The first read today is an excellent pre-Lent text for prayerful reflection. The apostle James wrote to the dispersed twelve tribes "in the dispersion." The purpose is clear: "the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
As we begin Lent in fewer than 36 hours, we should have a goal for the forty-day private retreat each of us has the opportunity to make beginning Ash Wednesday. Trust me: if you take a few moments to determine what you wish to gain from these days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, you will experience the genuine joy of the Resurrection as well as a sense of "I did it!" There is nothing wrong with that!
As James advised the wandering people, make your purpose a petition made "in faith, not doubting." He then puts before us an excellent image to those doubting they can achieve your goal. "For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind." What a description of someone who is afloat, not sure of a purpose in life or Lent!
Surely Lent is a time demanding discipline. We are a people, so many say, overwhelmed by work and many family activities -- all that seem to take precedence over those aspects of life that can enrich us through prayer. We became very much like a plant that is drained of its strength and beauty by the heat of lengthy an intense sunshine. As James also says, we "fade away in the midst of pursuits."
So, will you allow these forty days of Lent to help you prove your perseverance? Prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These are three blessings for anyone who wants to make his or her life so much the better.
