by Fr. Gilles Mongeau, SJ
When we think about Lent, we often think about giving something up — like chocolate, social media or coffee. But Lent is about something more: real freedom. Freedom from sin, from feeling guilty, from all the ways we get caught up in a broken world without realizing it.
In the first week of the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola encourages us to contemplate the reality of sin. He doesn’t get us to ask, “What rules did I break?” He starts by showing us how the world is broken, how people have always been proud and violent, and then he invites us to ask: What part am I playing in this story?
That can be uncomfortable. We know that we are not just innocent bystanders in the world’s problems. We lose patience. We judge. We gossip. We benefit from systems that are not always fair. We sometimes do what other people do instead of doing what we know is right.
But here’s the important part: After he invites us to be honest with ourselves, he invites us to be amazed.
Amazed that we are still loved.
Amazed that God has not given up on us but has supported us through his good creation.
Amazed that mercy is bigger than our self-destruction.
That experience of amazement is the key. The fruit of Lent is not guilt; it is grateful wonder that I am a loved sinner.
We see that sin is not just something personal; it has an effect on whole communities. People are left out, blamed or ignored so that others feel safe. The cross shines light on this scapegoating: Jesus is the innocent one who is rejected and condemned. His persecutors feel united — but at a terrible cost.
When we think about Jesus on the cross, we start to understand the times when we have followed the crowd instead of helping those in need. But Jesus does not condemn from the cross. He forgives. He creates a new path.
On Ash Wednesday this year, Pope Leo XIV reminded us that conversion is not about how things look. It’s not about looking religious or trying to impress anyone. God is not interested in torn clothes; he wants changed hearts. Prayer, fasting and giving to charity are not just things you do to show off how spiritual you are. They are ways of coming back home.
Prayer helps us stop and listen. It stops the constant noise that tells us what to want and who to compete with.
Fasting helps us understand what really matters to us. It makes room for God in our hearts.
Giving to others makes us more generous. It helps us to support those who are struggling, rather than ignoring them.
These simple practices are steps towards freedom.
When we are honest about our sins, both the sins we have personally committed and the sins we have committed together as a group, something surprising happens. Instead of feeling hopeless, we find hope. Instead of feeling ashamed, we find forgiveness. Instead of fear, we find love.
And then we start to ask ourselves another question, one that Ignatius of Loyola loved to ask: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What can I do for Christ?
Lent is about becoming free. Free enough to love, to forgive, to stand with people who are suffering. Free to live as people who know they are deeply, truly and always loved.
We go from dust, to mercy, to mission.
