Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent. We will be doing our best not to call out “ALLELUIA!!” (Oops, I said it. $.25 fine for me.) We will be wondering how we can find time to slow down and spend a bit more time in prayer and spiritual reading. And some of us have already started talking about “giving things up for Lent.” When I was small, we had no desserts and didn’t go out to social events like movies (unless they were religious movies shown at church). And then there was the inevitable, “We’re not eating meat. What should I cook?” In my case, as a vegetarian, I always joked that I would have to give up not eating meat for Lent and force myself to eat it as penance. (Never going to happen!)
Sometimes as I got older, it almost seemed to me that the focus of Lent was more on the technicality of what we were giving up, and less on the spiritual meaning of Lent. In the last few years, I have heard more and more about “taking things on” for Lent. But if our lives are already over-burdened by musts and shoulds, perhaps adding another layer is not helpful. I don’t think that God’s intention for a Holy Lent is to exhaust us.
Last week, I saw a wonderful bit of advice from Pope Francis. It has stayed with me day after day, so I’m reproducing it here. This is what I plan to give up for Lent. Maybe you’ll join me?
Do you want to fast this Lent?
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- Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
- Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
- Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
- Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
- Fast from worries and trust in God.
- Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
- Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
- Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.
- Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
- Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
- Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.
— Pope Francis
Laura+
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