Amen!

Some of the "austere" entertainment
offered on the cruise ship

But Father Z and Michael Voris have their loyal followers who will most likely find no fault with this, as shown in this comment from Father Z's blog:

Supertradmum says:28 November 2012 at 11:30 am

Found out today of a special retreat with Fr. Z. and Michael Voris–this is an advertisement.
Wow….http://www.churchmilitant.tv/daily/?today=2012-11-28http://www.churchmilitant.tv/retreatatsea/    

this is good news………………..

This is good news?

I'm sure this event will fill to capacity with many disappointed they will not be able to go. Certainly there is nothing sinful in and of itself about this event. There is no church dogma that says you may not go on a luxury cruise during Lent. But if you're really serious about observing this most solemn time of the liturgical year, why would you want to do this?

Lent means austerity, not luxury

Michael Voris ends his promotion of this event with these words:

Catholics need to come together .. live IN the faith .. step out of the madness .. recharge .. re-energize and simply just rest in the faith .. in the arms of Our Blessed Lord ..His Holy Mother and splendid Bride – the Church He established personally and paid for in His own blood.

 So again .. please click on the link and seriously consider being a part of Church Militant’s Retreat at Sea

Does Michael really believe that Our Blessed Lord and his Holy Mother would spend any part of Lent on a Caribbean luxury cruise ship? We "step out of the madness" and "recharge.. re-energize and simply just rest in the faith" by spending a week surrounded by materialism? That's like saying that if you want to lose weight, just eat as much food as you can, and please, don't exercise. Those pounds will just melt off.

I know at least one way that my DH and I are going to be saving a few thousand dollars this coming Lent.

Fasting and Gluttony

I do not like to fast.  I would be dishonest if I said anything else.  I personally find fasting one of the most difficult spiritual exercises.  My only hope is that because I find it so difficult, it is more meaningful when I do it.  I've heard people "pooh pooh" the Catholic way of fasting - which is two small snacks per day with one regular meal - as being "sissy."  Well, I guess I'm a sissy because that is what I do and I still find it very difficult.

But all that aside, fasting - the denial of self - is one of the most important and powerful spiritual tools we have been given. Every time we say no to self, it enables us to say yes to God.  Fasting is a major spiritual tool that Catholics use during Lent.  It cleanses both our minds and souls and prepares us for the solemnity of Holy Week and Good Friday and the great feast of Easter when we celebrate our Lord's resurrection.  Prior to Vatican II, it was a requirement for all adult Catholics to fast the entire 40 days of Lent (those with health problems, pregnant women, etc. were exempted from this requirement, of course).  The thinking since Vatican II is that we don't want to place too many "burdens" on people, so that was scrapped with so many other things, all to the detriment of people's souls.  But that's for another time.

There was a very good reading in today's Traditional breviary about fasting and gluttony which I would like to share.  It centers around Moses - who spent 40 days in complete fasting and prayer before God - giving the 10 commandments to the people of Israel, who were engaged in gluttony and sin.

Moses Giving the 10 Commandments
to the Children of Israel

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Basil the Great

We know that Moses went up with fasting into the Mount. For he would not have dared to go unto its burning and smoking top, nor to have entered the thick cloud, except he had been made strong by a fast [when we feel weak physically, that is often when we are strongest spiritually]. And it was during this fast that he received the Commandments written with the Finger of God on tables of stone. Thus was fasting the means of the giving of the Law on the mountain-top. But below at its foot, gluttony was the means of leading the people into the worship of idols, and so of polluting them. It is written : The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. One drunken bout of the people made void, and of none effect, all the toil and patience of the forty days, during the which the servant of God had fasted and prayed unceasingly. Those tables of stone, written with the Finger of God, were received through fasting and were broken through drunkenness. For the holy Prophet thought it not meet that a people filled with wine should receive Law from God.

In one moment of time that people, who had by means of great wonders been taught to worship God, fell headlong through gluttony into the cesspool of Egyptian idolatry. The which things, if thou wilt consider, thou shalt see that fasting leads to God, and feasting to the loss of salvation. What was it that degraded Esau, and made him a slave to his brother? Was it not but a dish of pottage―a toothsome morsel of food stewed in a pot―for which he sold his birthright? And Samuel, was he not granted to his mother's prayers through fasting? And Samson the mighty, what was it that made him invincible? Was it not fasting, wherewith he was conceived in his mother's womb? Fasting conceived him ; fasting nurtured him ; fasting made him the man he was ; even as the Angel of the Lord had commanded his mother, saying : She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink. Fasting begat Prophets. Fasting is the strength and mainstay of mighty men.

