LENT – THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Lent begins with an invitation from God: “Come back to me, with all your heart” (see Joel 2:12). Our Lenten journey is our response to God’s invitation.

“Lent” is a shortening of the word “lengthen,” used to describe the increasing amount of daylight each day: the harbinger of spring and new life.Spring for many is a time of cleaning, and Lent is a time for spiritual spring cleaning. We clean out the clutter that has accumulated in our lives to make more room for God and one another.

Liturgical Math: Counting Forty Days: Mathematically speaking, there are 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. So how did we get forty? It was developed not by means of math but by theology. Every Sunday is Easter, even during the Lenten season, for every Sunday is a memorial of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When we subtract the six Sundays of Lent from the total we end up with forty.

Lenten Practices: Catholics are encouraged in Lent to cultivate three religious practices: fasting/ abstinence, prayer, and almsgiving. The purpose of our Lenten practices is to discipline ourselves to be attuned to the activity of God in our lives.

Fasting/Abstinence: Fasting is making do with less food. The result is a heightened sense of awareness. When we overeat, we have a sluggish feeling. When we fast, we are more alert and open to the activities of God in our lives. Fasting cleanses our bodies and prepares us to pray more deeply

To abstain is to refrain from eating meat as an act of penance and sacrifice. Since innumerable people in the world cannot afford to eat meat, our abstaining can put us in solidarity with the hungry and poor of the world.

Prayer: Prayer describes raising the mind and heart to God or talking with God. Personal prayer is not dependent upon saying the right words or being in the right place. Prayer is as essential as oxygen is for the body. By praying daily, we become conscious of the life breath of God in us every day. As St. Pope John XXIII put it, “Praying is like breathing. A day without prayer is like a sky without the sun, a garden without flowers.”

Almsgiving: One of the marks of being a disciple of Jesus is giving alms. It is not limited to providing money to our favorite charity but rather the giving of time, talent, and treasure.

As you begin your Lenten journey this year, consider how God may be inviting you to stretch yourself to live out the season more fully.