Vatican II at 50 - Inside and Out

The Oscar predictions are in.  It looks like an Oscar de la Renta dress will adorn Les Misérables actress Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain of Zero Dark Thirty will slip into some Jimmy Choos, and Silver Linings Playbook star Jennifer Lawrence will be outfitted in a Giambattista Valli complete with a Lorraine Schwartz necklace.   At least those are my predictions for the Red Carpet.  Actually, the real question is not what will the stars be wearing on the outside, but how were we moved on the inside by their performances?   Were we on the edge of our seats at the end of Zero Dark Thirty?  Did we feel the compassion of the forgiving Bishop in Les Misérables?  Were we inspired by the imaginative thinking portrayed in Argo?  The prophetic leadership depicted in Lincoln?   Oscar hype on the externals-fashion, fortune and fame-often overshadows the motion pictures themselves.

Lent is a time to focus on the externals:  praying, fasting and almsgiving.  But, the externals are meant to move us on the inside.  We can give up all the chocolate we want but if our heart doesn’t get any sweeter then we’ve missed the point.   Fasting might help us shed a few pounds, but it should help us connect to those who hunger daily, moving our hearts to pray in solidarity with them and perhaps giving to organizations which provide for those less fortunate. 

The liturgy, too, focuses on the externals:  ritual, symbol, posture and gesture.  But those externals are meant to prompt us on the inside, as stated in Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:

Pastors must therefore realize that more is required than the mere observance of the laws governing valid and lawful celebration… #11

Lent is a good time to go inward, to allow the externals of the liturgy and of our Lenten practices to affect us on the inside.  What to do with those extra dollars saved from giving up that Starbucks or chocolate bar?   Take a friend to the movies!  Amen.