The theme for Lent: Believe: Homily for Wednesday, March 5, 2025

As we start the season of Lent, we are called to believe more deeply through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Readings for Today.

The theme for Lent: Believe

“Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” These sentences, taken from Mark 9, verse 24, I think, form an interesting theme for the season of Lent. Most people in the United States believe in God.

According to the Pew Research Center, roughly 8 in 10 Americans believe there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it. Similar or slightly larger numbers say they believe that God or a universal spirit exists, 83%, and that humans have a soul or spirit in addition to a physical body, 86%.

And so, the vast majority of Americans can say, “I believe.” And as I think of this, it is an easy statement to say. And I believe most people say this sincerely. But what does it mean to believe? What does belief require of us?

The first reading from the book of the prophet Joel gives us a clue. “Even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God.”

These verses remind us of a few things that are helpful to recall as we start this season of Lent. Lent specifically and the Christian life totally are about a recognition that we do not always live as we should. Simply put, Lent is a time where we acknowledge that we sin, so we need a Savior and we need conversion.

And the three parts of Lent, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, are important ways we place ourselves on the path of conversion. But this is not something we do on our own. Left to ourselves, using only our willpower, is simply not enough. These three elements are designed to help us to recognize our need for God.

I remember being in a parish where we were in the middle of a college campus. On Ash Wednesday, we had, as most parishes do, a large attendance at Mass to receive ashes. Of particular note, we received at this parish a lot of Muslim students who came for ashes. Why was this? What was it that drew so many people, even non-Christians?

It seems that even though we do not always like to admit it, we know we are broken, we sin, we disappoint ourselves. The ash that is placed on our foreheads or in Europe sprinkled on our head serves as a reminder of our life without God. It is dry, lifeless.

But it also serves as a reminder to us and as a witness to others that we recognize the need we have for conversion. But more importantly, it reminds us of our steadfast belief in God’s mercy and forgiveness. In our brokenness, all is not hopeless. We can say this not because we are optimistic, but rather that we have the virtue of hope, which tells us we have all that we need to be saved by God.

But the message of the world, of those without faith, can often seek to strip us of our hope, to take from us the belief that God can save us, to be filled not with the virtue of hope, but with the tragedy of despair.

Lent is our powerful time to reinvigorate our cooperation with God to live from the virtue of hope. Through greater focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we come to ask God to infuse in us a greater living out of a virtue of hope. If the devil seeks to do anything, the devil seeks to sow doubt into our hearts.

But in faith, in God’s grace, we must stand against this. Help my unbelief. Help me to believe more fully and completely from the virtue of hope. But does what we are seeking to do for Lent lead us to a greater acceptance of our need to convert and of God’s grace?

And so this Lent, we seek to say sincerely, spare, O Lord, your people and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God? I think we live in a time where many ask this question. They ask it of us. Where is their God?

Do we find ourselves able to answer for others, for those without hope, to witness to God’s presence in our midst and what God in his love and goodness has done for us and what God in his love longs to do for everyone? And so what is it we are doing for Lent?

It is common to give something up for Lent. But do we make this simply an exercise in willpower? Or do we dig more deeply into our lives to see in our sacrifice the ways in which God desires to change our hearts and our lives?

If what we simply do is an exercise in willpower, we can be tempted to make sure everyone else knows exactly what we are doing for Lent and how wonderful it is to show others the strength of our willpower.

But in the gospel today, Jesus cautions us against this approach. If we perform actions simply for others to see, we miss the point. But it is not all bad to witness to actions that people will see. But what actions? Our small sacrifice?

“Why do we fast, but you do not see it? Afflict ourselves, but you take no note.” We do not fast only so what we do will be noticed by God and others. Isaiah tells us what type of fasting God desires.

“Is this the manner of fasting I would choose? A day to afflict oneself? To bow one’s head like a reed and lie upon sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast? A day acceptable to the Lord?

Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose? Releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke, setting free the oppressed, breaking off every yoke? Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house, clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own flesh?”

Lent is a time where we open ourselves to God. We know what we must do. We must seek to pray more, to do the works of fasting suggested by Isaiah, and to ask God to stretch our hearts ever more fully to be more generous.

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.

About Author