The pursuit of Love ... In the Lenten reflection I shared with you in 2001, I made reference to the Curé d'Ars who once said that confession is less a shameful admission rather than the pursuit of God's love who seeks to pardon us and to bring us back to Him. It seems to me that this idea is worth revisiting and deepening during this season of Lent 2007, when God comes again to pursue us, to fill us with His love and to give us once again the grace of realizing in our lives the beauty and the grandeur of His loving plan for each and every one of us. How? By granting us this privileged time to compare the abyss of our weaknesses with the abyss of His mercy, and to provide us with another opportunity to address or correct the things we need to, in order to bring our lives in harmony with Him.

Lent, the journey to Easter which is repeated each year, is always a new gift from God. As a theologian of the Orthodox Church once wrote, the goal of Lent is not first and foremost about deprivations but more about "softening our hearts so that they can be open to the realities of the Spirit and experiencing a secret hunger and thirst for communion with God." It seems to me that this is consistent with the Curé d'Ars. I personally think that this softening of the heart leads to the sacrament of Reconciliation.

With this in mind, it might be useful to remember that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops recently published a theological and pastoral reflection on this sacrament, which has proven to be a valuable instrument for pastors and a useful catechesis for the faithful. I quote it here because the loving pursuit of God is very well illustrated, especially in the following excerpts, taken from the above-mentioned document: "The Sacrament of Reconciliation bears the authentic seal of "growth in Christ…" Talk of sin can never be divorced from God's infinite and merciful love. We see this time and time again in Scripture and especially in the way Jesus approached the sinners of his day. He always offered them hope and the opportunity to be healed and saved; he was never one to "break a crushed reed, or quench a smouldering wick" (Matthew 12.20). Sin not only darkens minds, hearts and lives in ways far beyond our human reckoning; it reveals its insidious face and nature especially when viewed in the light of God's unconditional love and divine forgiveness. It is when we become keenly aware of God's love as pardon and mercy that the real nature of sin is revealed to us."

Having considered these arguments, how can we not wear a happy expression during Lent and profit from the means at our disposal (the sacrament of Reconciliation, privations, fasting and sharing) to return to Him, better than we were before. During Lent, we are all invited to allow ourselves to be drawn by God who pursues us with His love. He invites us to embrace this spiritual adventure and to follow Him: follow the Father to face new situations with creative ways, the Son in loving others to the end, the Spirit in the pursuit of the Love that is freely offered to us, and awaits our equal response.

May this privileged time of Lent allow you to open yourself ever more resolutely to meeting our Triune God who, once preferred and loved, will know how to satisfy your every desire. A Blessed Lenten Season 2007!

Bishop's Office