No Hands but Yours

Today's guest blog post is contributed by Brother John Kiesler, OFM is a member of the facility of the Franciscan School of Theology in California. Brother John is a member of the Formation Facility for long-term missionaries through Mission Doctors and presents at the Annual Retreat Seminar on the theology of mission. Additionally he serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Mission Doctors Association.

  
Oh no, here is it again the beginning of that time of year! You know what I mean! A day when we go to church, get ashes smudged on our foreheads, listen to a rather somber homily reminding us of our mortality, and, perhaps, decide what we want to ‘offer up’ for Lent. What is the point of getting depressed with reminders of death in a world in which I have too much too do? It is a common question and one that often points to how the meaning of Lent has been over overlooked or forgotten.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent but it is not meant as a period of sadness but rather reflection on our life. Ashes and reminders of death are intended not to sap the joy out of life but as reminders of its giftedness and transitory nature. During Lent we are called to focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the poor not as punishment (or somehow to show how good we are) but to remind us that as humans we have a body as well as a soul (how often has the Church and theology overlooked that connection in the past!) and both are gifts of God. We are not just solitary individuals with souls and bodies but people in relationship (whether we realize it or not) with God, creation, and others- thus the call for more attentiveness to prayer, fasting and generosity to the poor. Through these practices (not just pious thoughts but real actions) the Church calls us to think about our life, with its shortness, and how we can be more loving to God, more respectful of creation by consuming only what we need and more alive to suffering brothers and sisters.

Lent is a marvelous time for us to get down to basics. So rather than see it as a time for sadness or something to endure perhaps we can see it as a time to ask ourselves some questions, for example:
How much time do I really spend with God, with my spouse, children, friends, family?
Do I try to bring peace and love to those around me in family or at work?
Am I hooked on mindless consumption of goods or addicted to electronic media?
Do I live as if there are not over two billion poor in the world today?

Basics. And part of this is action to change our present habits to ones more enriching to ourselves and others. One way of doing this might be to support through prayer and monetary donations the work of Mission Doctors Association, which sends doctors around the world to bring healing to the bodily ills of poor who would otherwise be neglected.

Donations to MDA can be a way to celebrate Lent and remind us of others in the world who suffer but connect us to good doctors who are trying to bring positive solutions in Christ’s name.