Preaching February 2023 (Lent 2023)

February 27^th Evening Prayer

Topic: Lent

As we continue on our Lenten Journey, I wanted to pause and think about the impact of Lent to the mystical body of Christ.

In our natural bodies, when one part cannot function properly or is sick, the rest of the body has to compensate and work harder.  So, for example, when someone has a bad knee, the hip will compensate.  Or a right-handed person with a broken hand might need to write with the left for a while.

In the body of Christ, many of our members are sick because of sin and ignorance.  For this reason, they cannot fast.  They cannot pray.  But the mystical body of Christ needs these things to be

healthy.

And so, brothers and sisters, it falls to us to compensate for them while they are unable to “fill up what is lacking in Christ” this Lent.  We ourselves must fill up a double portion of suffering for us and on their behalf.

In all things, remember that it is the head that directs the other members.  Christ our head will tell us where we are needed if we listen to His voice.

And so they are a lame foot, maybe we need to be the hand that guides the crutch (or maybe even the armpit that it rests on, if God so wills). 

This is right and just for us.  Remember that the Dominican family has three

orders: those who preach, those who pray, and those who do penance.  It is the last of these three orders that we belong to.

And so, as faithful children of St. Dominic and as members of the Order of Penance, let us recall the words of St. Peter on Holy Thursday and offer to Christ “not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well.”