Lent calls us to come back to Jesus, who reveals the Father.
Fr. Louis Madey spoke about Lent as a time of reconciliation. It is a time for righting wrongs, integrating us as a society, as families and as individuals. It is about being reunited with God. Paul calls us to "be reconciled to God."
None of us is sufficient unto ourselves. Many try to be independent, but if our plans go against God’s plans then disaster ensues for us. Our community belongs to the Church both physically and in the sense of tradition. We have received that gift and we must pass it on to others. We hold to the tradition because it is a gift. It is not something we can change at will. Fr. Madey speaks of his own background in Poland, where tradition is very deep. Latin is rarely used in the Church in the US. Major government buildings have Latin inscriptions, state buildings have Latin legends – even the state seal has a Latin inscription. They represent a culture we have inherited ultimately from the Romans. Medicine and science have Latin vocabulary. The official text of the Bible is in Latin. The credo in Latin means “I” believe, not “we” believe – it is about individual belief.
This is what we need to understand about this time of Lent. It is a call to come back to Jesus, who reveals who the Father is. Other religions do not worship the same God as we do. The revelation of the living God is only in Christ. The Trinity is the only God; one God in three persons. Jesus is the only way to the Father.
If we separate ourselves from God chaos, terror, brokenness, moral confusion result immediately, because if there is no center nothing can hold together. Fr. Madey cites the example of Nazi oppression in his homeland from 1939 on. We need true conversion in order to find integrity and fulfillment.