Fasting giveth wisdom to rulers ; it is the trustiest keeper of the soul, the sure ally of the body, the strength and armour of brave men, the training of athletes, and wrestlers. It is fasting which maketh us strong against temptation, which prepareth us for the service of God, which dwelleth with sobriety, and is the author of temperance. Fasting maketh men valiant in war, and gentle in peace. Fasting maketh a Nazarite to be holy, and a priest to come unto perfection. Without fasting it is unlawful to touch the Sacrifice, not only in that mystical and true worship of God which now is, but also according to the Law, in those sacrifices which of old time were offered as figures of the true. Fasting opened the eyes of Elias to look upon a great vision, for when he had cleansed his soul by forty days of fasting, there on Horeb the Mount of God, he was made able, so far as man may be made able, to see God. Moses, receiving the Law a second time, a second time prepared himself by fasting. Except the Ninevites had fasted, both man and beast, herd and flock, they had not escaped from the ruin that hung over them. In the wilderness fell some, and who were they? Yea, they were such as lusted after flesh meat.

If we set our eyes and desires on the physical, we will perish along with it.  If we look instead to the heavenly, spiritual things of God, we will gain eternal life.  That is one of the major lessons of Lent.

The Importance of Silence

Living in New York City, I have come to learn that there is very little that you can't find here, be it good or bad.  But one thing that is very hard to come by is silence.  This has to be one of the noisest places on earth.  But in our modern world, it seems as if people run from silence no matter where they are.  If we are by ourselves, we're talking on our cell phones, plugged into our ipods or ipads, which we can take everywhere.  At home the TV immediately comes on, or the radio or the computer.  We can't go into a store or restaurant without "music" playing (I put the word music in quotes because most of what we hear, IMHO, is no longer music but merely noise).  Waiting in a receptionist room and even in a lot of restaurants, we are usually bombarded with TV, blocking out even our own thoughts. 

I have written previously about the lack of silence in the Novus Ordo Mass and how destructive it is to prayer and communion with our Lord. 

A few weeks ago I posted the Pope's speech which he gave on January 24 and which was for World Communications Day on May 20.  That speech concerned the importance of silence in communication.  This past Wednesday, March 7, the the Holy Father, in his weekly general audience, again talked of the importance of silence, this time specifically on the importance of silence in our relationship with God.  It is a very short speech, but as is true any time the Pope speaks, it is packed with wisdom.

From the Vatican website:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In concluding this series of catecheses on the prayer of Jesus, I would like to speak of the importance of silence in our relationship with God. In Christ’s own life and prayer, and especially in his experience of the Cross, we see a constant interplay of word and silence. Jesus’ mortal silence on the Cross is his final word to the Father, his supreme prayer. To hear God’s word requires the cultivation of outward and inward silence, so that his voice can resound within our hearts and shape our lives. But Jesus teaches us that God also speaks to us, especially at times of difficulty, through his silence, which invites us to deeper faith and trust in his promises. Jesus is our great teacher of prayer; from his prayer we learn to speak with confidence to our heavenly Father as his beloved sons and daughters. In this filial dialogue we are also taught to recognize God’s many gifts and to obey his will, which gives meaning and direction to our lives.

The Pope is basically saying here that unless we can be silent, we will not hear God.  We have to turn off the TV, the internet, the radio, our ipods and ipads, even our own internal noise.  This is especially true in this holy time of Lent, as we go into the spiritual desert with our Lord.  This is one of the reasons why Eucharistic Adoration is so powerful.  We go before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed on the altar and turn off the entire world.  It is just you and the Lord.  And you let him speak to you in that still small voice described in I Kings 19.  Jesus will never push himself on you.  He is always there for you, but you have to turn off the world and listen quietly and intently, just as Elijah did.

9And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

10And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

May you find that still small voice and hear our Lord calling to you.

Ember Friday in Lent

Today is Ember Friday.  I have posted on Ember Friday previously.  Ember days are no longer enforced in the post-conciliar Church, but there is nothing wrong in observing them.  I don't know the reasoning for dropping these days, at last not officially.  Before Vatican II, the Church required much more of the laity, which would seem to be a good thing for their souls.  Fasting was done all 40 days of Lent - meaning one meal a day, with 2 snacks (not enforced on Sundays, which are "of" Lent and not "in" Lent).  We were required to fast at least 3 hours before receiving Communion, and not too long ago, Catholics were required to fast from midnight on.  Holy days were never abandoned, as they often are now if they fall on a Saturday or Monday.  For some reason, the Church felt that if they made the requirements "easier" people would be holier and more devoted to the Church.  Well, surprise, surprise, just the opposite has happened. 

