Lent: A time to deepen our contact with the Lord.

Today’s Gospel tells of the unproductive fig tree which the owner wants to cut down and get rid of. That fig tree can represent for us people in our lives who don’t meet up to our personal standards and so we cut them out of our lives. In the Gospel, the gardener asks for a reprieve again for the tree and promises to bring it back to life. That is Jesus in our lives. He constantly gives us reprieves, forgiveness, second and many more chances to change.

Let Lent be the time when we cultivate our relationships with family, friends and neighbors. Let it be a time to deepen our contact with the Lord so that we can produce good fruit: patience, understanding, forgiveness, and kindness.