ANNICCHIARICO: 40 days of detachment, fast and penance
April 8, 2025
What is Lent? Its Latin name, Quadragesima, meaning “fortieth,” gives us a clue. Lent is the 40-day journey leading up to Easter — a time of preparation. Throughout salvation history, 40 days have often signified a period of purification and readiness. We see this in Israel’s 40 years in the desert after the Exodus and in our Lord’s 40 days of fasting and prayer before beginning His ministry.
But what exactly are we preparing for this Lent? First and foremost, the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord. To do so, we seek to remove from our lives anything that is not of Him, that He may become our all — that our “joy may be full” (Jn 15:11). It is only when we make more room in our lives for Christ that we truly experience the joy and peace only He can give.
Who lived out this poverty of spirit more fully than Our Lady, the Mother of God? A humble woman from the poor village of Nazareth, Mary possessed little in worldly terms, yet she had everything, for she had Christ. Detached from earthly goods, she lived wholly for the one thing necessary: God Himself.
In the simplicity of her life, she did everything out of love for her Son — feeding Him, teaching Him to pray, caring for His every need. Her life was never about herself but always about someone else. So, too, should our lives be.
This self-giving reached its fullest expression at Calvary, where she stood beneath the cross, offering her Son back to the Father for the salvation of the world. As Eve took the fruit from the tree and brought death, Mary allowed her Fruit to be placed back upon the tree, bringing eternal life.
Mary had spent her entire life in quiet surrender, denying herself and giving everything for the One she loved most. She is our exemplar for this Lenten season, showing us what it means to give up all things for the love of Christ. May we turn to her daily, calling upon her intercession, that we may persevere in our fasts and penances. In so doing, we will grow in greater love of our Lord, which is all Mary desires for us.
For just as she raised Christ, she raises all Christians — that He may raise us up on the Last Day.
Keenan Annicchiarico is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston at St. Mary’s Seminary.
(Herald file photo)