Ember Days are fast days - Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - observed 4 times a year, coinciding with the change in the seasons.  One of those times is this week in Lent.  But whether you observe Ember Friday or not, you are absolutely obligated, even here in the United States, to abstain from meat and meat products on Fridays in Lent. 

Enjoy that fish sandwich today!

Pope Benedict XVI's Message on Temptation

Any time Pope Benedict XVI speaks, you can sure you will hear a profund message.  As I have noted before, he is truly one of the deepest thinkers of our time. 

His Holiness gave a message yesterday, February 16, on temptation.  I appreciate the way in which he describes the narrative from the Gospel of Mark, which was used in the Novus Ordo Mass, as "concise, devoid of the details that we read in the other two Gospels of Matthew and Luke."   

It is a relatively short message, but packed with spiritual gems.  This speech quotes from several sources, including St. Leo the Great and Thomas a Kempis "Imitation of Christ."  In doing so, the Pope attacks the root of all the problems in our society and around the world:  trying to live life apart from God.  He shows that the answer to all of our problems are found in Christ, who came into the world, took sin upon himself and overcame it for us.  Pope Benedict XVI also invokes our Blessed Mother, for just as she was with her Son in every step of his journey, so no spiritual journey on our part is complete without her.

Pope Benedict XVI's message:

Dear brothers and sisters!

On this first Sunday of Lent, we find that Jesus, after having received baptism in the River Jordan from John the Baptist (cf. Mk 1.9), he is tempted in the desert(cf. Mk 1:12-13). The narrative of St. Mark's is concise, devoid of the details that we read in the other two Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The desert of which we speak has different meanings. It may indicate the state of abandonment and loneliness, the "place" of man's weakness where there are no supports and certainties, where temptation becomes stronger. But it may also indicate a place of refuge and shelter, as it was for the people of Israel who escaped from slavery in Egypt, where we can experience the presence of God in a special way. Jesus " remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan" (Mk 1.13). St. Leo the Great says that "the Lord willingly suffered the attack of the tempter to defend us with his help and to teach us by his example" (Tractatus XXXIX, 3 De ieiunio quadragesimae: CCL 138 / A, Turnholti 1973, 214-215) .

What can this episode teach us? As we read in the Book of the Imitation of Christ, " as long as he lives, man is never wholly free from the temptation... but with patience and true humility we become stronger than any enemy" (Liber I, c. XIII , Vatican City 1982, 37), patience and humility to follow the Lord every day, learning to build our life not outside of Him or as if He did not exist, but in Him and with Him, because He is the source of true life. The temptation has always been present in human history to remove God, to order our lives and the world on our own, relying solely on our own abilities.

Jesus proclaims that " This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand" (Mk 1.15), He announces that something new happens in Him: God speaks to man in an unexpected way, with a unique and concrete closeness, full of love, God becomes incarnate and enters the world of man to take sin upon himself, to overcome evil and bring man back into the world of God. But this proclamation is accompanied by a corresponding request for such a great gift. In fact, Jesus adds: "Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1.15), it is an invitation to have faith in God and to convert our lives each day to his will, directing all our actions and thoughts towards good. The season of Lent is a time to renew and strengthen our relationship with God through daily prayer, acts of penance, works of fraternal charity.

Let us fervently beseech the Blessed Virgin Mary to accompany us on our Lenten journey with her protection and may She help impress the words of Jesus Christ upon our hearts and in our life, to convert ourselves to Him. I also commend to your prayers the week of Spiritual Exercises that I begin this evening with my collaborators of the Roman Curia.

I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present for this moment of prayer. In these first days of Lent, I invite you to embrace the spirit of this holy season, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As we do so, may the Lord accompany us, so that, at the end of Lent, we may worthily celebrate his victory on the cross. God bless all of you abundantly!

First Sunday in Lent: Temptation

Today, the First Sunday of Lent, is considered to be the real beginning of Lent.  Starting today, in the Traditional Breviary, the Te Deum, which is normally said everyday at the end of Matins, is no longer said until Easter.  The first meditation for today from The Divine Intimacy, written by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. is:

O Jesus, I withdraw in spirit with You into the desert; teach me how to fight the triple concupiscence of the flesh, pride and avarice. 

Today's Gospel, for both for the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Mass, is the temptation of the Lord by Satan.  Interestingly, the Traditional Mass takes the Gospel from Matthew 4:1-11, which gives a detailed account of the temptation.  The Novus Ordo Mass takes it from Mark:1:12-15, which merely says "He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him."  This is a major complaint of mine with the way the "new" church looks at temptation and sin.  Basically, they don't look at it, which is very damaging to souls. 

