The Lenten Season is upon us! Ash Wednesday is just two days away. What do you have planned? Lent is a call to holiness. We are called to increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We are called to make a conscious effort to give more of ourselves, to sacrifice ourselves in memory of the ultimate sacrifice Christ made for us! In past blogs, I’ve made mention of moving out of our comfort zone. Lent is a perfect time to do just that. If you haven’t done so already in preparation for Lent, take the next two days to really think of ways you can stretch yourself a bit more for Christ. Too often we go above and beyond for ourselves and our own interests, but we fail to sacrifice more time for God. If we want to lose weight and feel better about ourselves, we make provisions to fit working out and healthy eating into our already busy schedules but how often do we make provisions to fit God in to our busy lives. We wake up earlier if we need to do something that is going to benefit us, but do we think about waking up earlier to attend 7am mass before work? We have the perfect excuse for not attending mass more than 1x a week, don’t we? We have to work! We have no problem scheduling lunch and dinner dates with friends or spending hours in front of a television or on social media, but do we make time to spend with Jesus, to sit quietly and feel His Presence? To enjoy the beauty of His creation? Do we put Him first?
Lent is more than giving up chocolate or fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It’s about the opportunity to develop a mind and heart focused on the will of God. Last year, in my church bulletin there was printed a short blurb entitled Fast or Feast. I thought it was great. So often we think of fasting as refraining from food, but this adds a whole new perspective to the idea of fasting. Here it is:
FAST OR FEAST
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude
fast from anger; feast on patience
fast from pessimism; feast on optimism
fast from worry; feast on trust in God’s providence
fast from complaining; feast on appreciation
fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives
fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on prayer
fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness
fast from words that pollute; feast on words that purify
fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others
fast from discouragement; feast on hope
fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift
fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm
fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence
fast from judging others; feast on Christ within them
Some things to ponder! Another focus of Lent is almsgiving – a call to be charitable. Time and money are always the first things we think about when speaking of charity. But as with fasting, there’s so much to charity than time and money. We are charitable when we display mercy, forgiveness, compassion, generosity and empathy, just to name a few. For example, do you know of someone who is elderly, lonely or sick? Have you given any thought to sharing a meal or a laugh with that person. Is there something you can do for them to make their lives easier or something you can do to put a smile on their face? Do you know of anyone who is depressed or someone who has experienced tragedy in their lives? Be a voice of encouragement for them or simply show them you care by inviting them over for a cup of coffee. In addition, most of us are blessed to live with ” more than enough” – this Lent we should seize the opportunity to simplify our lives – give away some of the things we “have” but don’t necessarily “need.”
Make this season one of challenge. Don’t fall into the same annual routine, step outside your comfort zone. They say it takes 21 days of repeated activity to develop a habit (don’t ask me who “they” are, I just know it has worked for me so it must be true! LOL!) So let’s vow to wakeup an hour earlier each day to pray or read the bible, try lectio divina (see the explanation on the page at the top of this site), try to quiet your mind long enough to meditate (NO doing meditation focused on God does not allow the devil to come in – meditation IS a form of prayer). You may want to try a guided meditation first. Instead of attending mass or service once a week on Sunday, try to attend 2-3 times a week. If you’re Catholic, attend stations of the cross and Eucharistic adoration whenever possible. Start a reading group in your church (I’m adding recommended reading for Lent on the recommended reading page of this site) – commit to meet once a week during Lent. Make a pilgrimage to another church, monastery or holy site. If you’re Catholic and rarely pray the rosary – this is the perfect time to develop the habit, it’s such a powerful prayer. Take it from someone who has done it. The more you do, the more you want to do and amazingly the “time” is available – you’ll have enough time for it all and then some – just as long as you stop focusing on how much time you “don’t” have.
Think about changing just one part of your routine this Lenten season, add something to it, focus more on God. You may think you already do enough, but stretch yourself a bit more, show God how much you love Him – for we love Him because He loved us first! May this Lenten journey be one of spiritual growth and renewal. Be sure to check out the recommended reading and resources for Lenten suggestions. God bless you!
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