It’s Ash Wednesday. Lent begins today, so I wanted to write a few words of encouragement and warning. But a few words turned out to be several words.

Lent is a penitential season ordered toward repentance, detachment, and spiritual renewal. We must not believe that we have not angered God by our many sins. “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance …. For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruits, shall be cut down and cast into the fire.” (Lk. 3:8a, 9).

However, outward acts of penance must come from a place of true contrition for sin and a firm amendment to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. Ultimately, this detestation of sin must be motivated by divine charity. Even the most apparently heroic act of penance, if it does not proceed from love for God, is worthless. “If I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:3b).

In fact, an act of penance motivated by a desire to appear pious merits not heavenly reward but condemnation. “Therefore when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward” (Mat. 6:2). For this reason, try to keep your penance as secret as possible, “and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee” (Mt. 6:4b).

Another error to which many people are liable, in my opinion, is making Lent a self-help program. Obviously, there are psychological, physical, and social benefits that come from detaching ourselves from worldly goods. There is nothing wrong in delighting in these pleasant consequences. But they should not be our chief motivation; otherwise, Lent becomes about what we can get out of it. Rather, Lent is for God, and it is for us only insofar as we are for God.

In conclusion, let’s take this opportunity to repent of our sins, detach ourselves from the things of this world, and embrace the mercy of God in the cross of Jesus Christ.