In the sermon at the Mass I attended today, Father commented on the fact that we had just gone through the most evil century in the history of mankind, citing the terrible bloodshed in the wars of the 20th Century, in which there was more blood spilled than had ever been seen in history, and also pointing out that the number of children killed in abortion in the United States alone would have been unheard of in any other time.  Father wondered how, in the face of such evil, so many people do not believe in the devil.  I think it is precisely because people no longer believe in the devil that he is able to so easily deceive them and have them do his bidding, and  thus we see the descent into evil as never seen before.  That is why I get so upset at the Novus Ordo Mass so often de-emphasizing the spiritual battle we are in and the fact that we must be aware of the war for our souls.  Why don't they put the full account of Christ's temptation in their Gospel reading?  Why not make people aware of sin and concupiscence?

Below is an excellent meditation from Fr. John Hardon, S.J. on the Temptation of Christ:

The Temptation of Christ by the Devil

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Most of our meditation so far had been on the good angels. Certainly from Christ’s conception on to the beginning of His public ministry; it was the good angels who announced to Mary that she would be the Mother of God, it was the good angels who told the shepherds of Christ’s birth, it was the good angels who ministered to His needs. But once Christ appeared public and began to proclaim the Gospel foretold to the shepherds by the angels, the evil spirits were aroused. The devils have remained very intelligent beings. They are clever, even cunning. In fact, the evil spirit who tempted Eve at the dawn of human history is described as a serpent. Over the years of teaching missiology, my students from Asia and Africa told me once missionaries enter a pagan territory and begin to proclaim the Gospel, the evil spirits who the pagans worship as their god become phenomenally active.

Not surprisingly then, St. Matthew who wrote his gospel for the converts from Judaism, gives us a detailed account of how Jesus allowed Himself to be tempted by the devil. The last thing the devil wants is converts to Christianity.

By now volumes of commentary have been written about this historic event in the life of Jesus Christ. Our plan here is to devote two meditations to Christ’s temptation by the devil. In the present meditation we shall concentrate on the narrative which is found in the gospels, for our purpose especially in St. Matthew, with an explanation of the meaning to understand what exactly took place when Christ was tempted. Our next meditation we will be to see the implications, the profound implications for our moral, spiritual, and collective lives of society which, I can honestly say, is being deeply penetrated by the evil spirit.

First then the narrative. There is a special significance in the context of Christ’s temptation by the devil. It occurs right after the short discourse on the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan. No sooner was Christ baptized and a voice from heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” - that Christ underwent His demonic temptation.

Quoting from Matthew:

Now our explanatory commentary. When we speak of Christ being tempted, we must be very clear. Unlike us, Christ could not be tempted from within. Unlike us, He did not have a fallen human nature. Christ had no concupiscence. Christ had no sinful urges, either in His body or in His will. He could be tempted only from outside of Himself, either by the world or by the devil. The world tempted Christ to have Him deny who He really was, tempted Him to become what His contemporaries wanted Him to be, a military leader, wanted Him to conquer the despotical leaders. But Christ could be and was tempted by the evil spirit.

When we therefore say that Christ was tempted by the devil, we mean that the evil spirit actually thought he could seduce the Savior and lead Him into sin.

The evangelist tells us that Jesus began His public ministry by spending forty full days and forty full nights, without eating or drinking anything. He was therefore very hungry and very thirsty. We may say that Christ sustained Himself without bodily food or drink by working a miracle of sustenance, but, lets be honest, not without experiencing the pangs of forty days and forty nights of total fasting.

The devil was smart. He did not attempt to tempt Jesus until after the prolonged fast. The devil figured, “Ah, now is the time.” That is why the first temptation by the devil was to tempt Christ by appealing to His hunger. The devil surmised, but he did not know, whether Jesus was indeed the Son of God. On the devil’s side therefore, his tempting the Savior was also a test to discover Christ’s true identity. That is why the devil told Jesus, it was a conditional statement, Note the devil’s logic. The devil was not sure if Christ was the living God become man.

The Fathers of the Church again, who have so much to say about the good and evil spirits, said that the temptation to which the evil spirits succumbed, was their being told millennia in advance, that God would make a human race far below the angels by their natural gifts of mind and will, and that God would become a man. And the angels were foretold that they would have to worship this God man and adore Him as their master and Lord. And many of the angels, led by Lucifer, refused.

