On the Lenten Journey

The Church in Ireland is undergoing a very challenging time this week, as the Bishops of this island nation return from an unusual meeting with Pope Benedict discussing their reaction to the very troubling Murphy Report. The report presents a very reproachful assessment of the Bishops and their response to the abuse of children by clergy and religious. In the wake of the report, several Bishops in Ireland have resigned, and the remaining bishops have pledged to make an act of penance in reparation for the past tragedies.

In the midst of all of this, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin preached a very moving homily on Ash Wednesday, a portion of which appears below. A thoughtful reflection as we begin this holy season...

Ash Wednesday is a unique day in which within the Catholic tradition we are called to reflect on where we stand in our own lives and on what our value system is. Lenten penance is not a punitive activity; it is not a form of religious masochism in the sense that we fell good through punishing some aspect of our lives.

That is not the Christian way of life. There is, however, a sense in which we can only attain authenticity through an inevitably painful path of renunciation of what is non-essential. It means renouncing any tendency to live if the purpose of life was just our own fulfillment and our own rights and our own image....

“Repent and believe the Gospel” is one of the formulas used on the occasion of imposing Ashes. It is an appeal to each of you, to identify where you have drifted away from authenticity in faith – very often almost without knowing it - into being above all self-seeking.

“Repent and believe the Gospel” is a call to the members, the structures and the leaders of the Church who have also in many ways been unfaithful to their calling and have allowed personal and institutional reputation to influence their decisions.

We all have to repent; we are all called to turn back to what is authentic in the faith so that we can be more authentic in our lives. The touchstone for measuring our repentance will be our belief in the Gospel. There is no way in which we can think that we know God without knowing the Jesus that is revealed in the Gospel.... That means taking up the Gospel and getting to know Jesus as he presents himself to us through his life, words and action, gathered in a systematic way in the Gospels. I challenge each of you to take up the Gospel of Saint Luke, in the privacy of your heart, and come to know the liberating message of Jesus.

Getting to know that Jesus can change your life and lead you on a path to that real authenticity that each you and also myself must seek. Getting to know the Jesus of the Gospels is also the challenge needed for renewal of the Church. The Church today perhaps more than at other times has itself to respond to the same call: “Repent and believe the Gospel.”

(Thanks to "Whispers" for the reference)