Biblical Themes of Lent

When we think of Lent, we think of spring. That's because the word comes from a German word for "springtime". In many other languages(e.g. Spanish: Cuaresma), the name for the season before Easter is derived from the Latin word for "40", a clue that something else important is happening, something that our Scripture talks about. The 40 days of Lent recall the 40 days of Jesus' being tempted in the wilderness. But when we look at the Gospel accounts of Jesus' temptations, always read on the first Sunday of Lent, we see that they in turn direct us further. Jesus' temptations recall the 40 years of Israel's temptation in the wilderness on their journey to the Promised Land.

Forty Years

The number 40 is a very familiar one in the Bible.

In the story of Noah and the flood, it rains 40 days and 40 nights.

After the sealing of the covenant at Mt. Sinai, Moses is with God on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights.

When the prophet Elijah is being pursued by Queen Jezebel, he flees for his life and travels for 40 days and 40 nights until he comes to the mountain of God at Horeb.

The number appears also in the New Testament.

Jesus is tempted in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights and his ascension to heaven occurs 40 days after the Resurrection.

In the passage at the start of this section, the Israelites are encamped in the southern desert, within easy reach of the Promised Land. Scouts go ahead to survey the land, which they do for 40 days. They bring a glowing report of the land, but also note that some of the inhabitants are large and imposing. Despite the urgings of Joshua and Caleb, the people are afraid to go up into the land. Their refusal is a serious failure of faith in Yahweh's promise to give them the land. As a punishment, the people are to wander for 40 years, one year for each day the scouts were gone.

Numbers in the bible are often not meant to be taken literally, but serve a symbolic function. Our suspicions are aroused especially with a number that recurs so frequently as 40. What would be the symbolic meaning of the number 40?

On one level, it represents a longer period of time, but there is more.

The longer time has content: It is a time of need, of struggle, of testing. There is in fact extra-biblical evidence for this usage as well.

But in the Bible, a third level of meaning appears. 40 denotes a period of preparation for some special action of the Lord; it is a time of grace.

After the flood in Genesis, a new creation begins.

After Moses converses with God, the covenant is renewed.

After Israel's wandering in the wilderness, they will enter into the Promised Land.

After Elijah's journey, God strengthens him to resume his prophetic ministry.

After Jesus' temptation, he begins his public ministry; after the Ascension, we enter the age of the Church.

At the end of the season of Lent, we celebrate Holy Week and the great feast of Easter.

Thus, during this Season of Lent, we should take the opportunity to reflect on our doings, to open our hearts and listen to the word of God. It may be a period of struggling, but it does not have to be a gloomy season. (Remember, the bible says that, when we fast, do not look gloomy, instead, act as if you're not fasting) After this 40 days, who knows, we may be renewed...by the grace of God...

From Ashes to the Font

Ash Wednesday is 2 weeks from now, and it's almost time to shift our focus from the merry festive season of Christmas to a time of reflection and penance. Let's get start our preparation with a short article on Ash Wednesday...

The call to continuing conversion reflected in these readings is also the message of the ashes. We move through Lent from ashes to the baptismal font. We dirty our faces on Ash Wednesday and are cleansed in the waters of the font. More profoundly, we embrace the need to die to sin and selfishness at the beginning of Lent so that we can come to fuller life in the Risen One at Easter.

When we receive ashes on our foreheads, we remember who we are. We remember that we are creatures of the earth ("Remember that you are dust"). We remember that we are mortal beings ("and to dust you will return"). We remember that we are baptized. We remember that we are people on a journey of conversion ("Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel"). We remember that we are members of the body of Christ (and that smudge on our foreheads will proclaim that identity to others, too).

Renewing our sense of who we really are before God is the core of the Lenten experience. It is so easy to forget, and thus we fall into habits of sin, ways of thinking and living that are contrary to God's will. In this we are like the Ninevites in the story of Jonah. It was "their wickedness" that caused God to send Jonah to preach to them. Jonah resisted that mission and found himself in deep water. Rescued by a large fish, Jonah finally did God's bidding and began to preach in Nineveh. His preaching obviously fell on open ears and hearts, for in one day he prompted the conversion of the whole city.

From the very beginning of Lent, God's word calls us to conversion. If we open our ears and hearts to that word, we will be like the Ninevites not only in their sinfulness but also in their conversion to the Lord. That, simply put, is the point of Ash Wednesday!

