This is the final week of Lent. Has the season of Lent made a difference in your life? If not, there is still time to embrace the call to conversion that is the heart of the Lenten message.
For all of us, life is very hectic. We all deal with many distractions. We consider it a personal triumph if in the midst of all the competing demands on our time, we make it to Church on Sundays. And attending Mass on Sundays is a good thing! But for our faith to be real, to have an impact on us and through us on our world, it has to be more than simply attending Mass on Sunday. There has to be a conscious effort to live our faith in the ordinary interactions of our daily lives. At the end of every Mass, we are sent forth to be disciples of Christ in our world.
Have we been living in a way that proclaims to the world that we are disciples of Christ? As husbands and wives, do you treat each other with respect, and are you faithful to each other in thought and action? As parents, do you give your children the attention that they need, the love they seek, and the discipline they require? For all of us, have we tried to be persons who forgive others? Do we show the same mercy to others that we expect God to show us? Have we been compassionate toward others, particularly those for whom it is difficult for us to feel compassion – the homeless, the immigrant, those whose race or religion is different from ours?
In this final week of Lent, if we have not used this season in a way that has deepened our faith and strengthened our discipleship in Christ, there is no point in chastising ourselves for this. Instead, now is the time to open yourselves to the wonderful grace of conversion – of a change in heart so that you become the disciple that you are called to be. Now is the time to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ in prayer and in the sacraments so that you can be the disciple you want to be. Don’t lose this opportunity to embrace the call to conversion! There is still time for Lent to be a grace-filled season for you. If you embrace the call to conversion even now, this week, then the following week will truly be a Holy Week for you!