The season of Lent is a period of 40 days leading us to the death and Resurrection of Jesus. The word ‘Lent’ comes from the old English word ‘lenten’, or ‘springtime. As a penitential season, Lent provides us with the opportunity to do some spiritual spring cleaning in our own lives, to make room for Jesus.                

How do we prepare ourselves for Lent? The Church recommends prayer, fasting and works of love. The prophet Joel tells us in our 1st reading: “Rend your hearts, not your garments... Return to me with all your heart with fasting, with weeping and with mourning. Return to the Lord, your God, who is slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”                 

While our Lenten practices may include ‘fasting’ from something, or ‘doing’ an action of some kind, the main purpose of Lent is to help us repent from our sins and to allow Jesus permission to live at the centre of our lives. The kind of fast that God asks from us is the surrender of our own will and acceptance and love for accepting his Divine will in our lives, so that we can be better stewards of our souls and be happy in this life and the next.                       

Lent is a time for us to examine ourselves, instead of others. Lent is a time for us to examine those areas of moral weaknesses in our own lives, or those areas of unrepentant anger, or unforgiveness, or unwarranted fears.                      

Whenever we expose our brokenness before the Lord, and open our hearts to His grace, His mercy will come to us! To help us prepare for Lent, the Church recommends prayer, fasting, and works of love. Lent gives us a chance to examine our lives more closely, instead of scrutinizing the lives of others.                       

These are some suggestions for helping us improve our lives during the season of Lent:  

1. go to confession                      
2. attend Daily Mass, if possible                             
3. spend some quiet time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament                       
4. read Scripture and acquaint yourself with the Catholic Catechism                           
5. pray the Rosary                           
6. participate in the Stations of the Cross on the Fridays
7. shut down the electronics for an hour a day, and go for a walk instead
8. do an act of kindness to someone each day.

                       

Fr. Pierre