Letter from the Bishop: Let's deepen our Lenten journey

My sisters and brothers,

The Lenten journey we share is one that is filled with opportunities. The most dramatic of these is the challenge to see beyond the surface and gain a deeper knowledge of God and a less superficial relationship with him. Often, we tend to view the season of Lent as a time to give up something we enjoy. While the practice of self-denial is indeed important, too often, we tend to focus on what we are giving up and lose sight of what that sacrifice will mean for us as spiritual people. Lent is not only a time for reflection and self-denial, but it is also a time for us to see how prayer, fasting and almsgiving, the disciplines of Lent, are much like the thorns on the stem of a beautiful rose. Before the rose opens to display its beauty, the thorns remind us of the pain Jesus endured before He conquered death to show us the beauty of his glorious resurrection.

During Lent, we must devote ourselves to prayer, recognizing that it is the conduit through which we connect more deeply with God. If we go to an interior room and close the door to pray quietly, we are not doing so in isolation. While we may choose to pray in solitude, we are never alone. God is always with us, hearing us, walking with us, and offering us comfort despite our many challenges. During Lent, our prayer life can assure us of God’s continuous presence in our lives.

While fasting is strongly associated with Lent, sometimes we can miss its deeper purpose if we only see it at face value. The most common idea of fasting is giving up something such as candy bars or chocolate. While this may have an obvious health benefit, and we may make an effort to practice self-denial, fasting can also be practiced in ways that can greatly benefit our spiritual lives. For example, how different would our Lenten journey be if we chose to fast from judging people? If we fasted from gossiping? If our choice was to fast from making negative remarks or having a difficult attitude? When approached from that perspective, fasting can lead us to clear our hearts and minds of the clutter we sometimes carry. Once it is out of the way, we can encounter Jesus’ presence clearly in ways that are simple and right in front of us. With a clear mind and heart, we can be “surprised” by God.

Finally, the practice of almsgiving can help us this Lent to widen our perspective. Most people think of almsgiving as making a monetary contribution. While that falls in line with our collective commitment to tithe and to be good stewards of God’s blessings, we can give alms in ways that go beyond the pocket to the plate. When we truly give of ourselves, whether it is time, talent, or treasure, we practice almsgiving. It might be something like offering our time to help a neighbor, tutoring a young student, or helping build a wheelchair ramp. Whatever the situation may be, when we practice almsgiving by giving of ourselves, we can discover who we really are as we move ahead on our Lenten journey, from darkness to light, from thorn to rose, and ultimately, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.