My dear Brothers and Sisters,
February 2008 marks the beginning of this year’s Lenten season and just as we were reminded in my letter of January 2008 to “count our blessings” it seems appropriate that I base my letter this month, on issues reflecting the season of Lent. Beginning from Wednesday February 6, 2008 when the Church marked our foreheads with ashen crosses, we were called in a very special way to say “No” to self and “Yes” to the Holy Spirit as we begin our time with Him in the “desert”.
Saying “yes” to the Holy Spirit during this period could then become the key to “unlocking the Lent of a lifetime”, denying ourselves in a deeper way to follow Jesus. Saying “yes” in this context, means “regenerating ourselves in the Lord”. It means repentance, a “change of mind” from exalting ourselves to exalting Christ. It means turning from man’s ways to embrace God’s ways, a desire to be different, live as Christ commands and be led by the Spirit to the things that God wants from our lives!
Saying “yes” to the Spirit especially at this time means taking a harder look at our lives like it happened to the rich young man who encountered Jesus in Matt 19: 16-22. There are many times that we see ourselves as pretty good people because we think we do everything that good people do. We give money to charity; we take care of the poor when the need arises; we are careful to speak the truth because from our young age our parents told us not to lie. We’ve known only our spouses since we contracted holy matrimony. In our businesses and workplaces we are incorruptible, firm and work to the rules. We are at Mass everyday of the week, receive Holy Communion and play our roles effectively on parochial councils. We contribute money to train priests and cook mouth watering and delicious dishes for priests at Easter and Christmas. So we look at our lives and think that when we die and there is a God, we won’t fare too badly because we behave like most good people do. We reckon God is like a University professor who would grade us on a curve.
Perhaps if we allowed ourselves to be challenged a little bit more by availing ourselves of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we may be awakened to something else, – the pride in us because of the blessing of higher education that make us look down on those with less education; the pride in us because of the blessing of financial wealth which we sometimes share with reluctance; the pride in us because of the blessing of higher positions at our jobs which make us hurt people without being remorseful; the pride in us because of the blessing of political offices that make us tough, hard and cold on the people who put us in power and the pride that make us talk down on our spouses and children at home but look saintly outside the home .
Being convicted by the Spirit may make us feel “unclean” and deepen in us the feeling to be pure and live by different standards. If that should happen to you, then the point of this letter would have been made – “the Lent of your lifetime would have been unlocked” and the ashen crosses would have done their jobs, reminding you of the need to die to your old self so as to “regenerate your life in the Lord”.
May the Lord bless our Lenten efforts and may it please Him to be reconciled to Him during this very special time the Church has placed at our disposal.
Fraternally yours,
SIR KT BRO. EDDIE PRAH
(Supreme Knight)