FR PETE: A different way of thinking about Great and Holy Lent.

There are some who wince at the mere mention of Lent. They think of the “sacrifices”, the things they have to give up. May I suggest there is a much better way to approach this grace filled season? Consider it as a spring-time for the soul, an interior “house cleaning” of all those elements of our fallen nature that constantly creep into our lives. Sometimes we are so used to them we don’t realize how harmful they really are in making spiritual progress and could threaten our salvation. The three pillars of any authentic spiritual life are what the Lord tells us in the Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday: fasting, giving alms and prayer.

asting: Clearly this implies giving up food. When I was in the seminary I began to adopt the Eastern Christian practice of giving up meat and dairy products for Lent. I do not recommend this practice to beginners. The first two years I did it I became sick. But I do suggest that giving up a meal a few times a week or keeping one’s meals quite simple, even if eating out at a restaurant, is a good practice. Before fasting, ask the Lord for His strength to fast. Every year the Lenten Fast reminds me of just how blessed I am to be in a nation where food is in plentiful supply and yet there are people in our own community who cannot afford to feed themselves or their families without assistance. It reminds me of how ungrateful I usually am as I go to the supermarket or mindlessly shove food into my mouth forgetting what a blessing it is. Fasting is a wonderful corrective to ingratitude. In addition, consider fasting from those wonderful snack foods we so enjoy and have become a habit. Consider giving the money you would otherwise spend on food and snack items to our local Food Pantry. While fasting from food consider fasting from the steady diet of gossip, anger, bitterness and resentments and instead feast on kindness and forgiveness. Giving alms. Give to those who are in need. Very simple and yet very powerful. If that makes you uncomfortable, give to a charity in the community that serves the poor. Prayer. -Make attendance at a daily Mass a priority. -On the parish website the daily Scripture readings are made available. Dust off your Bible and read the daily texts for Lent. Ask God to open your mind and heart to the power of His transformative Word. -How long has it been since you prayed the Rosary? -Do you know the “Jesus Prayer”? It is a marvelous devotion from the Eastern Church. It is very simple. You can use your Rosary beads if you wish. It goes: “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” -Take advantage of the opportunity to enter into the Mystery of our Lord’s Passion through the devout celebration of the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings. -Create a time where you can devote a few minutes of prayer to God. All prayer should follow a pattern: first, praise God for all He has done for you; second, petition God for your needs and the needs of others; third, and most important, thanking God. Prayer is so simple and yet can be a transforming experience because it calls us to open ourselves to the graces God desires to give us.