Today the Church begins its annual 40-Day journey through Lent which calls us as Christians to step back from our normal routines and focus a little more closely on the life of Christ. Traditionally three Lenten practices are encouraged to be undertaken throughout this season, namely, Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving.

The practice of fasting is an age-old exercise in voluntarily going without food (or any other regularly enjoyed, good gift from God). It is markedly counter-cultural in our consumerist society. This ancient practice of self-sacrifice is one that is highlighted many times in scripture and was utilized by Jesus himself when he went into the desert for 40 days to pray. The early Desert Fathers and Mothers of our church likewise made this ritual a regular practice which was passed down through the ages to both monastic life and eventually as common practices for all church goers. It is not necessary about refraining just from food, but more about the offering of the sacrifice and our attitude.

Abba Isidore, one of the early Desert Fathers expressed it this way when he said, “If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride; if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and glorify himself.”

May the small sacrifice the we might make and fast from this Lent allow us to greater appreciate the many gifts we are so richly blessed with in our lives as well as lead us to reflect more on the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us.

Finding more quality time for prayer and reflection on the life of Jesus during this season is essential to anyone who hopes to benefit from the graces offered by these sacred days. The old proverb, “You’ll never repent a Lent well-spent!”, continues to be wise advice for the interior life of any Christian. There are countless worthy and insightful daily Lenten prayer resources easily available to us if we simply commit the needed time to allow our prayer lives to be deepened during these days. 

Finally the ritual of Almsgiving is a valuable treasure not only to the recipients of such good deeds, but most importantly to the person making the sacrifice of helping another through some voluntary good deed or action. One does not need to look too far in today’s world to find a stranger in need of help. In addition to making a possible donation to one of our many needed charities of choice, maybe this year an opportunity might arise to allow us to look into the eyes of a stranger in need and see their gratitude for our treating them with dignity, respect and love. A good friend of mine never gives money to any of the countless homeless folks on our streets. He instead will take that opportunity to buy that person a cup of coffee, a sandwich or something to eat. He will also spend a minute or two with them and come to know their name. I have often heard my friend pray for some of those same names. Almsgiving truly should allow us to come to appreciate the words of St. Francis of Assisi, who said, “For it is in giving that we receive.”

Blessings on your Lenten Journey. May these days that you travel with Jesus allow you to hear His voice speaking to your heart!