Meditation on the Nativity on This 2nd Sunday of Lent

This Sunday of Lent brings us a special meditation on the Nativity. I know. Somehow the Nativity doesn't seem to fit into Lent. It does. We'll see how.

The reason it seems like it doesn't: The "distance" between Advent/Christmas and Lent. And not just the time span, but what goes on during that time.

Consider the Church's Liturgical calendar. It begins with the 1st Sunday of Advent. And, as you know, Advent ends on Christmas Eve. With Christmas Day, December 25th, we begin the Christmas Season. 40 days pass from Christmas until the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple/The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At this point, there's an interim period until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

During this period, the Gospels follow Christ's manifestation to the world on Epiphany (the Three Wise Men), His Baptism by St. John, and the wedding feast at Cana. The Gospels relate how Jesus, after his Baptism, began his public life. Disciples begin to follow Him. He preaches the Good News, and performs many astounding miracles, particularly in the form of healing those who are physically disabled, or who suffer from possession by the Devil.

While not all that much time passes from The Presentation/Purification to Ash Wednesday (depending on the specific year), much has occurred in Jesus' life. He grows to manhood, leaves his home, preaches to all who will hear Him, chooses 12 of His disciples to be His Apostles. And we know that these Apostles, a kind of inner circle, will now accompany Him all the way to His Crucifixion.

With all this going on, we're a long way from the fresh innocence and joy of the Nativity.

But when I came across this meditation on the Nativity weeks ago, the connection with Lent sort of jumped out at me. Maybe you'll see the connection too:

“What impressed me most in the meditation on the Nativity was the thought that Jesus could have been born in wealth and luxury, or at least with the ordinary comforts of life, but He chose all that was hard, unpleasant and uncomfortable. This He did for me, to show me the life I must lead for Him. If I want to be with Christ, I must lead the life of Christ, and in that life there was little of what was pleasing to nature. I think I have been following Christ, yet how pleasant and comfortable my life has always been – ever avoiding cold, hunger, hard work, disagreeable things, humiliations, etc." (Father William Doyle, S.J., 1873-1917) 

Father Willie isn't making a connection between the Nativity and Lent. But his focus on the life of Christ reminds us that "there was little of what was pleasing to nature."

If we observe a reasonably robust Lenten discipline, it likely includes some items not pleasing to nature. First thing that pops into my mind: fasting. That fits the bill, doesn't it?

What about the other two of the Three Pillars of Lent: Prayer and Almsgiving?

Under normal circumstances, prayer may very well be pleasing to nature. But remember we're called to ramp up, in some fashion, our usual prayer life. How we do this will be personal, based on each individual's temperament, on what might most benefit our spiritual life, perhaps according to the suggestions of a spiritual director. But it will be, in some way, more than the usual.

That means we have to make time for our beefed up prayer life. And that could mean taking time from activities we might prefer doing, stuff that's more relaxing, more fun.

As for almsgiving, it includes not just charitable giving, but charitable thoughts, words, and deeds. Which means it's not just about money. And for many of us, filling the world with love may not come so naturally.

So just as Jesus chose to be born in a stable and "chose all that was hard, unpleasant and uncomfortable," so too do we do this at least during Lent. And if we're successful in our Lenten discipline, perhaps some of that will spill over into the rest of the year. If so, we'll be much more like Christ than we were when Lent began.

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast Redeemed the world