As we enter the first few days of Lent, many are reflecting on how best to live out the season as we prepare for the resurrection of our Lord. Lent is a time that allows us to come closer to God through penance, purification, and conversion. During Lent, we are called to convert and change our old ways in order to fill our lives with the truths and goodness of life. This is a time of sacrifice where we change our mindset from focusing on our wants and seeking what it is that God wants and calls us to do. The Church encourages us to achieve this through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Practicing these allows us to grow in a deeper love with God that is a love that is selfless and completely giving of oneself. While this time is one where we can focus on purifying and renewing our interior lives it is also a time that we are called to help others grow and strengthen theirs. It is in doing so that we will truly become closer to God because we focus on helping others grow in their spiritual life. This is how we are called to live our lives, to help one another through acts of kindness and love in order to help each other reach the Heavenly Kingdom. In particular, it is with our families that we must seek to do this each and every day.
We are provided with an abundant amount of opportunities in our daily encounters with our families to grow in our relationships and help each member grow in their personal lives. Lent provides us the perfect time to grow even stronger in helping one another so that we may grow to have a deeper understanding of God's love. After all, the family is the perfect symbol of the divine love that exists between mankind and God. What better time to grow in that love than during Lent.
As the church invites us to pray and fast during this season, we can invite our family members, and friends, to pray and fast together as we each seek to convert our hearts and souls. A great way to do this is to pray the rosary as a family. Prayer is one of the strongest ways we can solidify our relationship with God and when done as a family we are capable of creating a deeper union with our Lord and with our family. But, the rosary is not the only prayer we can incorporate into our home life. The Angulus, reading from the scriptures, the Stations of the Cross, listening to a meditation, and going to Adoration are all ways we can pray as a family and continue to grow interiorly and with Christ.
Fasting is one that comes in many forms. We each have our own temptations and desires that we must personally fight and during Lent, we each pick what it is we will give up and how much too. For some, it is giving up certain foods or drinks that we so often indulge in. For others, it is social media, technology, or shopping. We each pick what it is that we will offer up so that we may strengthen ourselves through mortification, but there are ways we can practice this as a family too. If the family watches movies on a regular basis, maybe offer that up and instead, set that time to either pray together or do an activity that allows the family to bond and create lasting memories. Playing a board game, going outside to play a game, or sometimes just sitting together to talk is how we can again focus on the true riches that lay in front of us while giving up those things we desire in order to give of ourselves more. What better way to strengthen our homes than by strengthening the relationships we share with those we live with. When we do so, we also allow others to share of themselves with us and this is how God calls us to live our lives, one that is filled with love for one another.
Almsgiving is one where we can practice the virtue of generosity and share the divine love of Christ with those around us. The wonderful thing about this is that giving of what we have and who we are comes in many shapes and sizes. As a family, collect nonperishable items that can be donated to your local food bank for those in need of food. Have your children or those in your home collect the items they no longer use or would like to donate like clothes, toys, books, and other household items that others with less need or do not have the luxury to afford. Those items that have been sitting collecting dust, no longer serve a purpose to you, or perhaps something you don’t really need but just wanted to have are the types of things we can give to those who have less than us and where we can detach ourselves from the material things in our lives so that we may attach ourselves more to our Lord. We must remember everything in this world has an end and the materials we typically fill our homes with are just things. Lent is the perfect time for the entire household to get rid of the excess and the things we do not really need so that we may focus on the true riches that God gives us in life. When we seek to have less and to give more, we begin to experience what Christ felt as he led a life that focused on fulfilling Gods calling and giving of himself in order to save others.
Some may think that when Ash Wednesday rolls around you have to start strong with your intentions for Lent or you will fail, but we are human after all and Christ understands this. This is one reason why Lent is 40 days because it takes time to break from the old and set into motion new practices and habits. And when Easter arrives these new habits and practices are not supposed to just stop, the purpose of Lent is to renew ourselves so that we may continue throughout the year to strengthen our relationship with God by continuing to practice these new habits and find new ways that we may grow our spiritual life. So during this Lenten season, share with your family in ways you can all grow interiorly and help one another to practice these new ways that will help to bring you each closer to our Lord and to his everlasting promises.
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