As we quickly approach the Lenten season, I am fascinated with reading blogs and surveys of what other Catholics are doing to prepare themselves for this time. Some are going the healthy route and some are going the spritual route. What route are you taking?
Topic of the Day: To Give Up or To Give?
I can remember growing up- that when Lent came around, we had to give up our favorite item, whether that was candy or soda etc and then we couldn’t eat meat on Fridays. I remember giving up cokes and then feeling so withdrawn all during Lent and counting down the days until Easter because I knew the Easter Bunny would have me a 12 pack of cokes in my basket when I woke up Sunday morning. It was more a reward system to be honest. Like hey you Catholic over there! Me and God got it going on! So you go ahead and refrain from eating something yummy and unhealthy and the bunny got your back and will fulfill your sweet tooth tenfold on Easter Sunday.
Boy was this the wrong way to look at it. However, there are still a lot of Catholics who do this. I was surprised to read “soda, candy, fried foods,” etc as the item being “given up.” Now these blogs and surveys are obviously not done by children so do you think there are a lot of “practicing Catholics” still doing this? I’m not sure. I hope not. At least I hope to think they are doing it with better understanding of Catholicism. Let’s dig deeper…
Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. The trifecta of Lent. Pretty simple right?
Prayer. Okay so I know I need to pray during Lent. Got it. Do I commit to praying a rosary everyday? Do I attend Adoration at least once during the week for an hour? Do I allot extra time in the morning to pray for special intentions? Whatever you do, remember that this isn’t just a checklist of Lent preparations. Prayer-check. 10 “Our Fathers” everyday-check. Nooooooo. If all you are doing is a prayer checklist you will be more focused on achieving this goal of prayer then achieving the goal of how YOU are being and becoming during prayer. Prepare yourself for prayer. Don’t worry about committing to a certain amount of time or number of prayers. Commit yourself and become alive in Christ!
Fasting & Abstinence. Awesome. Crawfish boils and shrimp etoufee and all the yummy seafood in between! Finally a good reason to splurge on my meal for Fridays! Nope. Not really. All too often this is the thought process during Lent. Fasting means to eat one full meal and two smaller meals may be eaten but they can’t equal that of a full meal. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence; while Fridays during Lent are only obligatory days of abstinence. This doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t eat seafood. This abstaining from meat on Fridays is about the spirit of the meal. Are you going to a huge crawfish boil on Good Friday where it’s an all day “event” rather than a day of true fasting and abstinence? Sure it may be abstaining from meat, but in the spirit of it all, is it really a prayerful day? The point of this is-use common sense about fasting and abstinence. We don’t want to express signs of gluttony during this time.
Almsgiving. This means to contribute to charity. So yes! If your church parish or Knights of Columbus are doing a fish fry on Fridays during Lent, by all means go and support them! If you can’t give monetarily, that’s okay! Give your time. Call your church office and ask if there is something you can do to help. Check on an elderly parishioner, offer to watch your neighbor’s children so they can attend Adoration and ask them to return the favor or simply use your talents and give someone a hand when you can. That may be tutoring a child for free, mowing someone’s grass who is ill or helping someone move. Whatever you decide to do, do it with committing yourself to pleasing God by doing his works and blessing others.
As we get closer to the start of Lent, let’s think about the reason we have this season. As we are preparing ourselves, we think back as to how Jesus prepared. The sacrifices and fasting for 40 days and nights- leading up to his death and Resurrection. Use this Lenten season to become closer to Christ and deepen your relationship with Him. Create spiritual and better personal habits that you can continue even after Easter. Truly understand the purpose of Lent and don’t just give up something. Give your time, give your attention, give special intentions in prayer, give your church the commitment it needs to continue to provide you with a place to grow closer to God.
Hugs and Loves,
Ali
“Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.” Psalms 73:26
