GUEST column Lent
GUEST column Lent demands sacrifices “Pardon me, my God and permit me to accompany You on this journey. You go to die for love of me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of You.” – The Way of the Cross, by Saint Alphonsus Ligouri Most people think Lent is just a time of giving up something “important” and then going on with daily life until Easter comes around. Lent is actually a time when one must give witness to Christ’s suffering and truly accompany our Lord in His passion. One common way we can sacrifice and suffer is through fasting. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry and the tempter came to him” (Matthew 4:1-2). If Jesus himself fasted when Junior Jwad SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS praying to the father, who are we not to fast? But when one fasts it must truly be a sacrifice. In our community most people just fast from meat on Fridays, but one must look at his own circumstances and ask, is this truly a sacrifice? What sacrifice is it to fast from meat and then feast on seafood, sushi and imitation meat? When we fast we must feel the suffering and offer it up as a sacrifice to God. The Eastern Rite Chaldean Catholic Church orders that its members in good health fast from everything till noon and abstain from meat and dairy completely on every Friday of Lent. Yes, this is a major sacrifice that our ancestors have endured for so long. No one ever said fasting is easy. Temptation will come along; even Christ was tempted by the devil while fasting, but he persevered and so can we. Fasting is not just changing our diets around in order to follow the orders of the Church. As we fast we also must be in penance and prayer and doing good deeds, or else our fast is worthless. In Luke 18:10, two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee’s prayer was of how thankful he was for being righteous by his doing good deeds and fasting unlike the tax collector. The tax collector’s prayer was a humble cry, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus comments, saying the tax collector went home more righteous before God. Even though the Pharisee fasted and did righteous deeds, he let his pride get in the way and did not do it out of love. When we fast we must do it in faith, humility and love, not out of pride or as if we are just fulfilling an obligation. Fasting is a sacrifice, which brings us closer to God. When you fast try to avoid all temptations of sin in which you fall regularly. Use your fasting as a weapon against the devil’s traps. When you fast you must be in deep prayer with the Lord, offering your fast to Him. The Stations of the Cross is extremely crucial to our Lent, because it reminds and brings us close to our Lord’s passion. Throughout all of Lent let the joy of the Resurrection be upon you. The Resurrection is the reason for Lent. Our Lord’s suffering is what leads to His glorious Resurrection. Through His suffering our sins were washed away and through His Resurrection we were saved and given eternal life in paradise. As the Chaldean Rite Stations of the Cross say: “Come enjoy the kingdom of heaven which was prepared for you by the shedding of my blood.” Fifteen-year-old Junior Jwad lives in West Bloomfield. A sophomore at Brother Rice Catholic High School, he is a server at St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Church, is fluent in Soureth and can read and write Aramaic. How would you like that cut? Our Skilled Meat Cutters are proud to offer Custom Hand-Trimming and Custom Meat Grinding 7am - 7pm daily. No additional charge. 14 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2012
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