The Lenten Virtues: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving

         

  

       

       As we have just begun the season of Lent a few days ago, on Ash Wednesday, we too like our Lord have now entered into the desert for forty days and nights.  Our Lord entered into the desert to prepare Himself for His public ministry.  It was a time in which He emptied Himself of things and needs of this world and opened Himself up to His heavenly Father.  He did what we all do when we want to prepare ourselves well for something that we care about deeply.  Just like the athlete trains his or her body to the ultimate point of physicality, like the actor who goes over his or her script hundreds of times until they become the character they play, or the good student who studies hours each and every day to procure an “A,” so too do we as Christians, we strive for the imperishable crown, to be shaped into Christ, and receive an “A” from our Heavenly Father in the life of virtue we all strive to live.

          But, virtue comes with practice and Lent is that time of practice.  However, in order to prepare ourselves we need to know how and what to practice.  I will let you know now what is we ought to practice.  There are three things that the early Church Fathers saw as pivotal in the shaping of our Christian lives, especially during the season of Lent, which is fasting, almsgiving, and prayer.

          Let’s begin with fasting.  Why do we fast and how should we fast?  We fast not to lose weight, though I am sure I can stand to lose some if not more than some.  We fast in order to remind ourselves that we rely on God to get us through difficulty, and more importantly to be aware of God’s presence.  When we fast, you see, we feel hunger pangs; our stomachs let us know that we are hungry.  Whenever we feel those pangs they are to be gentle reminders, “Dear Lord I need you.”  This puts us into God’s care and in His presence, it helps empty us of everything else around us that may distract us, it is basically a form of practice, like a practice drill in football or soccer, which reminds the athlete of a particular move or game like situation, readying our minds and bodies.

          In terms of how we should fast, we follow the prescripts of the Church, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence, meaning only one regular meal with two very small meals throughout day, and no meat.  Every Friday in Lent is also a day of fast, simply no meat.  We are also encouraged to take up some form of penance or the practice of a virtue, which is left up to the individual believer.  I would encourage adults to take up something meaningful, like working on patience, compassion, justice.  It’s nice to give up sugar, soda, cookies, but St. Paul encourages us to grow in our faith, “Get off the spiritual milk,” and become mature.

          Almsgiving, all of us can always give more and not simply out of abundance but out of our very need.  I am well aware that people are thinking, “Ok, here we go again, the priest asking us for more money.”  I hardly ever ask the Parishioners for more money or any money at all.  Yet, sometimes we need to be reminded of this, “giving,” not only to the parish but to the poor.  We resist this sometimes because we justify our not giving, for example, “I will not give to the poor because they should be working,” or “I don’t have enough to give,” or “I have given enough.”  I don’t know how much you give or if that poor person is legitimately poor or not, but Christ will not ask us if we knew those things, He will only ask, “Did you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, because you know that was me?”

          Finally, prayer our life line with God.  In the Church we have many forms of prayer, set prayers, petitionary prayer, intercessory prayer, Divine Office, rosary, novenas, meditative and reflective prayer, Charismatic prayer, prayer off the cuff for lack of a better term, simply tons of different prayers and prayer styles.  I cannot impress upon you enough the importance prayer and any form which you use is good.  I do recommend along with your prayer in order to keep focus or follow a theme is to accompany your prayer with a good spiritual book or reading.  There are many good books out there, the bible being one of them.  But there are books such as “The Confessions” from St. Augustine, “Mere Christianity,” from C.S. Lewis, “Life is Worth Living,” by Bishop Fulton Sheen, “Walking the Little Way with St. Therese of Lisieux,” and many others.  Spiritual reading helps us to reflect deeply on our interior lives as well as motivating us towards prayer.

          Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, the three virtues of Lent.  To become Saints these virtues should be practiced because even though the Mass is the central point, the foundation of Christian faith, Mass only lasts one hour, there still remain 167 hours in the week, what are we doing in those 167 hours, all of which belong to the Lord?  Lent reminds us, that each moment, each hour, and every day is the Lord’s.  Let’s make this Lent a great one, one in which we truly pray, fast, and give to the poor, all of which the Lord has already in abundance in His earthly life and even now from heaven. Amen

By FJ