We’ve completed our Lenten journeys and celebrated Jesus’ Resurrection and God’s gift of eternal life. I hope you experienced growth and spiritual renewal during those 40 days of Lent and the joy of Easter.
Let’s keep it going!
For many of us, Lent was a time of at least some change as we reflected on our prayer lives, our ability to sacrifice for God and others, and our ability to help others through charitable works and almsgiving.
We are now in the glorious and joyful Easter season. The weather is nicer. Flowers and trees are blooming. The grass is greener. Life is bursting all around us.
It can be easy to move on from our Lenten observances, almost as if Lent were a task we have completed. But imagine how much better it would be if we built on what we did in Lent. What if those disciplines became building blocks for ongoing spiritual growth?
How can we put our faith into action? How can we carry forward the fruits of our Lenten preparation and the joy of Easter celebrations as we move toward Pentecost? The great gift of the Holy Spirit, given to us just 50 days after Easter, empowers us to love more fully and live as God calls us.
Did you do something during Lent that drew you closer to God? Was there something that made you more aware of God’s love for you? What helped you be more loving, giving, caring, and prayerful? Those are the things we should hold onto and build upon.
Here’s one small example. More people come to Daily Mass during Lent, even if just one day each week. Over the years, I have seen many people who have gone on to make that a part of their lives all year round. More than a few of them became daily communicants after starting the practice during Lent.
In confessions during Holy Week and throughout Lent, I heard many people speak about the journey of growing closer to God. They were reflecting on how they love God, their families, and their neighbors. They also spoke honestly about their struggles being as patient, kind, and loving as they want to be and how they were working on that during Lent.
Let’s continue that work. Let’s not say “Been there, done that,” about Lent and go back to our old habits. Instead, let’s embrace the whole journey from penitential seasons like Lent to celebrations like Easter and Pentecost.
I have always loved Pentecost. I made a big deal of it in the parishes where I served, and it remains one of my favorite feasts. I place it right alongside Christmas and Easter. After all, it is the birth of the Church and the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
During this Easter season and as we prepare for Pentecost, may we all reflect on what we did in Lent and the difference it made in our lives. What of that can we continue? What of that might help our growth in the Lord Jesus?
The Spirit needs the chance to grow, and it’s up to us to give it that chance. We can do that by continuing to seek God and his presence. Pentecost becomes not just a day we celebrate but a way of living with God’s Spirit in each one of us.
This is the same Spirit that came down to Mary and enabled her to give birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:35). And the same Spirit that filled the apostles on Pentecost two thousand years ago (Acts 2).
I pray that the Spirit will come upon each of us as we celebrate Jesus’ death, his Resurrection, and the gift of the Advocate – the Helper – that he promised to send us. May the Spirit touch our hearts in a way that strengthens us to continue what we have begun.
That’s my hope for myself, and it’s my hope for you as well. May we use this season – and every season – to grow ever closer to the Lord Jesus.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
