What are you DOING this Lent?

Asceticism was never meant to kill you. And neither was Lent. It seems people always like this concept of liberty and freedom, except they struggle to understand what it means. Discipline allows for the soul to focus on what is more important, and to dwell with God whole heartedly. To understand what I mean, let's take a look into the significance of what we do for Lent (note the emphasis on the word, "do").

No, it's not about giving up something for Lent. It's about giving to God. It's about the giving of yourself to God. How do we do that? We practice three things: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

In order to understand why we pray, we must first understand what prayer is. Essentially, prayer is the "conscious and disciplined [choice] to access the centre". Some view this as a conversation with God, others as the priority of making God the centre of their lives. There have been an uncountable number of ways to define prayer, but essentially, an important element of it is that you are building your relationship with a God who loves you very, very much.

If one seeks to develop a relationship, one must communicate with the other. If not, no such relationship exists. In the same way, talking to God – about your day, what's on your mind, asking Him to help you with things, and even complaining to Him – can all be considered a prayer. Even a desire just to be with Him can be a prayer, if you allow yourself to "sunbathe in the presence of God".

Prayers need not be full of words – just being with God can be a prayer. Just remember that prayer is to communicate with God, so that's what we do in Lent – communicate with Him and walk with Him on the journey to His crucifixion.

The second thing we do is fast. Some people think little of fasting, but they miss the reason why we fast. We fast to release within us the true hunger that dwells deep within our souls – the hunger for God. If we do not hunger and thirst for God, we may fail to appreciate all the blessings He has given us. We may not notice it, but if we fail to truly fast and instead allow superficial, worldly hungers to dominate – those of money, sex, material goods etc., we put ourselves in danger of never accessing the deepest hunger, which is for God. Just as the rose stained glass window has God in the centre and all else falling into place around it, so we should do the same with our lives.

The third thing we are called to do is to give alms. This is often overlooked and forgotten. So, why are we asked to give alms? Because we are One Body in Christ, and we cannot say that another's problem is not our problem. Just as the blind man cannot say that because his eyes have a problem, his body does not. His eyes are connected to his body, so if he is blind, it is his whole being's problem. So, in the same way, since we are all part of the mystical body of Christ, we must remember to take care of our brothers and sisters and give to those in need, generously and cheerfully, without expecting anything in return.

So, this Lent, instead of thinking of what to "give up", ask yourself, What am I doing this Lent? Am I giving, doing, caring, and following the Gospel's recommendations to pray, fast and give alms?

**Note: I took many of these points from the parish priest of my home parish, Fr John Jesus CSJ, whom I believe deserves much of the credit for the content that appears in this article, since it was inspired by his Lent 2013 homily.