“United by their
vocation as brothers and sisters of penance
, and motivated by the dynamic power of the gospel, let them conform their
thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior change which the gospel itself calls conversion
.
Human frailty makes it necessary that this conversion be carried out
daily.” (Art. 7a, SFO Rule)
Saint Francis was constantly reminding his followers that
they could never be satisfied with the level progress they had made on living
the Gospel life. He is quoted as saying
in the later years of his life,” Brothers, let us begin again, because up until
now we have done nothing.” He recognized
that the spiritual journey in never over, that we travel it every day of our
life.
All of us can become complacent about where we are in our
relationship with God. Lent provides us
an opportunity to do a reality check on that relationship, an opportunity to
deepen that relationship. The Church
calls us to intensify our practice of the spiritual disciplines of prayer,
fasting and almsgiving. Lent gives us
the inspiration, the nudge, to spend more time in solitude, reading and
reflecting on Scripture, letting the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts. We then can see if we are making a
relationship with God a priority in our life, if we letting the Spirit inspire
us to greater acts of charity, if we are letting the Gospel of Christ guide us
in our daily lives.
Our Rule and this season of Lent both remind us that the process
of conversion is never finished, never over, no matter how long we have been
professed. Each day we must answer anew
the call of Jesus to pick up our cross and follow Him.
