A reflection from J.D. Flynn during Lent in 2022:
…I found myself wondering why the Lord doesn’t have people for this kind of thing. People who are qualified and expert, and standing at the ready.
I was reminded, of course, that the Lord does have people, and that we, for better or worse, are them.
We, the baptized, the disciples of Christ, are sometimes called by Providence into situations in which we seem unprepared and with very little to offer. But that’s how the Lord works…
And in the end, again, I reflected in humility that God asked me even to play a very, very small role in getting some of that sorted out. I reflected on the moral seriousness of the situation, and on the virtues the Lord requires of his disciples, if they are to be about his business, at least. In an honest self-assessment, I lack some of those virtues, and others need to be strengthened.
And here we have the gift of Lent.
Today, young priests in Ukraine are offering Divine Liturgy in underground bomb shelters, and bringing to front-line defenders the sacrament of the sick. Bishops in China will spend this Lent incarcerated, as they continue to face serious and ongoing persecution. Religious sisters and young priests in sub-Saharan Africa will face the ongoing prospect of kidnapping. Those are morally serious situations, faced with Christian hope, faith, and even joy.
Those are the situations I’ll be meditating upon this Lent.
Those are the Christian witnesses I’ll try to learn from. As we watch morally serious situations unfold for Christians around the world, I’ll borrow from St. Paul, asking the Lord to help me put aside timidity, or comfort, or frivolity — to “put aside childish things” — in order to be better prepared to receive the extraordinary graces God offers, and prepared to use them whenever, and however, the Lord calls.
There is much to learn from this Lent about the serious demands of the Gospel.
May Lent be a blessing, and a time of sanctification, for all of us.
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