Today begins the beautiful liturgical season of Lent. This season, practiced by most Christians, at least in some capacity, throughout the world, is a time of responding to God's call to "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matt. 4:17)
But what does repentance mean? Does it mean that we need to "give up" something? Does it mean to rend our garments, or to ashen our faces and bewail our sinfulness? Maybe. Indeed, there are scriptural passages that would even suggest this. From King David (2 Samuel 3:31) to St. Paul (Acts 14:11-15), tearing garments was an expression of deep sadness and penance for sins committed against the Lord, and has been a means by which the Church has utilized the customs of the time to relay sentiments of repentance in search of Divine Mercy.
But there is more to say about external penance. It is, or at least ought to be, a conveyance of the conversion that has taken place in the heart. (Joel 2:13) This implies that our being must move toward God, not just our actions. Faith is necessary for this, yes, but it is insufficient to reach God as He Is. God is not Faith, but Love. As St. Paul expresses to the Corinthians:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. It I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." (I Cor. 13:1-3)
With this in mind, how must we look at outward signs of penance? Are all portrayals of personal mortification wrong, or impious? The short answer, I think, would be no. But this answer deserves more than a terse reply.
Throughout the centuries, the Church has seen the efficacy of the mortification of the body. Saints such as St. Paul, St. Benedict, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. John Vianney, St. Faustina, etc. have lived out mortification in expiation for their sins and the sins of others by sharing in the suffering of the Lord. Some have even lived out public mortification given to them by God in sharing the wounds of our Lord in the Stigmata, such a St. Francis of Assisi, St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) and others. These holy men and women did not give the Church examples of mortification of the body as physical remedies for spiritual problems, however. What they wished to express was the inner conversion of their being to the Lord by means of public profession.
In the Gospel Reading for Ash Wednesday, we hear our Lord say:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father... your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." (Matt. 6:1, 18)
Do not "give up" something for Lent. Do not "mortify" the body to subject it to what you hope will be an inner conversion. The conversion must start from within; in the "inner room" (Matt. 6:6) of our souls, where we must confront and acknowledge who we are, so that we may come before the One Who Is. Do not give up, but repent, and with open lips, proclaim God's praise (Ps. 51:15). Only then can we truly express and profess the Gospel of Salvation in word and deed.
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