Lent starts with Ash Wednesday! The
Gospel reading in the Mass of Ash Wednesday gives us the practical program to
live out a fruitful, efficacious Lent that leads to self knowledge, love for
Christ, and conversion of life.
Actually the Biblical passage is taken
from part of the Sermon on the Mount. The church takes two parts of the 6th
chapter of Matthew: Mt. 6:1-6 and Mt. 6: 16-18. In these few verses the Church
outlines three specific practices that we should undertake with generosity so
as to live out a most fruitful Lent, hopefully the “most” fruitful Lent that
culminates in the triumph of the Risen Lord on Easter! The secret to experiencing the intensity of
the joy of the Risen Lord Jesus Easter day is to live out intensely the season
of Lent, which is an extraordinary gift the Church offers us every year. If you
like, the secret of success of the party is the preparation before the
party!
In a concrete and simple way Jesus
exhorts us to undertake three specific practices and if undertaken seriously
they will lead us to a true “Metanoia”—meaning a true conversion of mind, will,
heart, body and life! GENEROSITY! The
key is a well-disposed and generous heart.
These three specific practices are
prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The
purpose of this short essay is to give us five practical suggestions for each
of the three categories (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving) with the hope that
you will at least choose one from each category. Pray to the Holy Spirit that
He will enlighten your intellect and empower your will to decide correctly and act
with a determined determination. (St. Teresa of Avila). After deciding, to
verify and affirm your decision, why not run it by your confessor or spiritual
director for approval. Actions have much more merit when done under obedience.
This we see constantly in the lives of the saints and especially in the Diary
of Mercy in my Soul in the person of St. Faustina Kowalski. Jesus Himself said “I prefer obedience to
sacrifice.” Let us now dive in!
PRAYER. To
encourage us to be generous in prayer start by meditating on a sublime teaching
of St. Peter of Alcantara on the fruits of a powerful prayer life. “In
mental prayer, adds St. Peter of Alcantara, the soul is purified of its sins,
nourished with charity, confirmed in faith, and strengthened in hope; the mind
expands, the affections dilate, the heart is purified, truth becomes evident;
temptation is conquered, sadness dispelled; the senses are renovated; the drooping
powers revive; tepidity ceases; the rust of vices disappears. Out of mental
prayer issue forth, like living sparks, those desires of heaven which the soul
conceives when inflamed with the fire of divine love. Sublime is the excellence
of mental prayer; great are its privileges; to mental prayer heaven is opened;
to mental prayer heavenly secrets are manifested and the ear of God is ever
attentive.”
FIVE
SPECIFIC PRACTICES THAT WE CAN IMPLEMENT
TO PRODUCE A FRUITFUL LENT
1.
DAILY MEDITATION OF THE WORD OF GOD. Time and time again the saints, Doctors of
the Church, as well as church documents encourage us to read and meditate
on the Bible, the living Word of God. St. Jerome reminds us, “Ignorance of Sacred
Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” We
cannot love somebody we do not know! Find time, place, and good will to
meditate on the Word of God. Mary is our example who we find two times in the
Gospel of Luke pondering, meditating in her heart. May Mary be our model, guide
and inspiration!
2.
VISIT THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. Jesus is longing for your friendship. Pope
Benedict XVI in his apostolic letter, “Porta
fidei” (Door of faith) insists on getting to know Jesus in an intimate and
personal way, as friends get to know each other. Friends like to visit each
other frequently. Jesus should be your “Best Friend”. Visit Him and talk to Him
about everything that is going on in your life! Take as your example the movie,
Marcelino Pan y vino, and the growing
depth in friendship between the little orphan by and Jesus. You can be that
little “Marcelino”!
3.
LECTIO-DIVINA.
The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in his Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (The Word of God) suggests another way to
pray called “Lectio Divina”. He outlines specific steps in this method/process.
a) Lectio---
Read slowly, attentively and prayerfully with the Biblical disposition of
heart: ‘Speak O Lord for your servant is listening.”
b) Meditatio----
Think deeply, ponder, ruminate (as a cow chews his cud) on the word.
c) Contemplatio----Use
your imagine to pray and picture yourself present to the scene. St. Ignatius in
the Spiritual Exercises calls this “Composition of Place”. You are really present with Jesus in the
scene!
d) Oratio---
Open up your heart in a colloquy or conversation with God over the text.
e) Accio---
Prayer should lead you action. You are called to be a contemplative in action
like the Blessed Virgin Mary who meditated on the Word in her heart and then
was moved to share Jesus with St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist
f) Transformacio---
If indeed we are praying well and uniting ourselves with God then there will be
a transformation of our lives so much so that with Paul we can say, “It is no
longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me.”
4.
HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. Of course the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, full, active and conscious participation in Mass,
culminating in the reception of Holy Communion which is the Body, Blood, Soul
and Divinity of Jesus Christ is by far the most sublime and efficacious prayer
in the universe. No other prayer can come close to our be compared to Holy Mass
and Holy Communion. Therefore, why not make a proposal for the holy Season of
Lent to try to attend Holy Mass every day (bring the family along with you!);
if it is impossible every day at least several days during the course of the
week. You will never regret this practice in times as well as in eternity!
5.
HOLY ROSARY. Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to
the children in Fatima. Every time she appeared she asked for the recitation of
the most Holy Rosary. Pope Blessed John Paul II in his document on the Blessed
Virgin on the Rosary implored the world to pray the Rosary and especially for
two specific intentions: for world peace and for the salvation of the family.
Recall the words of the Rosary-priest, Father Patrick Peyton, of immortal
memory: ““A world at prayer is a world at peace” and “The family that stays together stays together.”
In these three part article, we have
concluded with the five suggestions on the topic of prayer. Prayer is essential
for our sanctification, conversion, perseverance, and eternal salvation as well
as the whole world. Be generous and God will infinitely more generous with you!
