The relationship between Lenten penance and our synodal journey

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

In my last newsletter I discussed preparing for Lent as an integral part of our Church’s synodal journey. This holy season, which is set aside in our liturgical calendar each year, is intended to promote spiritual renewal and bona opera (good works). By the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we walk with Jesus—and all his brothers and sisters—on a journey that leads through cruelty, pain and death to the joy of resurrection in Christ.

For 40 days each year, we listen intently to the Word of God, and we prayerfully discern the Father’s will. We deny ourselves good things for the greater good of our spiritual health, and we share generously with others, especially those who are most in need of our help. During Lent, we acknowledge gratefully that our journey is not a solitary one. We walk with Jesus, and, through Him, we are accompanied by all the members of His Body living and deceased.

Pope Francis’s 2023 Lenten Message (see below) reflects on the relationship between this penitential season and our Church’s synodal journey. He writes:

The Lenten journey of penance and the journey of the Synod alike have as their goal a transfiguration, both personal and ecclesial. A transformation that, in both cases, has its model in the Transfiguration of Jesus and is achieved by the grace of his paschal mystery.

The transfiguration, or spiritual renewal, that we seek during Lent is nothing less than a complete transformation of our individual lives and that of the Church as a whole. We are keenly aware of the divisions and fragmentation that exist within our sinful selves and among the members of Christ’s Church who are called to unity and solidarity in Him but who so often fall back into separate camps that war with each other—both figuratively and literally.

In his Lenten Message, Pope Francis proposes “two paths” that we are challenged to pursue as we continue our Church’s synodal journey. The first path is that “we need to listen to Jesus. Lent is a time of grace to the extent that we listen to him as he speaks to us.” Jesus speaks to us in sacred Scripture, of course, but He also communicates with us “especially in the faces and the stories of those who are in need.” This is the second path that the Holy Father urges us to follow, especially during Lent.

Click here to continue reading Cardinal Tobin’s column Rejoice in the Lord.