Lenten Resolutions
Lent is upon us… and our New Year’s resolutions are fast becoming a distant memory. Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the holy season of Lent. Lent is a time of reflection upon our inner souls and upon Christ’s sacrifice for us. We all know that Lent is a time for “Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.” You might say to yourself “I’ll go to church more often during Lent.” (prayer), “I’ll give up sweets.” (fasting), and “I’ll put more in the collection basket” (almsgiving). This Lent let us try to challenge ourselves to do more than the basics. Let us be creative in our prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Prayer
Resolve this Lent to pray more… Try to take up a form of prayer you may not have tried before, such as centering prayer or Lectio Devina or the Rosary. Also try to squeeze in an extra few minutes of your day to thank God and remember what Jesus has given up for us.
Fasting
Resolve this Lent to Fast. Fasting in the common sense means to give up food, but it can also mean a giving up of time. This Lent in addition to fasting from food try to give some of your time to a church ministry or lend a helping hand to a lonely person… Be Creative! There are so many simple ways we can help on another on our journey towards Christ.
Almsgiving
Resolve this Lent to remember the needy. Fasting can be seen as a giving up whereas almsgiving can be thought of as giving something back. Again, be creative! If you gave up that Starbuck’s coffee as a part of fasting, consider giving the money you saved to the poor and needy!
Making these sort of resolutions is never easy and there will days when our best intentions go awry but it is important that we try. With God’s help and love our Lenten resolutions could become lifelong habits. God Bless- Holly Clark
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