Taken from http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0204.asp

Israel, Gaza?

The 10 day cease-fire in Gaza is about to be broken. More innocent lives may be lost, until today, the toll is reaching 2000 civillians. When you analyse this problem, one shouldn't weigh the question : "Who's at fault?" or condemn one party and support the other. Both should be condemned, as you know, war brings no benefit to us. It's a lose-lose situation, so why bother going into war?

Here, we analyse the Catholic Church's stand on WAR. We believe in the JUST WAR DOCTRINE. (No, it doesn't mean, going to war as you wish; rather, it means justifying reasons to go to war)

St. Thomas Aquinas developed a theory of St. Augustine into the now-known Just War Theory. It's basis is the natural moral law and it incorporates a moral evaluation before going to war and during it. Everything leading up to war and every act during it must fulfill the criteria listed. So, the Church's stand is that in theory, war is justified at times, and a just war can be waged. And the Church believes that throughout history, some wars were morally right, but many wards could've and should've been avoided.

Components of it:

1. Before War :

• Just cause - the reasons for going to war must be morally correct, such as to repel invading enemy forces, which are considered unjust aggressors(think Pearl Harbor)
• Competent authority - only authorized leaders can declare and involve the nation in war, such as prime ministers, kings and queens
• Comparative Justice - is the outcome of the war worth the damage of the war?
• Right intention
• Last resort - all other peaceful alternatives to the war must be done before resorting to war
• Probability of success - a just war demands that the hope of winning the war is reasonable
• Proportionality - The suffering due to the war must be proportionately less or smaller than the evils of suffering if there had been no conflict

2. During war :

• Proportionality - A just war uses moral means during the execution of the war, i.e. biological weapons are considered immoral because the disproportionately harm more people and in more severity than is necessary for victory.
• Discrimination of noncombatants - collateral damage must be kept to an absolute minimum and civilian population centers shouldn't be targeted.

So, there you go. Why war?

CSS is BACK!

Everyone!

ATOMIC CSS-UCSI is BACK in action!

Gatherings will be held every Wednesday from 3:30-5:00pm in Room C406.

(write that down!)

This evening, we'll be having a Meet & Greet session at McDonalds Tmn Connaught from 3:30pm onwards.

Make sure you're there!

The Christmas Story...

The writer looks back at the Christmas that has just passed and gives his two pence worth of musings. He wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Phew. Another Christmas has come and go. After being stuffed with turkeys, ham, baked potatoes, fruit cakes, pies and ocassionally, wine from C'mas, we ushered in the New Year with even more partying and celebrating.

Gone are the carols on Silent Night, and we won't hear God Rest Ye' Merry Gentlemen, and Away in the Manger no more(at least not for another 11 months), I'm feeling kinda bumped because Christmas passed as fast as it came.

I remembered, two years ago, we had carolling - around Taman Connaught and in Berjaya Times Square. All the fun, jumping and dancing merrily. The joy of celebrating Christmas with everyone: CSS members, lecturers and other students of the same faith. Last Christmas, I missed my own BEC's carolling, didn't join the church choir(never did) and the reunion dinner was more of a silent affair.

When I was young, after midnight mass, I remember I would come back home and open the presents at 3am. The case is that I always pester my parents to buy the toys I want, so not much of a surprise...still a new toy! After coming off age(and getting old), last Christmas, I decided to do a charitable thing for my nieces and bought them this 'babi-doll-hair-styling-thing'. You know, the ones where you can put beads into the strands of hair.

The first hour, both of them were engrossed with it. Or rather, I was engrossed in it,(haha) trying to figure out how to work the "battery-less" thing. The beads just kept falling off, and I'd swear hairstyling isn't as simple as the indian uncle in the local barber shop! Soon after that, when everyone got bored because the only thing that could be beaded is, well, nothing... the toy was left aside and both my nieces resorted to hopping around the house. Days later, the 'thing' was lying on the table, untouched. Kids these days have too many toys, I'd swear.

Of course, with Christmas, you'd get more than just presents and turkeys. As you mature, you realised this is the time of love. You'd appreciate the gospels more. The symbolism of the 4 candles. The history of Christmas. Yet, minus the celebrations part, you'd feel your Christmas is incomplete too, no?

If you have other Christmas stories which you would like to share, do email them to cssucsi@gmail.com and it will be published.(for the whole world to read...)