Ash Wednesday… the beginning of Lent. Forty days (excluding the intervening Sundays) of penance and conversion, ending with the Triduum and the joy of Easter.
Pope St. Clement said in his letter to the Corinthians, “We fix our eyes on the blood of Christ to understand how precious it is before God his Father; it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of repentence to the entire world.” — Clement I, Letter to the Corinthians Chapt. 7
The blood of Christ, he suggests, needs to be the focus of our Lenten penances, and the point of our conversion. The Church has always seen shedding of blood as the ultimate expression of complete conversion to God, and the witness of our love for God. It is the sign of martrydom.
I know there will be Christians in parts of our world who will experience this in the next 40 days. Let us pray for them.
For most of us, we will be asked to shed our blood in more hidden ways: giving of our time, energy, and possessions to the needy by our almsgiving; giving our hearts to God in prayer; putting up with the physical discomforts of a reduced menu and diet.
Let us keep as our meditation this Lent the blood of Jesus, shed for our salvation and infusing the world with his grace.
