Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent 2019

"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work"

By now, the fourth week of Lent, we may feel overwhelmed by all the Lenten preparations: retreats, reconciliation services, and all the liturgical preparation for the week ahead, Holy Week. Traditionally, Lent has been linked to desert, abstinence, penance, and fasting so we can fight the temptations of Satan. However, working as if everything depends on us, we risk missing the real meaning of Lent and Easter. Now, one wonders about the popular saying, “Alleluia, the Lord has risen from the dead, but all the priests are death.” It seems as though “work” has become our new religion and made Lent into just another work project or thing to do.

But the words of Derek Thomson remind us that “workism is making us sad and unhappy.” The Gospel reminds us that it is God who is at work and that we are only coworkers in the vineyard of the Lord. Therefore, Lent is a holy season that invites us to listen to the voice of God that calls each one of us, “come back to me with all your heart, for I am all tenderness and compassion.”

As we continue our journey of Lent, may we strive to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy which are the charitable actions of helping our brothers and sisters in their bodily needs. The Lenten practices can help us to open our hearts to feel our fears, our weaknesses, and to confront our own demons and to realize that it is God who is at work on each one of us. May the season of Lent allow us to renew our lives and to keep our eyes on Easter Sunday.