Lent : 40-Day Long Spiritual “Marathon” to Return to God. Let us Run with Our All Heart!

For those who practice Christian faith, today, Ash Wednesday, marks the crossing of the start line of our annual spiritual marathon, called Lent.

It is not a 26.2-mile long journey. It is a 40-day long journey.

Reward for successful completion - Becoming more like Christ, who has come to this world to bring the glad tidings (as reflected in the latter part of the  Gospel reading for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C  - Luke 4:14-21).

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Ash Wednesday marks the start line of our Lenten journey of 40 days.  It is a journey to return to God – to realign our relationship with God, as the opening of the First Reading for Ash Wednesday, “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12) calls. “Returning to God with all our heart” is a kick-off message from God for us to embark on our Lenten journey. 

The Gospel reading for this day, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, reminds us, this is a critical journey to overcome our narcissistic disposition, which is a mark of the Original Sin. As Adam and Eve acquired their own ego-consciousness upon rebelling against God, we have inherited narcissistic disposition as a mark of the Original Sin. Psychospiritually speaking, this narcissistic disposition has been a root of our sins. 

Though some sins are obvious as they manifest in ostentatiously evil behaviors. However, there are also covert sins, which may not necessarily recognized through observable behaviors. These sins are rather hidden beneath what seems to be a good behavior or a good character. 

Jesus’ message in Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, points out to these sneaky covert sins that can be easily disguised by “good behaviors” and “good characters”.  Jesus warns that we will not practice good deeds, as well as charitable acts’ out of self-centered motives – only to seek self-edification. He call this hypocrisy (Matthew 6:5). 

However good our deeds and character may be seen by other humans, these may not lead to heavenly recompense. In other words, God will not be pleased with our hypocrisy – our superficial good deeds and shallow good character. What matters most to God is what is in our heart. 

Is our motive in our heart to strive for good deeds and for cultivating good moral character is rooted in our narcissistic needs, such as to attract positive public attention to ourselves, by using superficial good deeds and characters? Or, is it purely to serve the Will of God – his care for the Anawin, as reflected in Isaiah 61:1-2 – bringing the glad tidings (Good News) to the poor? 

We must remain on guard as Devil can always tempts us to seek our own self-glorification, by stimulating our narcissistic disposition, which is an inherited mark of the Original Sin, to make our deeds and motive incoherent or even schizophrenic. Let us guard ourselves – our hearts – from a risk of becoming hypocrites.

In order to return to God with all our heart, we must not let our narcissistic disposition to make us hypocrites. Let us make sure that our deeds of charity is purely to bring the glad tidings to the poor. After all, it is what the works of mercy, as reflected in Matthew 25:31-46, is about. As this is the Jubilee year of Mercy, let us make our Lenten journey this year to be a journey of spiritual growth to become genuine practitioners of mercy. 

Lenten journey is like a marathon. It is a psychospirtual marathon. 

As a 26.2-mile marathon demands psychospritual discipline to fight various temptations to quit, such as fatigues, and to keep pace, our Lenten journey also requires the high level of psychospritual discipline to keep our pace in a way to grow in our love (charity – agape), along with our faith and hope, to serve the Will of God as bearers of glad tidings to the world. On this spiritual marathon, called Lent, our narcissistic disposition within us may become a major obstacle, without knowing it, as it leads to cover sins.  Let us keep it from misleading us to a wrong path, with our strong disciplines.  As the opening of the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent this year (Cycle C), Matthew 4:1, reminds us, we can discipline and empower ourselves to endure this challenge, by keeping ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit, as Jesus successfully fended off series of temptations at the end of his 40 day fasting in the desert.

Many marathoners testify that listening to inspirational music helps to endure the challenges. Perhaps, the same can be said about our Lenten spiritual marathon, as well. 

When the devil tempts us to sin – or when the devil tries to mislead us to a wrong path by making us hypocrites, listening to this hymn, composed by David Haas, may be helpful: “Deep Within”

Deep within, I will plant my law, not on stone, but in your heart. 
Follow me; I will bring you back. You will be my own, and I will be your God.

 I will give you a new heart, a new spirit within you, for I will be your strength.

Seek my face, and see your God, for I will be your hope.

 Return to me, with all your heart, and I will bring you back.