Back to the dialogue between Christ and Satan. The devil was not sure that Christ was the Son of God. So he made a condition. “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” Christ’s answer was very profound. Human beings have two levels of life, a life of the body and a life of the soul. We never die, only our bodies die. Our souls, once created, will last for eternity. The life of the body is sustained by such food as bread. The life of the soul is sustained by the only food that can keep the soul alive, it is sustained by the truth which God reveals, and which alone can nourish the human spirit. Without the truth, the spirit dies.

We might say the first temptation of Christ was to gluttony. Some commentators think so. I would say not really. But more profoundly, Christ’s temptation was a temptation to the pleasures of this world in preference to the joys that only the possession of God’s truth can provide. How this needs to be known. We are only as happy as we possess, live, and cherish the truth.

The second temptation of Christ was a strange one. The devil set the Savior on the pinnacle of a temple in Jerusalem. Again the doubt of the devil’s mind. He asked Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” Unlike the first temptation, this time the devil quotes from scripture and reminds Jesus what the Old Testament says in the Psalms. It is a Messianic promise that God would send His angels to protect the Messiah from suffering harm.

As before the devil was not sure that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. If He is the Son of God, so the devil thought, then He could throw Himself down from the top of the temple and suffer no harm. So the devil thought. It is imperative to understand the devil’s logic. He is profoundly smart, logical to the extreme. But everything depends on the first premise of the devil’s logic, is it the truth or is it a lie?

This time Christ quotes another passage from scripture, this time from Deuteronomy. Notice, in his first temptation of Christ, the devil did not quote from scriptures. But, smart demon that he is, Christ resisted the devil’s first temptation by quoting from the bible. The devil thought to himself, “I should have thought of this sooner. This time I too, will quote from the scriptures.” I repeat, the devil can tempt, presenting nothing less than the Word of God to mislead people from God. The Sacred Scriptures, quoted by Christ, warn us not to sin by presumption. It would be presumptuous to expect God to work a miracle because of our own whim or fancy. God works miracles on His conditions, not our own.

Tempting God is a strange expression. It can mean many things. In this context, tempting God would be putting God to the test, saying in effect, “If you are really the God you claim to be, then you will do what only God can perform.” That is the crime of tempting God.

The devil was not finished. You might say, not surprisingly. In the third temptation, the devil does not start by saying that you are the Son of God. Rather he took the Savior to a very high mountain. On the high mountain from which a large view of the surrounding territory could be seen for miles up to the horizon. Commentators on the scriptures tell us that what the devil showed Christ was not only the land and the buildings surrounding a physical mountain in Palestine. It was a global view of all the kingdoms of the world and their majestic glory.

It was the devil’s last effort to tempt the Savior. But this time it was a temptation that only the devil, as the prince of this world, could offer. He told Jesus, “All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

What was the devil telling our Lord? He was telling Him that as the one who is lord and master of the earthly pleasures that the kings of this world over the subjects, he would give everything to Christ on one condition. All Christ would have to do is fall on His knees and worship the evil spirit.

The history of the human race is a history of a conflict between two powers, the power of the devil over the worldly possessions of our planet, and the power of God over the humble souls who are willing to sacrifice everything in this world rather than abandon their service of God.

This was enough. Christ’s reply has become one of the most known imperatives in the human language, “Begone, Satan!” The devil could just go so far, and no further. Christ told the demon, again quoting from the scriptures, that there are two kinds of adoration that human beings can practice: either adoring the evil spirit as the ruler of this world, or adoring the true God, who is the only One whom we may serve.

St. Augustine’s City of God is the masterpiece in Christian literature explaining through a score of chapters what is the only real warfare that had ever been fought in world history. It is a war between the City of God, whose Leader is Christ, the Son of God; and the City of Man, whose master is Lucifer.

We are so accustomed to thinking of idolatry as an ancient form of paganism that no longer exists. The exact contrary is the truth. Idolatry in the modern world is widespread. It is nothing less than the worship of Self, inspired by the father of lies who tells people it is their will which they are to follow; it is their choices they are to make; it is their world in which they are living, and not the fantasy that religious zealots picture as created and ruled by an infinite God.

Prayer

Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the universe, protect us from the wiles of the evil spirit, teach us to follow your example of humility in submitting our wills to the will of your divine Son. He conquered the evil spirit and gave us the grace to follow His example. Amen.

Salt of the Earth

In yesterday's Traditional Breviary, the Second Day of Lent, there was a reading from Matthew 5:13-19.  This is the passage in which Jesus tells us, his followers, that we are the salt of the earth.   Salt was indispensable in the ancient world and in our age as well.  Salt was even used as a method of trade and currency.  The word "salary" comes from the word salt. 

