Honoring those called to consecrated life.
Bishop Douglas J. Lucia
The Catholic Sun bi-weekly column
In 1997, Pope Saint John Paul II instituted a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. This Feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples. Since this column is published the day before this year’s observance, I feel it is very apropos to sing the praises of and to thank the unsung heroes and heroines of those who serve this Diocesan church and its families in the consecrated life.
My own life is blessed by Sr. Laura Bufano, CSJ, and Sr. Katie Eiffe, CSJ, who serve on my administrative team and foster diocesan life through pastoral planning, leadership formation, synodal planning, and outreach to the religious communities present in our diocese. I also have the great grace of having one of the Franciscan friars of our diocese as my Spiritual Director and Confessor, along with the fraternal solicitude of the local Jesuit community. These blessings are extended by the religious men and women whom I have come to know and respect in their ministries in our parishes and other church institutions, and who in their own ways support and challenge me in my episcopal ministry.
During the 2015 observance of the Year of Consecrated Life, Pope Francis invited Consecrated Men and Women, “To look to the past with gratitude; to live the present with passion and to embrace the future with hope.” When I read these words recently, I was immediately drawn to them and realized that they summarized what I see not only as the mission entrusted to those in the consecrated life, but as it applies to our own mission as a Diocesan Church. Cardinal Dolan’s charge to me on August 8, 2019, to carry a lantern and to be the light of Christ in this portion of the Lord’s vineyard has not been lost on me. Yet, more than ever, I continue to reflect how together we can heed St. Paul’s charge to Timothy: “To stir into flame the gift of God you have received…” (2 Tm 1:6).
Some translations of that passage use the word “fan” instead of “stir.” Interestingly, I found three definitions that speak of what “to fan” can mean for our faith life. The first, to blow away or eliminate chaff (that is, debris from threshing grain or something comparatively worthless). The second, to increase the strength of (a fire) by blowing on it or stirring up the air near it. The third, to disperse or radiate from a central point to cover a wide area.
My next column won’t appear until after we have started the holy season of Lent. Yet, as I was considering these different meanings of the word, “fan,” I realized that they were appropriate illustrations for what our Lenten journey could be all about. The first, to blow or eliminate chaff, speaks to our Lenten fast and abstinence. Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille, an associate professor at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, IN, in a catechesis on fasting stated, “Precisely to open us to new life, the Church has always recommended fasting in a variety of forms.” The two we are most familiar with is: (1) the abstinence from meat products that we observe on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday (but also is recommended for all Fridays of the year, except solemnities), for persons age 14 and older; as well as, (2) the limiting of the intake of food to one main meal with two smaller collations on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, especially for those between age 18 and 59.
Particularly, we need to be cognizant of these regulations this year because Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th – Valentine’s Day – a day sometime given over to elaborate meals and indulgence in desserts, chocolates and candy, but not this year! If a Catholic wants to observe this occasion, it is most appropriate the day before on Tuesday, February 13th – Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works)” (#1438).
Our eating habits are not the only thing one can focus on during Lent. As Pope Benedict XVI once wrote concerning fasting: “It is good to see how the ultimate goal of fasting is to help each one of us to make a complete gift of self to God. May every family and Christian community use well this time of Lent, therefore, in order to cast aside all that distracts the spirit and grow in whatever nourishes the soul, moving it to love of God and neighbor. I am thinking especially of a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina [that is, reading of the Holy Bible and other spiritual works], recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass.” These words reflect the meaning behind the second definition of fan calling one “to increase the strength of (a fire) by blowing on it or stirring up the air near it.” Our Lenten journey is meant to strengthen our relationship with God and His Church and give greater openness to the working of the Holy Spirit (often symbolized by both wind and fire) in our lives.
Pope Benedict notes that our Lenten observance is meant to move us “to love of God and neighbor.” This is reflective of our third definition of “to fan” – “to disperse or radiate from a central point to cover a wide area.” In these words, I hear the echo of the prayer of St. John Henry Newman that I used on my prayer card for my Ordination as Bishop: “Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine: it will be You shining on others through me.”
This Lent 2024, how can you and I take the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and charitable works (almsgiving) more seriously – for Lent is no joke (as one priest recently stated to me)! It would also help us to counter the laziness that afflicts not only one’s practice of their faith, but our society, in general. As quoted earlier, let us at Pope Francis’ invitation this Lent: “To look to the past with gratitude; to live the present with passion and to embrace the future with hope.” Or as the prophet Joel announces in the Ash Wednesday liturgy: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God” (Joel 2:12-13).
Catholic Fasting Rules for Ash Wednesday and Lenten Fridays:
Catholics age 14 and older do not eat meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent, including Good Friday. Instead of meat many Catholics choose to eat fish – which is why many parishes around the country have fish fries on Fridays during Lent. These are a great opportunity for a parish community to come together to pray and fast.
On Ash Wednesday (February 14) and Good Friday (March 29), Catholics age 18 to 59 also limit the amount of food they eat. Only one full meal, and two smaller meals that together do not equal a full meal, are eaten. The best rule of thumb is to make sure your meals are smaller than what you would eat on a normal day – and to avoid snacks. Exemption is allowed for pregnant women and those who need regular meals for medical reasons.
“Fasting” is the word used when the amount of food eaten is limited. “Abstinence” is when you completely give something up, like meat, for a set period of time. Both “fasting” and “abstinence” play a role during Lent.
