Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
The Ninevites show us what penance is about. They take on acts of reparation, turn from their evil ways, and hope that “God may relent and forgive” (Jon. 3:9). Anyone may endure suffering. What the Ninevites seek to do is restore love. What they do is not about proving their toughness, making them better people, or even self-punishment for wrong-doing. All these goals are self-referential. What the Ninevites do is in reference to another. Their penance is about hope in the Lord’s mercy and re-establishing the love that should exist between us and God.
G.K. Chesterton compared the severe penances of St. Francis of Assisi to a young man offering candy and flowers to a young lady: it is an offering of love. We do penance as a way of showing God we love Him, by giving to Him the good things in our lives. We have acted as though we do not love God, and now we must make an offering to show that we do love God. In that love of God, we have hope. We hope that God in His love will guide us to eternal life, and allow us to spend our days with Him. As with the Ninevites, our Lenten penance must lead us to hope in the Lord.