Father Andrew shares his week 4 Lenten Reflection
This Lenten reflection from Father Andrew talks about abnegation.
Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, abnegation. This week we will say a few words about abnegation.
We often look for reasons to believe in our faith, especially when it is challenged by others, or it challenges us, or when it is put into question by our personal life experiences or doubts.
Sometimes, like the Apostle Thomas, we will look for a sign, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” At other times, like Nicodemus, we will refuse to believe until it is made understandable to us, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
Some demand signs, while others look for wisdom, but as St. Paul reminds us, “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
The crucified Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, not its opposite. Might this also be said of the crucified faith, the crucified Church, the crucified Christian? Lent is an opportunity for us to ponder the truth of St. Paul’s divinely inspired words; words that obviously made sense to him in a very personal way, seen against the backdrop of his life. This is a very important exercise for every Christian to do: contemplate the role of one’s personal suffering, “crucifixion” so to speak, as the power and wisdom of God. Only then will abnegation make any sense to us, only then will we accept our need to practice it, only then that we might even see it as a sign from God that He is truly with us.
Watch the recording on YouTube.