Lent – to Fast, to Pray, to Give and to Reflect

February 18, 2015 begins the season of Great Lent once again this year.  We, as Polish National Catholics, have traveled through 3 weeks of preparation for this time of reflection and penitential action and now we find ourselves beginning the time of reforming ourselves.

We have heard about the attitude that we are to have during this Lenten season in the three Pre-Lenten Sundays that we have most recently celebrated. Especially during this last Pre-Lenten Sunday in the Gospel of Mark we hear the question posed to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees fast while yours do not?”  The answer comes from Jesus, “So long as the groom stays with them, they cannot fast.  The day will come, however, when the groom will be taken away from them; on that day they will fast.” (Mark 2:18b, 19b-20)

This passage is often seen as a reference to the fact that the day was coming when Jesus would be taken away from them in the crucifixion and following this, in sorrow they would fast.  Or that the time of fasting would be only after Jesus had ascended into heaven and was no longer physically with the Church.  But we can also see this reading in another way as well.

Jesus uses language here which reminds those to whom He was speaking of a wedding, of a covenanted relationship.  He speaks of Himself as the groom and that all must celebrate while the groom is still at the wedding.  To those who were asking Jesus these questions they knew that this
wedding relationship was exactly the same kind of relationship that God had with His people.  It was a covenant, one based on love for each other and promises made to each other.

As we look further into these verses of Scripture, we see that Jesus tells us that fasting, as well as other penitential practices, will occur among His followers when the groom is taken away.  In other words this occurs when the covenant is somehow damaged.  Now certainly we know that God is faithful to His word and promises and our Lord Jesus, as His Son, is steadfast as well.  So therefore any damage done to the covenant that each of us has with God is done on our own part.  Fasting, and other penitential practices, must be done because we are sinners.
Because we often fail in our way through life we must once again reconnect to the God Who loves and cares for us and we do this through the Lenten penitential practices.  In order to be forgiven and repair the relationship between ourselves and God, we must examine our lives and through action resolve to do better.

During this time of year, we know that the practices of fasting, giving and prayer are supposed to be the actions which define the Lenten season.  We are called to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, to abstain from meat on the Wednesday and Fridays of Lent, to increase our time of prayer and time spent in devotions like Stations of the Cross and Bitter Lamentations, and also we are to give to worthy causes and especially reexamine our giving to our parish churches.

While all of these practices are good self-discipline for each of us, one of the most important things that they accomplish within our lives is for us to once again live examined lives.  We can begin to see this as we look at the practice of fasting and abstinence.  We know that we must give up meat on the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent.  Some could immediately think, that’s fine I’ll just eat lobster and quiche and everything will be fine.  This may fulfill the letter of the law but it does not help us to examine our lives.  What is called for is for us to give some attention to our daily habits.  It takes some planning to make meatless meals for the Lenten season, and we can no longer just stop by the local fast-food joint for a quick burger.  We need to think about our diet, and so many thoughts come to bear here.  Do we realize that the food we eat, as well as all the other things that we so casually use within our lives, are a gift from God?  Do we realize that there are many individuals, both in our own country and throughout the world, who go hungry on a regular basis?  For the season of Lent, fasting and abstinence allows us to give some thought to what it might be to live poor and hungry.  It also inspires us to examine our own lives asking, are we gluttonous and selfish in our eating or possibly in other areas of our life?  Again fasting and abstinence, forces us to examine this portion of our daily lives.

Likewise the Lenten practice of increased giving causes us to ask questions and give consideration.  First this Lenten practice requires us to begin to think a bit.  How is my giving at the present time?  Do I plan my giving, or just donate to my parish what I have left over at that moment?  Once we begin to look at these questions, we are then beginning, once again, to live examined lives.  So then we can go further.  If I desire to give more, to whom should I give?  And in fact, am I supporting the important spiritual parts of my life, like my parish church, enough in the present?

And lastly, of course, there is the Lenten practice of increased prayer.  Although some would see this as the easiest of the Lenten practices to adopt, I have often found that it is in fact the most difficult.  This is because it asks us to sacrifice the one thing that people of today find the most precious, their time.  If we are to increase our prayer life, we must take the time to participate in these devotions, whether at Church or even in the privacy of our homes.  But of course the issue of increased prayer life then also brings forward many other questions.  Do we take a few moments upon rising to thank God for another day to serve Him as well as others around us?  Do we take a moment to give thanks before we partake of a meal?  Do we take a moment to pray for those who are important within our lives?  If we do take this time we again are beginning to live lives that are examined.  We begin to realize that there is a connection to God all around us.  We stop living and going through our day in a habitual way and rather, we are in connection with God at each and every moment.

So my brothers and sisters, the Church asks us to fast and abstain, to increase our giving and to increase our prayer life.  But in all of this the Church is really asking us to examine our lives as well as the motivation for all of the things that we do.  We are to do these Lenten practices with an eye toward examining our lives, removing sin and growing closer to God.  So I encourage you to live the practices of this Lenten season – to take seriously the disciplines of fasting and abstinence, increased giving and increased prayer.  But through them and because of them, I encourage you to live an examined life.  Get in contact with the God Who created you, forgives you and loves you.  Know that it is through these practices, and not just because of them alone, that we can better know the God Who loves us and our role in His kingdom.

Praying that all will have a holy, fruitful and spiritually fulfilling Lent.