This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday; the beginning of the Catholic Church's Lenten season. Perhaps you are still wondering what your sacrifice will be this year. Perhaps you've only just started to think about it. Or maybe you've known for months what you felt the Lord calling you to sacrifice.
A typical reaction to the fact that "Lent is coming" is to groan. It is typically not the average Catholic's favorite liturgical season. I think that is because fasting and sacrificing can be mistranslated to some kind of punishment. To some, sacrificing is the same as suffering, and suffering is usually seen as something bad. Put that together with a penitential season that is characterized by sacrifice and mortification and it can appear as something undesirable.
The key to this is how it is perceived. We must realize that sacrifice is not the same as suffering. Anyone can suffer. It requires effort and love to turn that suffering into a joyful sacrifice. When we place our suffering in the hands of Our Lady to offer to the Father, when we unite our pain to the Passion and pain of Jesus, we begin to find our suffering more bearable. Our pain is no longer isolated. We can find meaning in what we endure. We begin to see spiritual growth in ourselves.
Lent is not a time to inflict needless pain and suffering on ourselves just because someone told us to. We do not need to think of the harshest sacrifices, overburden ourselves and fail every unrealistic goal. It does not help us to compare what others are doing and try to keep or be one step ahead so we feel accomplished. It's not about giving up a bad habit we intend to continue after Lent, and it's not just about giving up something we enjoy to punish ourselves for awhile. It's about conversion. It's about taking a good hard look at the areas in your life that need conversion and working on one or more of those areas.
We sacrifice things during Lent because it is when we deprive ourselves of what we are used to that we become more aware of our hunger and thirst for God and holiness. Giving up something for Lent just because that's what everyone is doing or because you always do may not bear the most spiritual fruit.
What you decide to do may seem easy to someone else, but that doesn't mean it won't stretch you. I encourage you to take some time these next few days to pray about what areas you need to grow in and how you can work on them. Maybe you will sacrifice or fast from something you are too attached to. Maybe you will do something extra or sacrifice your time for a few extra minutes of prayer. The point is not to follow the crowd or to try to be as creative as you can, but to be specific. Be intentional. Pinpoint the changes you want to see or the growth that needs to happen. And be practical. In our zeal we sometimes overburden ourselves with sacrifices that we can't fulfill or complete.
If you have to start small, start small. Don't worry about what others are doing. Only you know how hard your sacrifice is. Jesus said that those who are faithful in small things will be faithful in bigger things. When you are faithful in small things, you build discipline, and that grace enables you to take on greater sacrifices.
Let's make this Lent intentional so that we can begin to see the changes we need in our hearts and lives. It may not be comfortable, but the growth that comes from it will bring us closer to God; closer to who we were created to be.
Written by Catherine
