I remember a family friend, a bit of a blowhard, once
telling my parents, “Too bad they got rid of abstaining from meat on Fridays. Everyone
knows you're Catholic when you order fish on Friday.”
Yes I know, I know – we all know someone who’s said that,
and we’ve all considered it equally foolish because it highlights the
difference between appearance and substance. That’s why, for many years now,
priests have emphasized good works over personal sacrifice in their Ash
Wednesday homilies. Oh, we still ask, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Some
of us still give things up – sweets, TV shows, coffee – but more of us are also
doing pro-active things such as improving our prayer lives, volunteering for
good causes or just making it a point to do something extra nice for someone
every day. And those things are wonderful. But maybe a little sacrifice
deserves a second look.
 | |
| Pope John Paul II bore his share of suffering in his life, and understood the spiritual gifts of suffering. |
Like most cradle Catholics who heard the Gospel stories
from, well… the cradle, Jesus’ passion and death seemed sterile. Pain and
suffering were an abstract. That began to change when I was about 16 and heard Jesus Christ Superstar for the first
time. Years later, a dear St. Joseph’s parishioner, the late Dr. Ed Sujdak,
gave a presentation on the physiology of Jesus passion and death – complete
with replica nails – spikes, actually. A dozen years ago, Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ allowed us to
visualize the gut-wrenching, brutal annihilation of Jesus’ humanity.
When we suffer, we can better understand what Jesus did
for us. As Paul wrote to the Romans (8:16-17), "The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him."
Just as Jesus’ suffering redeemed us, our suffering is
redemptive, too. Our suffering can remit punishment for our own sins or even
the sins of others. Pope John Paul II discussed this in his apostolic letter “On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering” (Salvifici Doloris). “To suffer,” he
wrote, “means to become particularly susceptible, particularly open to the
working of the salvific powers of God, offered to humanity in Christ.”
Just imagine, a headache and even a heartache can
ease our time – or someone else’s time – in Purgatory.
 |
| If nothing else, Lent is still a good excuse to enjoy a succulent fish dinner. |
That’s the value of a Lenten sacrifice. Every time you
pass up that piece of chocolate cake, that glass of wine with dinner, or the
latest episode of The Big Bang Theory,
you can move a little closer to heaven. Or you can help someone else get closer
to heaven – a friend, a relative, the guy who cut you off in traffic, or even
the boss who used your face as a rung on his way up the career ladder. And that
is a wonderful reflection of Jesus’ love for us, especially if we do it in
secret, without telling anyone.
And, for the next six Fridays, you can order that fish dinner and feel even better about it!
