This Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent, marks the halfway point in the Lenten Season. Maybe this is a good time to reflect a bit on my observance of the Season, and if needed to make a midcourse correction.
Lent is a period of conversion, of serious preparation for a new way of thinking. From the earliest days of the Church prayer, fasting and almsgiving have been the hallmark of Lenten observance.
Prayer: What is my prayer life like? Is there a particular place where I do my daily prayer? Do I have a regular time for daily prayer? If so, what does the prayer time consist of? Am I faithful to this daily prayer? Do I prepare for the Sunday Liturgy? Do I review the scripture readings for Sunday Mass? What can I do to make my prayer time the center of my day?
Fasting: Fasting is not dieting. Fasting is resetting my approach to the use of things and patterns of consumerism. Fasting is the occasion to identify what it is that I need to step back from in order to live a Gospel oriented life. From what do I need to fast? To what am I addicted? How can less become more for me?
Almsgiving: Do I really believe that all that I am and all that I have is fundamentally a gift of God? Do I truly believe that I am to use my resources and to share what I have with others, especially those most in need? Am I willing to “slim down” my life in order to provide for those who do not have the basic needs? Am I a good steward of what God entrusted to me?
Fr. Steve Adrian
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