Tomorrow is shrove Tuesday, the last day before Lent and Mardi Gras Day. What used to be a feast to eat up all the dairy products, etc. before the great fast has become a day of bacchanalian excess for many. But for Christians who take Lent seriously, these last two days are a time to reflect on how Lent can bring us closer to Our Lord and Savior.
Oftentimes, I'm so caught up in the daily grind that Lent is half gone before I decide what I'm going to do. Not this year. I'm thinking about it today. What are good things to do to increase prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?
Prayer: daily Mass, daily rosary, and weekly holy hour are an all-year standard to aim for, especially if you're retired and don't have the family obligations of the young. For families, adding a daily Mass once a week, saying an evening decade of the rosary with the children, and attending Stations together as a family offers a great example to children.
Weekly (or even daily) Stations of the Cross if you can will be a constant reminder of the need for personal repentance and atonement for our country. Saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy every day or even a few times a week would also be an appropriate choice, meditating on the Lord's passion. One can combine the Stations and the Chaplet by going through the stations as you say it. During the first decade the first three stations, the second decade the next three, etc.
Choosing a special Lenten companion is also a great way to pray through Lent. St. Francis de Sales has a set of Lenten sermons that provide much food for meditation. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich and Blessed Mary of Agreda both experienced revelations about the passion of Our Lord that have been published. Reflecting on the seven dolors of Mary can draw you closer to the Mother of God who shared her Son's passion more than anyone else. Magnificat offers a Lenten companion.
Fasting: Food isn't the only way to fast and may not be the best. What are you too attracted to? Is there something that borders on an obsession? Computer games? text-messaging? TV? Fasting doesn't mean living in moderation; we should do that all year long. It really means giving up something extra that's a basic. The traditional Lenten fast is to eat one full meal a day and two smaller that don't add up to a full meal. Of course, in our land of excess, what constitutes a full meal is relative. If you already consume enough calories at one meal for an entire day, a little self-examination is in order. But even a small sacrifice can draw you closer to God. Don't make it an all or nothing situation and if you goof up one day, just start over. The Lord knows what spoiled children we are and he loves even our feeble efforts. I remember reading a book once where the author said that part of the cross we carry is the fact we carry it so badly. So if you fall, remember Jesus showed us what to do: keep getting up and putting one foot in front of the other.
Almsgiving: Do acts of charity. Don't just give money, although that's good - give of yourself. Visit a nursing home. Join the 40 Days of Life in your city and pray outside an abortion mill. Visit a crisis pregnancy center with a bag of new baby clothes and diapers. Call your elderly aunt who hasn't heard from you in ages and tell her you love her. Make peace with an estranged family member. The ideas are endless. If you have children, get them involved in doing some secret charity. Do you know a family in trouble in these hard economic times? How about leaving a bag of groceries at their front door with an anonymous love note.
It's Shrove Tuesday and time to think about how you will observe Lent well. The next six weeks are Catholics' annual boot camp to get in shape for more zealous activity as a members of the Church Militant. Here are some suggestions. The first is to use the Liturgy of the Hours. Ever since I began saying morning and evening prayer about six weeks ago. I've found myself more filled with hope than I have been in a long time. Despite the miserable state of the world, praying with Holy Mother Church, especially the psalms, is like a booster shot of hope. You cannot praise God twice a day and recognize His authority and His sovereignty over the earth, without realizing of how little consequence the rebellion is. To be fearful and filled with despair is silly -- like being terrified by a huge anthill in the garden. No matter what evil the devil plans, he is nothing but a little garter snake. Yes, he can inspire great evil, but God will always being greater good from Satan's puny plans. Try Liturgy of the Hours for a few weeks and see if your hope and trust in God increase, as mine has. 