 Over the years I have found that the Lenten seasons that were the most challenging were actually the most impactful. Of course, every year is experienced differently, but the lesson is that challenge can become the source of greatest growth. Lenten seasons in which I took on too much became overwhelming; thus, challenge is not about taking on a lot, but rather it can emerge from even the seemingly simplest of commitments. If God wants to challenge us, He will. Therefore, it is important not to overdo it, nor should we allow the struggle to be a temptation point for the evil one who wants to convince us that we blew the opportunity, urging, "give up now and wait till next year for another go at it." In truth, the best way to proceed is to remember that Lent is about a change of heart and growth; it is about movement forward, a life-long work. We can always adjust by adding or subtracting within our Lenten commitments. But above all, understand that it is not what we do, it is the intention with which we do it. Our goal is not to impress God with our deprivation or spiritual prowess, it is to grow in our relationship with Him and ultimately to grow in our life of faith as His children.  However, we often lose sight of one of the deeper realities at the heart of our increased prayer, abstinence, and almsgiving. The Collect prayer * at the beginning of the Mass for Ash Wednesday provides an insight: at the end of the Penitential Rite, (just before the readings), the priest prayed: “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.” Ash Wednesday was a day of fasting as well as abstinence from meat, and so as a community we were petitioning God for strength during these 40 days. But remember that as we pray, so we believe; this prayer identified and alerted us to the battle against the spiritual evils that tempt us with greater fervor during Lent. Also note that this prayer enjoined God to fortify us with spiritual weapons that are needed both individually and together as a community. In other words, our personal efforts do not only benefit each person individually; they also have a profound effect upon the entire community of believers. If we keep this in mind, it can help us when we are feeling like what we are doing is fruitless. The truth is that our struggles and successes do have impact and power. Everything we do to uphold our Lenten commitment is done as a united community of faith and it affects the entire Body. We are one in the Lord.  Self-restraint is an act of the will by which we learn to conform our will to God’s. Therefore, like all of our efforts during Lent, it is a gift of love to Jesus. However, the foundation of this virtue is prayer, since prayer is the heart of our relationship with God. In fact, both abstinence and almsgiving, depend upon prayer and flow from it. Purposefully spending time with God strengthens the practice of self-denial (which requires self-restraint); in choosing prayer, we are abstaining from doing something else with that time. Therefore, our prayer will enhance the ability to practice abstinence, elevating it from an act of self-will, (or a type of exercise), to a free response of love. Similarly, prayer elevates our acts of almsgiving from obligations to be met into acts of true charity. If we take these virtues to prayer, they become free responses of love offered to God, and our spiritual practices become stronger weapons in battling the evils in the world.  Throughout our lives, but especially during Lent, there will be times when we are tempted by a great pull away from prayer (and therefore, our abstinence and charity), accompanied by dryness, and even weariness. Being tempted in this way requires steadfast trust in God’s grace in order to fight the spiritual battle that has arisen. This thought leads us back to the Collect at the start of Lent: our efforts at prayer, abstinence, and almsgiving are weapons in a spiritual war, and our usage of them will be effective if we hold fast to them with the help of grace. And just as Jesus was ministered to by angels at the end His time of temptation in the desert, so, too, does our community of faith, striving together through our combined efforts and strengthened by God’s grace, minister to one another through whatever our participation may be.  Finally, if prayer feels burdensome, if fasting and abstinence feel too difficult, or if almsgiving seems daunting, remember that it is not the size of the gift that counts, it is the intention of love with which we do it. ** We journey as a people of faith, a community of believers, One Body of Christ. If we feel like we are weakening, or that our efforts are inconsistent, remember that there are other members of the Body whose efforts are strength for us to tap into in that moment, and similarly, when we are feeling strong, our efforts are building up those who are faltering. In this way, we truly enter more deeply into the journey with Christ as He suffers and offers His Body and Blood for us. He is our strength, and as gifts of love, our Lenten commitments assist Him as He carries the cross to Calvary.  May we have courage in holding firm to our efforts at prayer, abstinence, and almsgiving during this Lent! May we find strength in the combined efforts of all of the faithful! And may we grow in love as we offer our efforts to the Lord knowing how much they mean to Him! Let us meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese NOTE: In order to immerse more fully in my own Lenten journey, I am "fasting" from blogging for the rest of Lent. I will offer my next new post on Easter Monday, April 21. My suggestion, if you would like something for Holy Week, is to spend time with an entry I posted in 2018. It is significantly longer than what I usually post so that you can take each of the days of Holy Week and read/reflect upon them separately, if you so choose. Here is the link: www.catanesesd.com/micheles-blog/archives/03-2018 Remember, everything in the Archives at the bottom of this page (or right side, depending on your browser) is always available. * The Collect, (pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, Kol-ekt,) is a prayer which changes at every Mass and concludes the opening rites of the Mass. “The Collect invites people to pray in silence for a moment, and then offers a prayer to God that is drawn from the readings or feast of the day, or the purpose for which the Mass is being offered.” https://ctk.org/collect-prayer-sunday-mass#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20collect%3F,the%20Mass%20is%20being%20offered It is important to listen to these prayers not only because they are beautiful and poetically written, but because they reflect what we believe. The term Lex orandi, lex credendi sums this up; more or less it means “what we pray, is what we believe.” ** I suggest meditating on the role of Simon of Cyrene. (Luke 23:26) Jesus could do very little physically at that point (on the Way of the Cross) which meant Simon was doing just about all the work of carrying the heavy burden. Imagine some of Jesus’ blood getting on Simon’s skin and clothing as they labored. No doubt, by the time they got to Calvary, what began as his reluctance was transformed into great blessing, devastating as the situation was. Can you imagine what was going on in his heart and mind or how many graces he must have received? What if you were in Simon’s place, forced by the soldiers to carry the cross for Jesus? Ponder what that would be like. Perhaps there is a little of Simon in all of us, and if so, we, too, will be given graces by staying the difficult course. ~ Another meditation point is to pray with the image of the women who met Jesus along the Way of the Cross. They lined the streets, weeping over what they were seeing, praying for Jesus. Every one of them was a comfort to Him and their presence assisted Him in finishing what He came to do. Are we called to be one of those people on the street, and if so, who? Have we ever thought of how important our presence is to Jesus from the Garden to the Cross? Perhaps these meditations can act as a ‘springboard’ for our conversations with the Lord as we journey with Him. Images: 1. My photo; Mt. Mucrone, near Oropa, Italy, as we were ascending in climbing to the top. Indeed, a challenge. 2. Icon; The Holy Protection of the Mother of God by Fr. William Hart McNichols. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can find this at fineartamerica.com/featured/the-holy-protection-of-the-mother-of-god-026-william-hart-mcnichols.html 3. My photo; Rosary and Bible, spiritual weapons. 4. My photo; White Sands Desert, New Mexico. 5. My photo; Peruvian sculpture of people carrying the cross. 6. Drawing; Old Man Praying, by Vincent van Gogh. Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. Comments are closed.
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