A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

+ “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” By referring to the passage from Deuteronomy, which Our Lord quotes in making this declaration to the devil, the richness of this text is highlighted. It is recounted that the Israelites, humiliated and hungry, were fed by God. In order to test their hearts, God decided whether or not to give them food. This passage also emphasizes that during these forty years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites’ clothes did not wear out. If God can make our clothes not wear out for such a long period, Scripture teaches us that he could also, if He had wanted, enable them to live without food. Yet he gave the manna in order to satisfy their incessant requests.
 
In this particularly sacred period of Lent, God does not deprive us of food: he gives us manna in order to satisfy our many requests. God does not deprive us of food, but he asks us to abstain from it. He requires this discipline from us to teach us that he is the Lord. It is an act by which He teaches us as a father teaches his son, so that we learn to love him with a pure heart—a heart that seeks only the treasures of heaven.
 
By leading the Israelites into the desert for forty years, God sought to prepare them for the riches of the promised land, a land full of good things. As the prophet emphasizes, all these good things come from God and should lead us to give him glory and praise. Through our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, God reminds us that in all circumstances, in prosperity as in poverty, we must be faithful to God and give Him glory. This is why the apostle exhorts us to pray without ceasing.
 
The monastic tradition has reflected at length on the best way to fulfil this commandment. How is it, the desert fathers ask, that we can continue to pray even when we sleep? We too, even if we are not in the desert of Egypt, must also ask ourselves this question. This continual prayer is achieved by our regular return to Choir so that the members of the Church gather during the day to sing the praises of God. Certainly, we cannot ignore our duty of state nor our own well-being. We cannot pray without ceasing. But we can still maintain a recollection that ensures that every moment of our day remains oriented towards Christ. With such recollection we can ruminate on the word of God, a word necessary for our life.
 
Each year, through the observance, liturgical and physical, of the time of Lent, God gives us the opportunity to renew our recollection, atoning for the negligence of other times. Through our fasts, we humble ourselves and remember that we are not sufficient unto ourselves. We discipline our bodies to obey the spirit. Through our prayer, we direct our attention to God, telling Him again that we rely on Him for all sorts of things, and that we must thank Him for the graces He gives us. Through almsgiving, we turn our attention to our neighbours around us, bringing them to God, according to the missionary command given by Christ at His Ascension.
 
However burdensome the atonement for negligence and the correction of vices may be, it can never be anything but misery and gloom. By looking beyond and concentrating instead on the result we desire, in fact, through the observance of Lent here below, we want to arrive at the eternal ends: this sharing in the glory of God. We should then be filled with that openness of heart which accompanies the journey toward God. This is why the chapter of the Rule of Saint Benedict on Lent is the only place where Saint Benedict speaks of joy. This adds another aspect to Christ's command: we must rejoice while we fast and at the same time keep our penances in the secret of the Father who can thus give us our just reward.
 
Keeping the word of God in our hearts is not simply a matter of contemplation, but also of converting our lives so that our actions conform to the Word. Contemplation—the rumination of the word of God—is essential, because it is from it that, by the grace of God, all righteousness proceeds. By striving to ensure that our prayer is continuous, our discipline unwavering, we can always progress further towards God. The traditional triple observance of Lent—prayer, fasting and almsgiving—gives us the opportunity to pray without ceasing in all charity, in order to allow God to see that our hearts are sincere and seek only Him. In this way we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where they will not rust and will not be stolen, but will be stored so as to be given to those who persevere to the end. +