What women want Lenten Message

Mar 3, 2006

On my co-worker’s office wall hangs a small newspaper cut-out of a homeless man living in Denver.  Amidst the sea of faces present in the photo, his weathered face stands apart in the crowd.  The man’s bright eyes peer out beneath the hood of his jacket and penetrate through the camera.  Mesmerized by the clipping, I asked my co-worker why he taped this image to his wall.  He remarked, “never have I seen the gaze of Christ so vividly as the moment when I first saw this picture in the paper.” 

I was humbled.  My initial response to the photograph had included feelings of fear and discomfort because of the man’s intense stare, but my co-worker, like Blessed Mother Teresa, was able to recognize and love “Christ in distressing disguise.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 Message for Lent, which is based on Matthew’s Gospel account when “Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity” (9:36), also addresses the need for Christians to recognize the “gaze” of Christ present in the world today.  Just as Christ was moved with pity upon seeing the crowd, we, as his disciples, should be impelled to action and charity when seeing those most in need.

As Catholic faithful, we are confronted numerous times throughout the week with these impoverished neighbors who cry out for help.  They don’t only appear as homeless men and women in need of material charity, but usually these individuals enter our lives as friends, family members, children, and acquaintances with deep spiritual needs.  The Holy Father recognizes that “the worst poverty is not to know Christ.  Therefore we must help others to find God in the merciful face of Christ.”

Pope John Paul II acknowledged that women, in particular, have an innate sense or “feminine genius” in their ability to recognize these impoverished souls who are suffering physically, emotionally and spiritually.  In a unique way, women can see the face of Christ in the midst of others sufferings and deeply feel Christ’s gaze penetrate their hearts and entire being.  This deep empathy impels women to reach out in love with the understanding that what we do to the least of our brothers and sisters, we do unto Christ (Mt. 25:45). 

Unfortunately, our Christian witness is oftentimes relegated to a burdensome duty that inconveniences our busy schedules and personal agendas.  Other times, we allow social apathy and self-centeredness to prevail over charity and self-giving, all the while justifying our “inability” to help others.

In response to these human tendencies, Pope Benedict XVI proposes that we undergo a sincere examination of conscience during this Lenten Season in hopes of conforming ourselves to the image of Christ.  Are we recognizing those in need and faithfully responding in charity?  Or, as the Holy Father asks, do we allow “indifference and self-centered isolation [to] stand in stark contrast to the “gaze” of Christ?”

Just as Pope Benedict XVI exclaims, “Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy.”  Let us use these forty days to reflect on our faithfulness to Christ, repent of the times we prioritize selfish desire over generous self-gift, and reconcile with the One Who first loved us so much that he gave his only Son.  In doing so, we will discover the “gaze” that profoundly searches our hearts and gives new life to the crowds.