When I was a little kid, I remember that I confused the Church season of Lent with the stuff that comes out of the lint screen on the dryer filter (out of the mouths of babes... right?) And although the only parallel between lint and Lent that I can think of is a bit corny, it does sort of work. So here goes...
Just like we need to remove the excess lint from the dryer to keep the dryer from catching fire, so do we need to remove the things from our lives that keep us from drawing closer to God, and that could potentially lead us to "burn out" as it were. (I warned you it was corny!)
So how do we do this? In a day and age where the vast majority of Christians view Lent as that time of year where we have to give something up that we love, with every intention of gorging ourselves with chocolate/coffee/alcohol/whatever we gave up on Easter Sunday, we fail to see the true meaning and power that Lent has. I once saw a sad statistic that there are more Domestic Violence cases on Easter Sunday than any other day of the year. The reason? People who gave up Alcohol for Lent going to the liquor store on Easter Sunday, buying a 12 pack, drinking the whole thing in one sitting, and proceeding to beat up on another family member.
If we are going to learn anything from our Lenten observance, we have to make it our goal to not just give something up for the 40 days of Lent, but to learn to be more faithful followers of Christ, and to seek to draw closer to Him. And then, (and here's the challenge) to strive to CONTINUE what we have begun after Lent is over!
How do we do this? By using the three pillars of the Lenten Season: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving. Words that no doubt strike fear into the Hearts of Catholics (and for that matter, Christians too!) But it doesn't have to be that way- if we approach it right. Here are some ideas I have for how to implement these three pillars this Lent.
Prayer- This Lent, try to do something more than what you would normally do in your day to day prayer life. It can be as simple as praying the Rosary, spending a few minutes each day doing some sort of spiritual reading, or meditation, scripture study/reflection, or anything that you feel would help to strengthen your relationship with God. I would also suggest taking the time once a week to pray and meditate on the Stations of the Cross- Most Parishes will have them available on Friday evenings, so take advantage of it!
Fasting- Rule #1: Don't fast/abstain from meat just because the Church tells you you have to!!!! Use it as a chance to express some sign of solidarity with the poor. This can tie into your almsgiving as well (more on that in a bit.) Here are a couple suggestions, based on a book I've been reading called "The Spirituality of Fasting" by Msgr. Charles M. Murphy. First off, remember that Fasting is an act of humility, and it helps us to right our relationship with God, and to more fully recognize our spiritual hunger through our physical hunger. By disciplining our body by fasting, we also learn how to more fully discipline other aspects of our lives as well. We must also remember that a Lenten "fast" (taking on more of the penitential aspect of fasting) can also be tied into our "giving something up"- (that latte from starbucks, maybe?) so that we seek to draw closer to God.
Almsgiving- As I alluded to earlier, fasting and almsgiving can be tied together in this way: If you give up Starbucks, or sweets, or whatever: figure out how much money you would have spent on those items, and give that money to charity. In that way, your fasting can have a purpose, because you know that the money you didn't spend on those items is going to a good cause.
Hopefully this helps a bit! As a young Novice, I'm still learning a lot of this myself, but hey, I gotta start practicing preaching sometime, so I might as well turn to the blogosphere to start getting the message out there!
May you have a Blessed Lent, in which you are renewed by your desire to draw closer to God. And after your "desert" journey, may you find new joy and happiness in the Easter Season. God Bless!