Two of the most important uses of salt is to improve taste and to preserve food. When Christ old us we are the salt of the earth, he meant that we are here to save the world, just as he saved us.  That is a heavy responsibility, for as Christ said, to whom much is given, much is expected.  We have been given salvation, and we are expected to share it with as many people as we can. 

But what if we don't follow through with this awesome responsibility?

Here is the passage from Matthew:

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.

You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

St. Augustine, in his great wisdom, gives us a clear understanding of what it means to be the salt of the earth, how it is possible to lose the power of savoring others and what happens when we lose our savor:

The Lord would have us understand how that men do lose their power of savouring others with righteousness when they are willing to place their eternal welfare in jeopardy for the sake of any temporal advantage, like as attainment of ease or luxury, or escape from suffering or toil.  For that which is eternal, unlike things of this world, can neither be bestowed by men, nor by them taken away.  [St. Augustine says here that if we lose our savor, we will have no one to blame but ourselves because no other human can take it from us.]  Hence, when he asketh : If the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? he would have us understand the question to be : If ye, by whom mankind is preserved from corruption, be willing to lose the kingdom of heaven so as to escape trials or persecutions in this world, who is there to preserve you from corruption, seeing ye are they that God hath chosen  to preserve all others from corruption?  [A heavy judgment will be placed on all to whom God has given his Spirit and who then, like Esau choosing a pot of lentils over his birthright, choose earthly things instead of heavenly.]

Those that should be the salt of the earth, but have lost their savour, are thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  But no one that suffereth persecution is truly said to be trodden under foot of men.  Rather, that one is truly trodden under foot of men  who through fear of persecution hath lost the savour of righteousness.  For no one can be trodden upon, unless he be beneath him which treadeth upon him.  And certainly no one who hath his heart in heaven, no matter how grievously he doth suffer in his body on earth, is rightly said to be beneath anyone who misuseth him. 

No other human being can hurt us spiritually.  We can only do that to ourselves by choosing the physical temporary things of this world over the spiritual and eternal things of heaven.  As Christ said, "fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell."  (Matthew 10:28)  Lent is all about choosing the spiritual over the physical.  We have 40 days (plus Sundays) in which to learn these lessons and hopefully apply them for the rest of the year, and the rest of our physical lives, as well.

A Time For Fasting

Today, Ash Wednesday, is an obligatory day of fasting in the Catholic Church for all adults between 14 and 59 years of age.  Exceptions, of course, can be made for health conditions.  Fasting permits one regular meal and 2 small snacks not to equal one regular meal.  Drinking of liquids is also permitted. 

In the Traditional Brevary today, there is a reading by St. Augustine that shows the benefits and potential pitfalls of fasting:

From these precepts it is evident that our every action should be directed towards the attainment of an interior life, which alone giveth true happiness. For if contrariwise we seek our reward in outward things, we shall be conformed to the fashion of this world, and thus forfeit God's promise of happiness, to wit, that we shall be conformed to the image of his Son. Such happiness, inasmuch as it concerneth inward things, is all the more certain and enduring. Howbeit, the special teaching of this passage is this : That vainglory can come forth, not only from worldly elegance and human pretensions, but even from a condition of sad countenance and dirty disfigurement. Furthermore, the latter kind of vainglory is the more dangerous, in that it deceiveth under the pretence of an humble service of God.

On the one hand, whosoever sheweth unbridled indulgence, whether in bodily comforts and dress, or in other forms of elegance, thereby standeth manifestly convicted as a follower of the pomps of this world. Nor doth such an one, by his pretence of godliness, deceive anybody. On the other hand, whosoever from choice, and not of necessity, professeth Christianity in such wise as to draw attention unto himself by reason of his seeming humility, or his particular disregard for outward things, this man is to be judged from the fashion of his other behaviour, as to whether therein he sheweth a desire for mortification, or rather for vainglory. For the Lord biddeth us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. Rather, as he saith, by their fruits shall ye know them. 

Now here is the test of the seeming godliness of such folk. When some adversity bringeth upon them the loss of the advantages which they had gained, or sought to gain, by their profession of godliness, then it must needs appear whether they be wolves in sheep's clothing, or sheep in their own. Nevertheless, a Christian should not seek to tickle the fancy of other folk by a parade of elegance, on the plea that hypocrites do seek to beguile the unwary by a display of frugality. For sheep should not lay aside their own clothing because wolves do sometimes falsely assume the same.

Let us pray.
Grant, O Lord, unto thy faithful people, that they may both piously undertake the venerable solemnities of the Fast, and persevere in the same with unfailing devotion. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord. Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen. 

