Here it is again, that time in the church year when we are asked to pare down, give up something and gather a few coins for the poor: all in preparation for Easter? How is it that we Catholics can breathe new life into these practices and grow as people of God from them?
On February 12 we took a look at Lenten practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Eighteen people gathered to talk about how we enter the wilderness with Jesus for 40 days and 40 nights when we commit to fasting. This can be like a sweatlodge experience from which we emerge, more clear and more focused about our lives. We know, especially from past experience, that we will be tempted to abandon our fast, just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. People shared new ideas about what we can fast from. Consider fasting from sarcasm or gossip, or perhaps take a break from Facebook or other social media. People were wonderfully creative in their thoughts.
Enter prayer. Jesus leaned on the word of God and Fr. Rick offered us several options for encountering the word including Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina. Fr. even offered to coach anyone who wanted to learn more and practice the Liturgy of the Hours. By carving out time to pray, we undergird our lives against temptation and strengthen our commitment to God’s guidance.
Finally, we looked at almsgiving as a way to share from our abundance and to relieve some of the suffering we see around us. Ideas included reaching out to others who might be lonely or just feeling overlooked, sending notes, greeting people with smiles, and praying for individuals.
Lent is a great time to grow spiritually and if we give it some time and effort, these practices might offer us a way to do that. People left with a renewed sense of possibilities and insights about the traditional practices of Lent – fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.