APPETIZER: "The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister to him.At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks. By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert. The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving,which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others." (CCC #538, 540, 1434)
MAIN COURSE: The above quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in a few powerful words both he meaning and the purpose of Lent. Notice that there is no mention whatsoever of Easter (which is how most of us would begin to define Lent). This is because while Lent is a indeed period of preparation for the Easter Mystery of Resurrection, its focus is not on Easter Sunday but according tot he CCC, it is on Jesus in his 40 days in the desert. The purpose for this re-living is so that we, in and with Jesus, can be strengthened against temptation. Then, having applied ourselves sincerely to this task we hope to be able to celebrate Easter with stronger faith, greater hope and more genuine love. The way we train ourselves for this spiritual battle is with the tools of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. And it is from these that we have received our traditional Lenten project of "giving up" and "doing more" during this holy season. So, let's take a look at each one of these "good works of Lent".
1. Fasting. While this originally referred to abstinence from food (which remains its primary meaning), it is also correct to expand our understanding of fasting to include refraining from anything that promotes excessive self-indulgence. The aim of fasting is to discipline ourselves for the sake of love. It's goal is to help us live the proper ordering o love that Jesus taught us in the Great Commandment: love and serve God first, others second, ourselves last.
2. Prayer. The age-old definition of prayer is "raising the mind and the heart to God." In other words prayer is simply our awareness of the divine presence around us and within us, as well as conversation with God.Prayer can be spoken or unspoken, formal or from the heart, in words and simply in thoughts. No matter what form it takes the point is this: by prayer we cultivate our relationship with God just as we use conversation to nurture our relationships with family and friends.
3. Almsgiving. Almsgiving simply means the sharing of our money with those who are in need. Like fasting, it has all taken on an expanded definition to include the various ways we can give of our time, talent and treasure to serve the needs of the poor and suffering. And quite often, especially in Lent, both fasting and almsgiving have a direct relationship: the money we save by fasting is collected and donated to support the various works of mercy. In this way our fasting is other-oriented and our almsgiving gives motivation to our fasting.
So by Ash Wednesday we should have in mind some personal plan for Lent that includes each one of these three spiritual practices. What kind of fasting will enable me to say no to selfishness and yes to generosity? How's my prayer-relationship with God and how can I improve it? What organization that carries out works of mercy will be my focus for Lenten almsgiving?
Lent is the Church's special season of penance. During this season we have days of abstinence from meat as well as two days of fasting from our regular form and style of eating. During the Fridays of Lent, Roman Catholics are to abstain from meat, in union with the fasting of Jesus, and in memory of Christ’s death on a Friday. All Catholics age 14 and older are expected to abstain from meat so as to be part of a “corporate” penance that we all offer to God as a sign of sorrow for sin. Of course, those who can’t do so for health reasons, along with pregnant and nursing women, are obviously exempted.
So by Ash Wednesday we should have in mind some personal plan for Lent that includes each one of these three spiritual practices. What kind of fasting will enable me to say no to selfishness and yes to generosity? How's my prayer-relationship with God and how can I improve it? What organization that carries out works of mercy will be my focus for Lenten almsgiving?
Lent is the Church's special season of penance. During this season we have days of abstinence from meat as well as two days of fasting from our regular form and style of eating. During the Fridays of Lent, Roman Catholics are to abstain from meat, in union with the fasting of Jesus, and in memory of Christ’s death on a Friday. All Catholics age 14 and older are expected to abstain from meat so as to be part of a “corporate” penance that we all offer to God as a sign of sorrow for sin. Of course, those who can’t do so for health reasons, along with pregnant and nursing women, are obviously exempted.
In addition to abstaining from meat on all Lent Fridays, there are
two required days of fasting during Lent: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. All Roman Catholics ages 18-60 are required to
both fast and abstain from meat on these two days (unless health reasons forbid
it). In
1966, Pope St. Paul VI said that the Church’s “law of fasting allows only one
full meal a day, but does not prohibit taking some food in the morning and
evening.” This is often taken to mean that the most Catholics should eat on a
day of fasting is one normal sized meal--with no meat--and two smaller snacks.
DOGGIE BAG: Here are a few things to take away with you for spiritual snacking throughout your day.
Quote from Pope Francis: "Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt."
Catholic Customs: The Station of the Cross. Also called the Way of the Cross this is a Catholic devotion that commemorates the first Good Friday. The Stations devotion originated when Christians could no longer go on pilgrimage to the actual sites of Jesus' Passion in Jerusalem due to Islamic threats to their safety and lives. The14 stations that make-up this prayer-devotion focus on specific events of Jesus' last day, beginning with His condemnation by Pilate and ending with his Burial in the tomb. At each station, the individual recalls and meditates on a specific event from the Passion. The Stations of the Cross are commonly found in churches as a series of 14 small icons or images. They can also appear in church yards arranged along paths. Most parishes hold this devotion on Friday nights during Lent and many Catholics make this part of their yearly Lenten devotions.
Scripture Verse to Memorize: "Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!" (Hebrews 4:15 CEV)
Quote from Pope Francis: "Lent is a fitting time for self-denial; we would do well to ask ourselves what we can give up in order to help and enrich others by our own poverty. Let us not forget that real poverty hurts: no self-denial is real without this dimension of penance. I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt."
Scripture Verse to Memorize: "Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin!" (Hebrews 4:15 CEV)
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