Meditation On Lent: What is True Asceticism

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  Today we are reminded of just how temporary life is when we receive ashes on our foreheads and are told in the traditional Mass:  "Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt thou return."  One of the antiphons from the traditional Mass sets the tone for Lent, taken from Joel 2:13:

Let us change our raiment for sackcloth and ashes: let us fast and mourn before the Lord: for our God is merciful to forgive us our sins. 

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of a journey of mortification and self denial.  Why do this?  Why enter into mortification?  What is the reason for self denial?  We live in a society which is all about self indulgence.  "If it feels good, do it."   "You deserve a break today."  But for the next 40 days, Christians will say no to themselves and yes to God. 

Newadvent.org has a good reading on the meaning of asceticism and the virtues and dangers associated with it.  Self denial and penance are not done in Lent or any other time of the year just for the sake of penance, but to draw us closer to God.  As this reading from newadvent.org warns us, it is possible for penance and self denial to be merely empty expressions which have no spiritual benefit.  If we are not developing humility from our spiritual practices, we may be doing it all in vain. 

The word asceticism comes from the Greek askesis which means practice, bodily exercise, and more especially, athletic training. The early Christians adopted it to signify the practice of the spiritual things, or spiritual exercises performed for the purpose of acquiring the habits of virtue. At present it is not infrequently employed in an opprobrious sense, to designate the religious practices of oriental fanatics as well as those of the Christian saint, both of whom are by some placed in the same category. It is not uncommonly confounded with austerity, even by Catholics, but incorrectly. For although the flesh is continuously lusting against the spirit, and repression and self-denial are necessary to control the animal passions, it would be an error to measure a man's virtue by the extent and character of his bodily penances. External penances even in the saints, are regarded with suspicion. St. Jerome, whose proneness to austerity makes him an especially valuable authority on this point, thus writes to Celantia:

Be on your guard when you begin to mortify your body by abstinence and fasting, lest you imagine yourself to be perfect and a saint; for perfection does not consist in this virtue. It is only a help; a disposition; a means though a fitting one, for the attainment of true perfection.

Thus asceticism according to the definition of St. Jerome, is an effort to attain true perfection, penance being only an auxiliary virtue thereto. It should be noted also that the expression "fasting and abstinence" is commonly used in Scripture and by ascetic writers as a generic term for all sorts of penance. Neither should asceticism be identified with mysticism. For although genuine mysticism can not exist without asceticism, the reverse is not true. One can be an ascetic without being a mystic. Asceticism is ethical; mysticism, largely intellectual. Asceticism has to do with the moral virtues; mysticism is a state of unusual prayer or contemplation. They are distinct from each other, though mutually co-operative. Moreover although asceticism is generally associated with the objectionable features of religion, and is regarded by some as one of them, it may be and is practised by those who affect to be swayed by no religious motives whatever.

The article then shows the difference between natural asceticism and spiritual asceticism. 

NATURAL ASCETICISM:

If for personal satisfaction, or self interest, or any other merely human reason, a man aims at the acquisition of the natural virtues, for instance, temperance, patience, chastity, meekness, etc., he is, by the very fact, exercising himself in a certain degree of asceticism. For he has entered upon a struggle with his animal nature; and if he is to achieve any measure of success, his efforts must be continuous and protracted. Nor can he exclude the practice of penance. Indeed he will frequently inflict upon himself both bodily and mental pain. He will not even remain within the bounds of strict necessity. He will punish himself severely, either to atone for failures, or to harden his powers of endurance, or to strengthen himself against future failures. He will be commonly described as an ascetic, as in fact he is. For he is endeavouring to subject the material part of his nature to the spiritual, or in other words, he is striving for natural perfection. The defect of this kind of asceticism is that, besides being prone to error in the acts it performs and the means it adopts, its motive is imperfect, or bad. It may be prompted by selfish reasons of utility, pleasure, aestheticism, ostentation, or pride. It is not to be relied upon for serious efforts and may easily give way under the strain of weariness or temptation. Finally, it fails to recognize that perfection consists in the acquisition of something more than natural virtue.

SPIRITUAL ASCETICISM:

It is prompted by the desire to do the will of God, any personal element of self-satisfaction which enters the motive vitiating it more or less. Its object is the subordination of the lower appetites to the dictates of right reason and the law of God, with the continued and necessary cultivation of the virtues which the Creator intended man to possess.

