Skip to main content

Post-Lent review... How did you do?

Lent is now behind us, yet in our excitement for Easter (and for Lent being over), how often to you take a moment to look back at your Lenten journey to do a post-game review?

As a volunteer leader and business school graduate, the concept of doing a formal "review" after an event or activity is a long held important practice... one that, unfortunately, tends to get overlooked even at the highest levels.  Still, it remains a staple of standard practice, and for good reason... It affords those involved, and the entire organization, a chance to review everything after the fact... what went well, what didn't, and lay the groundwork for next time.  The same is true for looking back at our Lenten journey.  So... how did you do?

I have to be honest, I sometimes fail to practice what I preach.  For as important as a post-lenten review might be, I hadn't thought of the idea until now.  I didn't even really think about it until this morning when I read the following article that was tagged in the daily
Angelus email:

http://aleteia.org/2017/04/26/do-you-know-the-date-of-your-baptism-2/

Do I remember the date of my baptism?  No... not at the moment.  I believe it was in January of 1963, but I need to look this up.  But in trying to remember the date of my baptism I was reminded of what I wrote in my posting going back to the 1st Sunday of Advent.  In that post I noted, "that According to the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy promulgated from the Second Vatican Council, “The season of Lent has a twofold character: primarily by recalling or preparing for baptism and by penance, it disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the paschal mystery.” "

Also in that post that my mission for this Lent would be to focus on Baptism while going over our readings for this Lent, and to see where it would take us.  After all, I had only just learned of this connection of Baptism to Lent, so I felt this was an important journey.  So, how did I do?  Well, as to the first part... making sure to focus on Baptism while reviewing our readings week after week, I feel was successful.  I was in fact able to find baptismal references in all our Sunday readings this Lent... some more obvious than others, but still present in all of them.  But where did this journey lead me?  I'm not exactly sure.

Our faith journey isn't always a straight line.  It's not always obvious, and to be sure, it is anything but quick.  In fact, I've noticed that our lectionary has embraced the concept of "the slow reveal."  Showing us a little bit at a time so we can digest that before moving on.  This is how it was with the prophets.  This is how it was with the Apostles.  Our understanding of God isn't instantaneous... it develops over time, through the Holy Spirit.  Patience and perseverance are key gifts to embrace as we grow our relationship with the Lord.

So as to my better understanding of Baptism and Lent through the scriptures... my journey is not yet really complete.  Going through our readings for Cycle A, I think I have a better understanding... but each Liturgical Cycle has it's own special message.  I couldn't give a fair analysis until I make it through Cycle B and Cycle C.  Yes, I've been through these readings before, and I could make a quick study of them now, but instead I've decided to embrace the slow reveal and let them come in their due course.

As for my developing an understanding of the importance of our Baptism... of this I am certain... like I learned from Dr. Jerry Galipeau earlier this year, and reminded again through this article posted on the Angelus, I would not be where I am today if not for my baptism, and for that I am eternally grateful!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“In the beginning there was the Word…”  These are the dramatic opening lines from the Gospel according to John, and though we will not be reading from John’s Gospel this Sunday, these words ring true for our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary time.  The people are in the midst of something new, a new beginning that, as our readings will show, begin with The Word… The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 (or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27) Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Our first reading is from the book of the Prophet Nehemiah.  Nehemiah, along with the priest/prophet Ezra, are the architects of the Restoration of Israel.  Their great Exile in Babylon is over and through the grace of the Persian King, Cyrus the Great, Israel is free to return to their land, to rebuild the Temple and to rebuild their lives as the people of God.  In an effort to guild them in this new beginning, Nehemiah and Ezra g...

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

February 2nd is the date chosen by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  When a significant feast day falls on a Sunday, the Church sets aside the readings for that normal week to celebrate the feast with these special readings: The Word for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Malachi 3:1-43 Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32 While the Catholic Church today refers to this day as the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, traditionally it has also been called the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord .  Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Candlemas was a time where beeswax candles were blessed for use throughout the year, a tradition still followed in some parish communities.  Today the celebration focuses more on the prophecy of Simeon, and Pope John Paul II chose it as a time for renewal of religious vows (not to be confused...

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle C

As with last week’s readings, our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are usually passed over for other feast days, but since Easter is somewhat late this year, we get to finish out this stretch of Ordinary Time with some readings we rarely get to hear during Sunday Mass: The Word for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time Sirach 27:4-7 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16 1 Corinthians 15:54-58 Luke 6:39-45 Our first reading comes from the book of Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, a great sage from Jerusalem who embraced the Wisdom tradition.  The work was originally finished around 175 BCE and was later translated into Greek by the author’s grandson sometime after 117 BCE during the Jewish diaspora that flourished in the later Ancient Greek Empire.  Since our earliest manuscripts for this book were found in Greek, it does not hold the same canonical status for Jews and Protestants, but more recent archeological finds have verified its Hebrew origins.  Like all Wisdo...