The Face of Mercy / Daniel Conway

Reflect on Lenten penance and the synodal journey

(En Espanol)

In his message for Lent this year, Pope Francis used the Gospel story of Jesus’ transfiguration, which is proclaimed every year on the Second Sunday of Lent, to illustrate the synodal character of this holy season.

Just as Jesus invited Peter, James and John to travel with him up a high mountain, and to experience his profound transformation on Mount Tabor in the company of Moses and Elijah, so we have the opportunity during this holy season to accompany Jesus, to open our hearts, and to experience for ourselves the glory of the Lord.

“While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines,” the Holy Father says, “during Lent we are invited to ascend ‘a high mountain’ in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline—ascesis—as God’s holy people.” This is exactly what happened to the three disciples: They stepped out of their ordinary experience and had an epiphany, a spiritual awakening that raised their minds and hearts to God.

As Pope Francis says:

In his “retreat” on Mount Tabor, Jesus takes with him three disciples, chosen to be witnesses of a unique event. He wants that experience of grace to be shared, not solitary, just as our whole life of faith is an experience that is shared. For it is in togetherness that we follow Jesus. Together too, as a pilgrim Church in time, we experience the liturgical year and Lent within it, walking alongside those whom the Lord has placed among us as fellow travelers. Like the ascent of Jesus and the disciples to Mount Tabor, we can say that our Lenten journey is “synodal,” since we make it together along the same path, as disciples of the one Master. For we know that Jesus is himself the Way, and therefore, both in the liturgical journey and in the journey of the Synod, the Church does nothing other than enter ever more deeply and fully into the mystery of Christ the Savior.

Synodality, which involves traveling together as a community of disciples, is not a new concept. It is integral to our understanding of who we are as a pilgrim people who follow in the footsteps of our Lord.

Christian spirituality helps us accomplish this during Lent by providing multiple opportunities to step outside our daily routines. These include retreats, days of recollection, holy hours, Stations of the Cross and pilgrimages. “We need to set out on the journey,” the pope says, “an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration. These requisites are also important for the synodal journey to which, as a Church, we are committed to making. We can benefit greatly from reflecting on the relationship between Lenten penance and the synodal experience.”

According to the transfiguration accounts contained in all of the synoptic Gospels, Jesus “was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (Mt 17:2). Pope Francis calls this the “summit, the goal of the journey.” At the end of their ascent, as the three disciples stand on the mountain heights with Jesus, they are given “the grace of seeing him in his glory, resplendent in supernatural light.” As the Holy Father observes, “That light did not come from without, but radiated from the Lord himself.”

As Pope Francis concludes:

During any strenuous mountain trek, we must keep our eyes firmly fixed on the path; yet the panorama that opens up at the end amazes us and rewards us by its grandeur. So too, the synodal process may often seem arduous, and at times we may become discouraged. Yet what awaits us at the end is undoubtedly something wondrous and amazing, which will help us to understand better God’s will and our mission in the service of his kingdom.

Our experience of Lent is like the synodal journey that we have undertaken as a Church through the pastoral leadership of Pope Francis. Its goal is a personal and communal transformation that both prepares for, and results from, our encounter with the transfigured Jesus.

Let’s step outside of our comfort zones this Lent and spend some time away with Jesus. If we open our minds and hearts to him, we will be changed, perhaps even transfigured, by the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †