Lent and God's Eyelashes

40 Days and 40 Nights and Sundays Off

Lent is the period of fasting and abstinence between now and Easter, April 4, which coincidentally is the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. whom someone should officially name a Martyred Saint.
Someone told me that while there are 40 days in lent, if you look at a calendar there are 47 between Ash Wednesday and Easter this year which means you get all Sundays off (and maybe even Saint Patricks Day!) You can fast Wednesday and abstain from meat Friday and go off the wagon completely on Sunday.
My mother always gives up watermelon (its always out of season) and I always give up Fois Gras (because I hate liver.) I also give up goofy hats and fur coats (never owned one.) Kidding aside...

Because it is such an important period of the year on par with Advent (if not more significant-as the sort of Yom Kippur repentant trek through the wilderness) I heard three homilies on it this weekend.
They each stressed that the period is a time of profound humility where we engage in repentance, and reconciliation and sacrificial giving beyond that place where it hurts Jesus you recall at the end of the lenten journey prepared his soul to actually die a humiliating criminal's death and took the 'curse' upon himself to resurrect us with him. Should inspire a bit of gratitude don't you think?

The definition of "reconciliation" was broken down into the Latin by one of my favorite priests who said that 're'-means do again, "con" means 'with' and "ciliation" actually comes from 'cilia' which means eye-lash. When you repent, make amends by giving alms, you are with God and come as close to God as God's eyelash brushing against your cheek. This is an extremely intimate sentiment and evokes memories of the times where your loved one brushed so close against your cheek you could feel his eyelashes. If I wasn't so focused on the singing I would have melted in a tearful puddle on the pew. It's a beautiful thought. I wonder if the "Mediation and Conciliation" branch of DC Superior Court has the definition printed anywhere for the litigants to read. Might make them think.
Another homily focused on the fact that the devil, Satan, is real- his 'temptations' fall along three pretty universal enticements: 1. They appeal to ego and instant gratifications by presto magic acts- if you are really the son of God turn this stone into bread like voila! a magician and you won't be hungry anymore- take the easy way out, just turn the thing into bread if you say you can. like magic -because all uncomfortable suffering is meaningless. That is a temptation because it isn't meaningless and no suffering should be wasted. There are a lot of ways to look at why this is a temptation- carnal mortifications have some redemptive value.
2. the devil lied and said he had power on earth to give whatever he wanted to anyone he wanted (lie-he doesn't) and offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he only would follow him selling his soul [What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose your soul? ] and 3. he took him to the top of the parapet of the Temple and said -if you are the real son of God tell the angels to catch you because scripture says they are supposed to guard you so you don't so much as stub your foot or toe on a stone-to which Jesus says- I don't tempt God- you shall not tempt the Lord your God.
I don't do stupid stuff just to see if he will catch me when I fall. So the devil left for a while with a snarky- "I'll be baaaaack" under his breath- and back he has been with a vengeance.

So these "temptations"- to humor our egos with great ego stunts and magic to instantly gratify and satisfy our bellies (remember, those whose "God is their belly"?) reducing the value of mortifications to mere uncomfortableness that should be gratified, temptations to power and influence (the devil being the liar and the thief who actually comes to steal and destroy uses the lie of power), to temptations to do what we think we can get away with by testing God to get us out of trouble-are all things we are supposed to seriously examine and purify ourselves of. Temptations are not just about chocolate, sugar and giving up bad language and bad movies.

It's about anything that tempts you away from the Sacred Heart, which is a heart of purest Love, purest goodness and highest Joy, now and evermore, for your highest good- because With God, so close that you feel his eyelashes is Heaven.