* * * 

Wherever the Church has been allowed to exert her influence we find virtue of the highest order among her people. Even among those whom the world regards as simple and ignorant there are most amazing perceptions of spiritual truths, intense love of God and of all that relates to Him, sometimes remarkable habits of prayer, purity of life both in individuals and in families, heroic patience in submitting to poverty, bodily suffering, and persecution, magnanimity in forgiving injury, tender solicitude for the poor and afflicted, though they themselves may be almost in the same condition; and what is most characteristic of all, a complete absence of envy of the rich and powerful and a generally undisturbed contentment and happiness in their own lot; while similar results are achieved among the wealthy and great, though not to the same extent. In a word, there is developed an attitude of soul so much at variance with the principles and methods generally obtaining in the pagan world that, from the beginning, and indeed throughout, under the Old Law, it was commonly described and denounced as folly. It might be classified as very lofty asceticism if its practice were not so common, and if the conditions of poverty and suffering in which these virtues are most frequently practised were not the result of physical or social necessity. . . . The motives and the manner of this imitation are laid down in the Gospel, which is the basis taken by ascetical writers for their instructions. This imitation of Christ generally proceeds along three main lines, viz.: mortification of the senses, unworldliness, and detachment from family ties.

* * *

The character of this asceticism is determined by its motive. In the first place a man may serve God in such a way that he is willing to make any sacrifice rather than commit a grievous sin. This disposition of soul, which is the lowest in the spiritual life, is necessary for salvation. Again, he may be willing to make such sacrifices rather than offend God by venial sin. Lastly he may, when there is no question of sin at all, be eager to do whatever will make his life harmonize with that of Christ. It is this last motive which the highest kind of asceticism adopts. These three stages are called by St. Ignatius "the three degrees of humility", for the reason that they are the three steps in the elimination of self, and consequently three great advances towards union with God, who enters the soul in proportion as self is expelled. It is the spiritual state of St. Paul speaks when he says: "And I live, now not I ; but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). Other ascetic writers describe them as states or conditions of the beginners the proficient and the perfect. They are not, however, to be considered chronologically distinct; as if the perfect man had nothing to do with the methods of the beginner, or vice versa. "The building of the spiritual edifice", says Scaramelli, "is simultaneous in all its parts. The roof is stretched while the foundations are being laid. "Hence the perfect man, even with his sublime motive of imitation, has always need of the fear of damnation, in order that, as St. Ignatius expresses it, if ever the love of God grows cold, the fear of Hell may rekindle it again. On the other hand, the beginner who has broken with mortal sin has already started in his growth to perfect charity. These states are also described as the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways.  

It is evident that the practice of unworldliness, of detachment from family and other ties, must be of the greatest number not the actual performance of those things, but only the serious disposition or readiness to make such sacrifices, in case God should require them, which, as a matter of fact in their case, He does not. They are merely affective, and not effective, but none the less they constitute a very sublime kind of spirituality. Sublime as it is, there are many examples of it in the Church, nor is it the exclusive possession of those who have abandoned the world or are about to do so, but it is the possession also of many whom necessity compels to live in the world, married as well as single, of those who are in the enjoyment of honour and wealth and of responsibility as well as of those who are in opposite conditions. They cannot effectively realize their desires or aspirations but their affections take that direction. Thus there are multitudes of men and women who though living in the world are not of it, who have no liking or taste for worldly display, though often compelled by their position, social or otherwise, to assume it, who avoid worldly advancement or honour not out of pusillanimity, but out of unconcern, or contempt, or knowledge of its danger; who, with opportunities for pleasure, practise penance, sometimes of the most rigorous character who would willingly, if it were possible, give up their lives to works of charity or devotion, who love the poor and dispense alms to the extent of, and even beyond, their means, who have strong attraction for prayer, and who withdraw from the world when it is possible for the meditation of divine things; who frequent the sacraments assiduously; who are the soul of every undertaking for the good of their fellow-men and the glory of God; and whose dominant preoccupation is the advancement of the interest of God and the Church. Bishops and priests especially enter into this category. Even the poor and humble, who, having nothing to give, yet would give if they had any possessions, may be classed among such servants of Christ.

I especially appreciate this reading because it shows that outward appearance means nothing.  Many who appear to be very poor and unworldly may not be so at all, and there are those who appear to have all the material good this world can offer and yet have no affection or attachment to it whatsoever and could leave it without a backward glance. 

If you wish to read more of this article on asceticism, go here. 

As we make our Lenten journey, we should keep in mind that it is not our outward appearances that we are trying to change but our inward attitudes, our emotional attachment to the world and wordly things.  If we do all the right physical mortifications and penances for Lent, but do not change inwardly, we have accomplished nothing.

May you have a blessed and fruitful Lent.