Septuagesima Sunday 16.2.14 Hard work
We now begin the pre-Lent season of Septuagesima.
Penitential seasons remind us that there is a certain amount of effort required in being a serious disciple of Our Lord. It is hard work sometimes.
And then if it is not hard enough anyway we put extra burdens on ourselves in terms of voluntary penance. Why do we do that? It is like running around the oval loaded with weights.
In the epistle St Paul likens himself to an athlete who runs hard, seeking to win.
There is always a temptation to pull out of things which are hard, which require an effort on our part. We naturally want things to be as easy as possible; but with God’s grace we manage to overcome inertia and even find pleasure in doing the work of the Lord, hard as it often is.
We might envy those who seem to have it easier than we do. They do not have to make the sacrifices we make, for example in going to Masses, praying every day, doing penances, always watching our behaviour etc.
There are Catholics who go to Mass twice a year (Easter and Christmas) and never think of making any special effort to comply with God’s will.
They just presume they are going to heaven. And there are others who are even less religiously observant than that.
And they might be right! Maybe they will go to Heaven, with so little effort; while here we are turning up in all weathers and going through all sorts of things; all the while not sure of our own salvation (lest I myself be lost – epistle).
If they do get to heaven part of the reason for that will be the sacrifices we are making. In our deeper moments we realize that it is certainly a privilege to have the faith, to be chosen at an early hour to go and work in the vineyard. It is not grapes we are gathering but souls.
It shows that Christ trusts in us to give us a greater share of that work.
And when you look back on your life would you not like to be able to say, I did run the race; I did take the Lord seriously. Rather than, I had a good time; I looked after myself with every pleasure, moral or immoral, and I am now hoping to sneak in with last minute repentance.
Which would you rather be able to say?
Preparing for Lent we realign ourselves for another stretch of penance. Is it all worth it? For the prize, yes. The reward is worth waiting for.
And what else would we have done with our lives? Regrets, I’ve had a few... Surely our greatest regret will be the opportunities we missed to advance the will of God; the sins we have committed, or good actions omitted.
Whatever time left to us we can use well, letting any past regrets stir us on to better things.
God implants in us the mercy which He has towards His own children. We get a share of His desire to save. We come to see people in a more compassionate light.
A lot of the wrong people do may not be entirely their own fault, when we allow for upbringing and other factors. In any case we hope they can come right before the end.
Even in fictional stories we hope the various characters have a happy ending. All the more so we hope that real people will attain the happy ending of Heaven. And we can help them to do that. It is a privilege and a challenge. May the Lord of the Harvest give us the necessary grace.
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