A Season of Reflection – Pre-Lent

Within our holy Polish National Catholic Church, for the three Sundays before the beginning of Great Lent, we spend a short season of preparation to enter into that time fully ready to take up the spiritual work of amendment and discipline to bring ourselves closer to the passion and death of our Lord.  During this two-and-a-half-week period we take stock of where we stand, spiritually and morally, in our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel Readings of these Sundays, this year, taken from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke, lead us in taking stock of this relationship and evaluating our own spiritual lives. 

We begin on the first Sunday of Pre-Lent with the reading known as the Sermon on the Plain.  Although not as well known as the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s Gospel, this portion of Scripture sounds many of the same themes.  Luke tells us: “[Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.  Then He looked up at His disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.  But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.’” (Luke 6:17, 2-26) 

As a reflection on this portion of Scripture, we must look beyond the surface of the words.  Certainly, we would not consider it blessed to be poor, hungry, weeping or rejected and it is not woeful to be rich, fed, laughing and accepted.  But rather if we go a bit deeper, we see that the concern is whether or not we are satisfied exactly where we are.  The well-fed person does not need more food.  The rich person does not need more money.  The laughing person does not need more entertainment.  The accepted person does not need more friends.  These individuals are not in need of anything. 

But, as Christians, we must recognize that we are all truly in need.  We are in need of the presence of God in our lives.  We can never have enough of His love, His forgiveness, His mercy.  We are never truly satisfied with it; we always need more.  So therefore, we are like the poor person, the hungry person, the weeping person or the rejected person.  There are things we need.  And we know that only God can supply them.

On the Second Sunday of Pre-Lent, we again turn to the Gospel of St. Luke.  Jesus continues, “Give to anyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.  If you love those

who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.” (Luke 6:30-33)

We see within these words that we are challenged to reflect on the actions and thoughts we have and see if they align with the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We often think about ourselves as being “pretty good.”  But Jesus challenges us to consider that even the worst of sinners, still loves those who love them.  They can still do some good to someone who will return that goodness.  The challenge to the Christian is to see where we truly stand in regard to our acts of loving kindness and set before ourselves the example of our Lord.  Jesus says, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.  Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36)  In reflection on these words we are called to go beyond where we presently stand in our good thoughts, words and action.  We must strive to be more merciful, more giving and more loving.

Lastly in the days just before Ash Wednesday, we will hear these words from the Gospel of St. Luke, where Jesus says, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.”  (Luke 6:41-42) 

We acknowledge here that it is often so easy to see the sins in others in the world.  We see them in those who surround us each and every day, and we see them when we read the newspaper and watch television.  But it seems so very hard to acknowledge that we too need to confront the sins and weaknesses in our own daily lives.  We see the ‘specks’ that others have and not the ‘logs’ that we suffer from ourselves.

So, my brothers and sisters, take these short two and a half weeks to reflect on your own life and decide what exactly you need to confront in the coming season of Lent.  If we can take the time to do this now, then when we place the ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, we can truly acknowledge that we need amendment and we can take the season of Lent to discipline ourselves.  This will begin with the practice of fasting, prayer and giving, but in reality through these disciplines we will be growing closer to Christ in all of our thoughts, words and actions.  We will be conforming ourselves to Christ in all aspects of our lives.

Again, Jesus tells us in the Gospel of St. Luke: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit.  Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.  The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:43-45)

Within the Polish National Catholic Church, we have labeled these weeks: The First Week of Pre-Lent – The Week of Recollection; The Second Week of Pre-Lent – The Week of Self-Examination and the last few short days following the Third Sunday of Pre-Lent – The Days of Decision.

Let’s all take the time to reflect during this season of Pre-Lent.  Spend time in recollection on where you stand in your relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Spend time in self-examination taking stock of our own spiritual and prayer practices, as well as the morality of your day-to-day life and interactions with others.  And finally approach the end of this season of Pre-Lent ready to truly change and grow close to Jesus.  Seek to build up the ‘good treasure of the heart’ that Jesus speaks of.

Prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk.  But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Your servant.  Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brothers and sisters, for blessed are You, unto ages of ages.  Amen.