Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So in the season of Lent, we usually choose penances, right?
This is one of the things that we do
and one of the reasons we do that is because we know we're supposed to, right?
Jesus says when you fast, do it like this.
Jesus says that when the bridegroom is with you, you don't fast
but when he's taken away, you do fast.
So Jesus seems to indicate that yeah, at some point, we're going to do penances.
In a previous video, we talked about the meaning of those fasts and the meaning of suffering,
that it's actually meant to make us co-workers or co-redeemers with Jesus to redeem the world,
that he's extended a particle of his cross to us to embrace
and that he changes, transforms the meaning of suffering.
The meaning of suffering is it can be redemptive for the whole world.
But one of the parts of penance that we have in Lent or throughout the course of our lives
is that it not only is meant to redeem the world, which is huge and amazing
but it's also possible to use these penances to transform ourselves.
That not only can it transform the world outside of us,
but it also can transform our inner world,
that it can actually change our minds and it can change our hearts.
And so if I say no to a certain thing, it can set me free.
For example, I might think that I need a thing in my life.
I need what—fill in the blank.
I need social media.
I need YouTube videos.
Don't unsubscribe. Just kidding.
I need alcohol.
I need whatever that thing is that I need in my life. I need it.
Lent is a great opportunity to be reminded of the fact
that "Wait a second. I'm made for freedom.
I can give this thing up and I'm still OK.
Like the world hasn't ended and I'm not a slave.
I'm actually set free."
They can be transformative. Our penances can be transformative.
If there's a thing in my life that I think that I need,
Lent could be a good opportunity for me to be reminded of the fact that I can give it up
and I'm going to be fine.
But that's transformative of myself.
But there can also be some things that are connected to what I give up.
Here's kind of what I mean:
The things you're giving up. Like why?
Why is it that you're fasting from whatever it is you're fasting from?
Why is it that you're not doing whatever it is you decide to not do when it comes to Lent?
I know people are like, "I'm not going to eat watermelon." OK, my sister.
Or "I'm not going to eat M&M's."
Or there's some students here on campus who decided they're not going to use forks or spoons.
They're going to eat their meals with chopsticks and knives if they need to cut whatever, right?
So like, "OK, that's cool. Why? Like, what's kind of the goal?"
Now the goal could be, "It's more difficult. It slows me down. It's a little inconvenience I can offer to Jesus."
OK, fine.
How does that change ME though?
I think it's time that we not only
take our sufferings and unite them to Jesus's sufferings and transform the world,
but also choose penances
that actually address the things in our hearts that need to be addressed.
Here's what I mean.
I think that there are such things as keystone penances.
Keystone penances.
I kind of got that term, I paraphrased it from a book called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
In the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he talks about keystone habits
and when he identifies a habit he says, OK, basically our lives are full of habits.
We have good habits, we have bad habits.
But if we want to change a habit, we have to identify,
there's at least three parts of every habit: there's the cue,
the person, place, or thing that kind of prompts, "Oh, do this thing."
There's the routine. The thing we do, the habit.
And then there's the reward. The thing we're really looking for.
In a person's life, they might say,
"I find myself at the end of every day"— the person, place, or thing, that's the time- a day,
that's the place, I guess—
at the end of the day, a person finds themselves having one or two, maybe three glasses of wine.
And why? Because I'm looking for what?
What's the reward that I'm looking for?
It could be that the reward I'm looking for is
Ah, you know, when I have that wine, when I have that beer, when have that whatever that thing is - that drink,
I'm looking for the thing that says, "The day is done. Work is done. You can just relax now."
OK, that's what I'm looking for.
I'm looking for the reward saying, "Work is over. It's time to relax."
But this routine is not what I really want in my life.
If I know that this is the cue and this is the reward,
then I can change the routine.
That can be the keystone penance.
That can be the thing that still gets me the reward
but is a change of behavior.
So maybe for the season of Lent, a person could say,
"That's my thing is I drink at the end of the day and I don't want to do this anymore.
But I do want the reward of knowing that work is done."
Well, how about replacing that with a cup of non-caffeinated tea, hot cup of tea at the end of the day,
OK, work is over.
Maybe it means something else.
Maybe it means I pick up a book and I turn off all the lights,
other lights in the house and I just read this book.
It means the day is done and I've replaced that routine with a new routine.
That's my penance, why?
Because yes, penances can be oriented towards redeeming the world
but it also can be oriented towards changing me and changing my mind and changing my heart.
This Lent, are you choosing any wise penances or keystone penances,
the kinds of penances you realize, this part of my life, there's something in my life that I don't want there.
It's there because I want this particular reward.
But I don't really want to keep living this routine.
I don't want to keep choosing this routine.
If that's you, I just invite you, you can start in the middle of Lent,
so you don't have to be like, "Oh, I missed Ash Wednesday. I can't do it now."
Yes, you can.
What happens then is that keystone penance ends up changing my habits,
and my habits then are oriented towards excellence
and that life of excellence is oriented towards my internal character.
Because at the end of the day, this is not just about like eliminating bad habits.
At the end of the day, this is about conversion,
this is about living in freedom, this is about living as Christ in this world.
This Lent, what are some keystone penances you could do that would lead to your freedom?
Some keystone penances you could do
that will be able to not only just change how I live my life but actually change my heart.
From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name is Father Mike.
God bless.