- Feb 5, 2002
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The season of Lent is upon us yet again, and it has made me reflective. Many of the habits and devotions we were most proud of have fallen into neglect. Again, it is time to tuck away our sweets and dust off our prayer books: the spiritual equivalent of a spring cleaning. It is time we put ourselves back in order, but not in just any order. The Christian is in the habit of putting last things first. From its beginning, Lent orients us towards our end, our death, for to dust you shall return. We are ordering our hearts, preparing our wills for a fight: a fight to the death, our own.
To understand how Lent prepares us for death, we should begin by talking about docility. An essential quality in our preparation for death is this calmness of spirit, a docile heart. It is worth adding that this calm is not indolent. No, the Christian must be docile and remain decisive. In fact, he must be decisively docile. It is not laziness that causes the monk to sit still at his office, but an intense act of will. Docility is not a passive quality; it is not inaction. Docility is the quality of the soldier at the ready. The soldier must be able to follow his general’s orders at any moment, and so he has a duty to be still. The soldier must be docile in his heart, so that he can be decisive in his assault. Thus, stillness becomes not an escape from battle, but the very discipline that makes free action possible.
Likewise, the Christian must be docile in his prayer so that he can be decisive in his sacrifice. He must quiet his heart to hear his Lord and train his heart to follow His orders. However, the Christian is not only decisive in worldly affairs, nor is the world his primary focus. His chief concern is the marshalling of himself against himself, or, if we are to speak more precisely, his higher reason against his unreasonable desires. If he ever hopes to be trustworthy in external affairs, he must become distrustful of his own judgment. This distrust is not despair, but humility: a recognition that grace must lead where instinct would mislead. He must be merciless in crushing the mutinous desires that arise within his own heart if he hopes to become truly faithful. He must know that before he can be an ally of men, or even a servant of God, he must be an enemy of himself.
Continued below.
thecatholicherald.com
To understand how Lent prepares us for death, we should begin by talking about docility. An essential quality in our preparation for death is this calmness of spirit, a docile heart. It is worth adding that this calm is not indolent. No, the Christian must be docile and remain decisive. In fact, he must be decisively docile. It is not laziness that causes the monk to sit still at his office, but an intense act of will. Docility is not a passive quality; it is not inaction. Docility is the quality of the soldier at the ready. The soldier must be able to follow his general’s orders at any moment, and so he has a duty to be still. The soldier must be docile in his heart, so that he can be decisive in his assault. Thus, stillness becomes not an escape from battle, but the very discipline that makes free action possible.
Likewise, the Christian must be docile in his prayer so that he can be decisive in his sacrifice. He must quiet his heart to hear his Lord and train his heart to follow His orders. However, the Christian is not only decisive in worldly affairs, nor is the world his primary focus. His chief concern is the marshalling of himself against himself, or, if we are to speak more precisely, his higher reason against his unreasonable desires. If he ever hopes to be trustworthy in external affairs, he must become distrustful of his own judgment. This distrust is not despair, but humility: a recognition that grace must lead where instinct would mislead. He must be merciless in crushing the mutinous desires that arise within his own heart if he hopes to become truly faithful. He must know that before he can be an ally of men, or even a servant of God, he must be an enemy of himself.
Continued below.
Taking up arms: Lent as spiritual combat
Lent is not merely a season of restraint but a summons to spiritual combat, in which the Christian, following Christ into the wilderness, learns discipline and self-mastery
thecatholicherald.com
