By Veronica A. Arntz
Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the
beginning of the season of Lent. The Church, in the wisdom of the old
liturgical calendar, gave us the past few Sundays to prepare ourselves for this
season of fasting, prayer, and penance. Lent is the time of the liturgical year
in which we pause and recognize our weak human nature, our inclination to sin,
and our mortality. Some will look at our rigorous sacrifices and fasting as
foolishness, given how our society is wont to pursue instant gratification.
What is it that motivates our penances? Perhaps reflecting on that question
will help us to choose penances that will deepen our spiritual lives and our
love for God.
In Question 12 of the Prima Pars of his Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas considers the knowability of God;
in other words, how does man know God, both in this life and in the next, when
he is able to see His Divine essence? In Article 6, Thomas asks whether some
will see the Divine essence more perfectly than others will. He argues in the
affirmative, stating that it is based on the intellect’s greater capacity that
will allow some to behold the vision of God more perfectly. The object—the
vision of God—will remain the same, since God does not change, but the more
perfectly an intellect shares in the light of glory, the more perfectly He will
be seen. Thomas explains:
The intellect which
has more of the light of glory will see God the more perfectly; and he will
have a fuller participation of the light of glory who has more charity; because
where there is the greater charity, there is the more desire; and desire in a
certain degree makes the one desiring apt and prepared to receive the object
desired. Hence he who possesses the more charity, will see God the more
perfectly and will be more beatified (ST, I, Q. 12, a. 6, corpus).
The light of glory is grace from
God that allows the created intellect to see God as He is in the Beatific
Vision. While grace is always a free gift from God, we can prepare ourselves to
receive it through acts of faith, hope, and charity. Moreover, as Thomas
indicates here, we will be more capable of receiving the Divine essence in
Heaven if we are living in charity while here on earth. Moreover, the greater
our charity, the more we will desire Heaven and the vision of God. This desire
will make us more capable of receiving the vision of God when our time on earth
is finished.
This beautiful reflection by
Thomas should not cause us concern or anxiety. Indeed, we see the same
sentiments expressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, which was the epistle for
Quinquagesima Sunday: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have
not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1, RSV-CE).
If we do not have charity, we are
nothing, because Christ Himself expressed perfect charity when he suffered,
died, and rose again—all while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8). And, as we are
called to imitate Christ in everything that we do, we too are called to this
perfect charity, although we cannot attain it while on earth due to our fallen
human nature and sin. Thus, our actions are of greater merit in the eyes of
Christ when we do works with charity, works such as penance and fasting.
Through our penances in Lent, we
can deepen our charity for Christ and for others by uniting ourselves with His
suffering on the Cross. In such a way, we can recognize our weakness, knowing
that He suffered and died for us, but we can also ask for His grace to
persevere in our penances and sacrifices throughout Lent. This is why it is
essential to choose good penances that will allow us to increase in holiness;
we must pray carefully and choose wisely, perhaps through the guidance of a
spiritual director.
As stated above, the world will
look on our penances as foolishness. Why would we willingly give up coffee for 40
days? Why would we choose to say extra prayers or read a spiritual work by a
great saint rather than watch a movie? But, as St. Paul reminds us:
Jews demand signs
and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to
Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is
wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor 1:22-25).
In this letter, Paul is
addressing the Corinthians, who have fallen into deep sin and have forgotten
the message of the Gospel. He is here reminding them that, as Christians, we
belong to Christ crucified, Who is foolish to the Gentiles. The Gentiles cannot
understand why someone would follow a religion in which the Leader was
crucified, for that was the worst possible punishment given by the Romans. To
the world, such a death is folly: But, because Christians know that He rose
from the dead, and that they will also enter into His Resurrection, His death
is wiser than anything the world can offer. In other words, through the death
of Christ, we can gain eternal life, even if this looks foolish to the world.
Through entering into His suffering this Lent, we can prepare ourselves for the
joy of the Beatific Vision, and the Resurrection
As such, it is good to recall the
words of St. John Chrysostom, “Ubi
caritas gaudet, ibi est festivitas”—“Where love rejoices, there is
festivity.” Citing this phrase is not meant to negate the penance that comes
with Lent. Rather, it is to remind us of the purpose of our fasting—the reason
for our faith. We do not enter into the suffering of Lent simply because we
like it, for the sake of suffering, or even so that people can see our acts of
piety like the Pharisees. The reason that we take up penances during Lent is
for the glory of Heaven.
If we rejoice in our sufferings,
which we take up in charity, then we will rejoice in the festivity of Heaven,
the eternal banquet. Our charity will be greater, which means that we will have
a greater capacity for enjoying the Beatific Vision. All of this comes through
the grace of God; we must simply ask for His grace to do our penances with joy
and charity.
Let us be inspired to choose wise
penances this Lent, ones that will challenge but not discourage us, ones that
will allow us to enter into the suffering of Christ and will deepen our charity
for Him and for others. And one day, God willing, we will see God face to face
in the Beatific Vision, and we will rejoice with all the angels and saints,
marveling at the glory and truly awesome power of God.
