Lent Retreat - Week 5, Wednesday

Readings: Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28; John 8:31-42

The readings today speak of following the Lord whatever the cost. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are willing to suffer and to die rather than betray their Lord and God by worshipping false idols. Lent is a time for recognising the idols that we often prefer to worship and doing our best to wean ourselves off them. If we claim to place God above all other loves and concerns in our lives then we must back this statement up by actions that speak louder than words. When we love someone then we want to spent a lot of time with them, so how can we say that we love God if we hardly ever make time to pray? Part of the point of self-denial is that by uncluttering our lives we free up time and energy that can be used to come to know and love God more perfectly. We never know when me might be called upon to give witness to our faith, probably never in as dramatic a fashion as the three boys in the furnace, but the very real possibility still remains that we may be called to risk ridicule, rejection and worldly failure in order to be true to the Gospel. The training that we undergo in Lent helps us to be ready to face these dangers. Once we have become accustomed to putting the Lord's will first, we have grown in virtue and will thus find it easier to do the right thing should the challenge ever come.