At the Threshold of Lent: Charity, Conversion, and the Call to Begin Again
MASS Esto mihi in Deum protectórem
LESSON 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
GOSPEL St Luke 18:31-43
HOMILIST Mt Revd Jerome Lloyd OSJV
Beloved in Christ,
We stand now in the final days before Lent. Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday — Mardi Gras — traditionally the last day for using what remains of richer foods before the fast begins. And then, on Wednesday, the ashes will be imposed. “Remember, man, that thou art dust.” The Church moves us from preparation to penance, from reflection to resolve.
These weeks of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and now Quinquagesima have not been accidental. Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, has been forming our minds and stirring our consciences in readiness for the holy season. Lent is not a spiritual afterthought; it is a deliberate, structured time of conversion.
Why do we observe Lent in a special way? Because it is a season of preparation, penance, and interior renewal. It is a time to address — and redress — our Christian lives. It is a time to return to fundamentals.
The Church has given us three principal lessons in these pre-Lenten Sundays.
First, the parable of the labourers in the vineyard: it does not matter when we begin again. Whether early or late, whether after years of fidelity or years of wandering, the call remains the same. Salvation is offered to all who respond. The mercy of God is not measured by the clock of human calculation. It is never too late to turn to Christ.
Second, the parable of the sower: God is lavish in giving us the means of salvation. The seed — the Word of God — is scattered generously. We receive that Word in Scripture and in the Sacraments. Yet the fruit depends upon the soil. We must remove the stones, the weeds, the thorns — those habits, distractions, sins, and attachments that choke grace. Lent is the season for cultivating the ground of the soul.
And finally, the healing of the blind man: faith opens the eyes. “Lord, that I may see.” He recognised his need. He cried out for mercy. And our Lord told him, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” Salvation begins with acknowledging that we require it.
These lessons converge in today’s Epistle: Saint Paul’s great hymn to charity.
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
Without love — sacrificial love — everything collapses into emptiness. Prayer without charity becomes noise. Fasting without charity becomes self-display. Discipline without charity becomes harshness.
Lent, therefore, must not be an empty exercise. It must be motivated by love.
If Lent is about repairing and renewing our relationship with God, then it begins with the first commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” That is the foundation. Everything else follows.
We exist because we are called into being by divine love. The Holy Trinity is not solitary; it is communion. The Father gives Himself to the Son; the Son returns Himself to the Father; the Holy Ghost is that mutual, living Love. And we are created as participants in that self-giving.
Lent is the season to remember who we are: creatures of love, called to love.
Saint Paul describes charity with piercing clarity: patient, kind, not envious, not proud, not resentful, not self-seeking, rejoicing in the truth, bearing and enduring all things. These are not abstract ideals. They are meant to become descriptions of us.
We might ask ourselves honestly: could my name be inserted into that passage? “He is patient. She is kind. He does not brood over injury. She rejoices in the truth.”
If we are truthful, we must admit we fall short. And that is precisely why Lent is so precious. It is not given to shame us but to refine us.
Yet we must beware of a common danger: empty words.
How often do we recite prayers while our minds wander? How often do we sit at Mass disengaged from the sacred action unfolding before us? How often do we promise prayers to others and forget them? How often do we profess Christian charity and yet speak harshly, judge swiftly, or dehumanise others — especially in the anonymity and haste of modern communication?
We can go through the motions. We can perform religious acts. But if our hearts are not engaged, if our minds are not attentive, if our wills are not committed, our observance risks becoming hollow.
Lent calls us to integration: that our physical sacrifices, our spoken prayers, our outward practices be united to interior intention.
Every act of mortification must mean something.
Every prayer must be deliberate.
Every act of kindness must be real.
It is easy in our age to disengage — to reduce others to abstractions, to forget that every person is made in the image and likeness of God, loved by Him, assigned a guardian angel, called to salvation. As Christians, we are meant to manifest God’s love to others so that through us they may encounter Him.
Lent, then, is not negative. It is not merely restriction. It is opportunity.
Do not be afraid of it. Do not treat it as a burdensome imposition. It is empty only if we are empty. Observed rightly, it becomes a profound expression of love — love offered to God in gratitude for the love He has already shown us.
He gives His grace continually. He offers us strength to endure, patience to persevere, courage to reform, humility to repent. If we cooperate with that grace, the attributes of divine charity can truly begin to take root in us.
We will not achieve perfection in this life. Yet our Lord commands us: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Not because we can accomplish it by ourselves, but because we are called to strive — to cooperate with grace — to move ever closer to the likeness of Christ.
Let this Lent not be a seasonal effort that fades with Easter. Let it be a genuine conversion — a step forward in the lifelong journey of becoming what we were created to be.
May we freely and generously love God in this holy season. And may that love overflow toward one another, so that in loving Him and loving each other we may realise more fully the redemption offered to us by the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
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