Fridays in Lent

During the Fridays of Lent we usually abstain from meat - because Jesus' flesh was sacrificed on Good Friday.

We also speak of fasting through Lent - and yet Pope Francis continually reminds us that fasting need not simply be considered from food or drink - but in our words and actions:

Peace

Pray - Fast - Give

As we embark upon our Lenten journey - we embrace the 3 practices of lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

Bishop Robert Barron had a neat reflection on Prayer this morning:

Well, how should we pray? What does it look like? You have to pray with faith, and according to Jesus’ model, you have to pray with forgiveness. The efficacy of prayer seems to depend on the reconciliation of differences.You also have to pray with persistence. One reason that we don’t receive what we want through prayer is that we give up too easily. Augustine said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because he wants our hearts to expand.Finally, we have to pray in Jesus’ name. In doing so we are relying on his influence with the Father, trusting that the Father will listen to him.

To Fast is not only connected to food or drink. We can fast from criticism, from technology, - especially from gossip, Pope Francis suggests. In our fasting - we are reminded that we depend completely upon God -for everything.

To Give is to be a person of gratitude and at the same time imitate God who is the authour of life, and has given us all that we have. To give not simply from our abundance - but from our essence - is to be a truly sacrificial giver.

Peace!