Lent, conversion and the corporal works of mercy

By Derek Rotty, Guest Columnist

Recently, I was in a conversation with a man journeying into the Catholic faith. He asked, “Is Lent about giving up something?” My response was that Lent is ultimately about allowing our hearts to be turned more fully toward Jesus. It is only in that context that giving up something has value for Christians.

Lent is about our hearts being turned back to God, about being in deeper relationship with him. Lent, ultimately, is all about conversion. We learn this important lesson in the first Mass reading of the season. The prophet Joel spreads the Lord’s message: “Return to me with your whole heart” (Jl 2:12).

The things we give up, or extra spiritual practices we add, aren’t really effective if they don’t turn our hearts and bring us into conformity with the Lord.

Corporal works of mercy

There is another important practice that we must learn. On the first Friday of Lent, we hear from the prophet Isaiah: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly … setting free the oppressed. … sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them …” (Is 58:6-7).

This brief passage reveals to us that the Lord desires for us to engage in the corporal works of mercy as a form of Lenten fasting and penance. Engaging in these works, and relating to the poor and oppressed, will certainly bring us close to Jesus’ heart. These works will help turn our hearts; they will bring us back to the Lord; and they will make us ready for Easter Sunday.

So, during Lent, we must look to engage in the corporal works of mercy. When we engage in these works, we will come to know the amazing love of God and the Good News of Jesus. Most importantly, we will become better at sharing that love with those who need it most.

The works of mercy also reveal areas of imperfection in our own lives. Almost every time I talk to someone about a work of mercy they’ve performed, they speak of how they were changed, and about how they received more than the person they helped. This is because the works of mercy are the Lord’s work, and every time we do his work we are turned more fully to his heart. This Lent, let’s draw close to God’s heart, and let’s be changed by engaging in works of mercy!

Derek Rotty is a husband, father of five, full-time lay Catholic minister and author of “A Life of Conversion: Meeting Christ in the Gospels.” He was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 2004 and has served in parishes ever since. He will speak at St. Dominic Church March 19 at 7 p.m. on “Conversion, Repentance and the Works of Mercy” for the Holy Name Society and the National Shrine of Blesssed John of Vercelli.