All three components (fasting, alms giving and prayer) are necessary for a holy Lent.
Fasting
Otherwise called "what you give up." I am annoying to people because, when they tell me what they are giving up, I ask "and how will that bring you closer to God?" And it's surprising how often they don't have an answer. My point in asking that question is not to accuse, although it is often interpreted that way. I just want to make sure that their fasting isn't without purpose. It's far too easy to just give up soda or chocolate or Starbucks or meat without having a purpose behind it. Those things can have a purpose, it just depends on the way the sacrifice is being handled, and the motivation behind it. Remember, vanity is always sinful. And the purpose of Lent is to rid your life of sinfulness, not to add to it. If your Lenten experience causes you to think, "I will lose weight with this, too," it's wrong. Don't try to kill two birds with one stone. Because you can't get closer to God (by fasting) and further from God (by sinning by increasing your vanity) simultaneously. I will say it again: Lent should not add to your vanity.When choosing something for your Lenten fast, do it with prayer. Ask God to show you what you should give up. Let's take a look at the Seven Deadly sins, and how you can fight those you struggle with the most to help your relationship with God.
Vanity: If you struggle with vanity (which, let's face it, most Americans do), He might tell you to give up mascara or to only wear the same four outfits during the entire season (you are encouraged to wash them, though)
Sloth: If you struggle with sloth (spiritual laziness), He might ask you to give up sleeping in so that you can have an extra half hour of prayer time in the morning.
Lust: If you struggle with lust, He might ask you to give up the Internet which can lead you to lustful thoughts.
Pride/Envy: If you struggle with pride or envy, He might ask you to give up the words "I" and "me."
Gluttony/Greed: If you struggle with gluttony, if you struggle with greed, give up the things that you love (like your electronic devices).
Wrath: If you struggle with anger, He might ask you to give up blame by taking the blame for things (like St Therese of Lisieux was known to do). See how those things oppose the seven deadly sins?
Prayer
Prayer should not add to your vanity either. I saw a suggestion in the Life Teen website that said you should try doing a sit-up for every word of the Hail Mary. Now, most of the stuff in the Life Teen website is really good, but I just don't see anything positive about this suggestion. It takes away the reverence from the prayer, and it adds to the person's vanity. The Hail Mary is a prayer that should be said with complete concentration and total reverence. Turning it into a workout is, as far as I'm concerned, like desecrating it. The Hail Mary should promote our humility, not our pride. Why can't you just say a Hail Mary, and really focus on it, and then do 42 sit ups later? Why combine those things? Commit to saying a Hail Mary every day!We need to start making prayer more intentional. No more multitasking during prayer. Use Lent as a time to practice praying in silence, focusing solely on God. Maybe you do so for only five minutes every day during Lent. Five minutes of concentrated prayer is more effective that 20 minutes of prayer while working out or driving (which, lets face it, when you're driving, you should be concentrated on that task). It's hard enough to hear God's voice when you're focused, let alone when you're not.
Alms Giving
Now some people think that they don't need to fast because they add something to their routine. But we are called to fast AND give alms AND pray, which means that we are called to rid ourselves of something harmful and add something good. It's not one or the other! One of the suggestions that I liked on the Life Teen website was to leave a note with a positive message everywhere you go during Lent. That's tricky. One friend I have writes a letter to someone new every day, to tell them that she loves them. But, again, to get the most benefit out of this, you should ask yourself the same question, "What do I need to do in order to get closer to God?" If you need to be more thankful, than maybe you should spend time every day thanking God for the things in your life (the good things, and the bad things). Focus it on God, though. It's good to be thankful for the people in your life. And you should thank them for the things they do for you. But, you should also remember to thank God for giving them to you. Lent should bring you close to God. That's the goal.Irrelevant and Irreverent
Irrelevant and irreverent. This is what Lent has become. It saddens me that people view Lent as a physical fitness program rather than a spiritually purifying liturgical season. It's ok to be uncomfortable. When you think about giving up mascara for Lent, and that makes your stomach drop, that's a good indication that you have a problem with vanity, and that maybe you should focus on that. Does eating chocolate actively hurt your relationship with God? Really? If it does, than by all means, give it up! But I challenge you to make your Lenten experience that easy (I know, right?! Like giving up chocolate is easy!). The more difficult the thing is, the better the results. I promise.But our bodies are temples. Shouldn't we be building them up?
I don't want there to be any confusion about what I am saying, so I am going to spend some time here, clarifying a few things. I can hear the excuses for doing something to better your body already: but my body is a temple. Well, yes, that's true. Your body is a temple, but showing it off is sinful. To those who want to do sit ups while praying the Hail Mary, remember, you can do as many sit ups as you like. But as soon as you choose an outfit that shows those good abs off, you're crossing the line into vanity. As soon as you brag about how much weight you've lost during Lent, or get all excited about the compliments you receive, or seek compliments, you're crossing the line into vanity. As soon as you write out this Facebook status: "I have to go shopping because my pants size is smaller," it's vanity. Ask God to tell you what to give up, because otherwise, it's too easy to make it easy. He will show you where you struggle, and what you need to do to be better. Ask Him for help, and no matter how difficult the challenge that He gives you is, trust that obedience to Him will make it worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment