Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time to reflect on our baptismal commitment to discipleship and determine ways to grow closer to God and celebrate the Paschal Mystery in our daily lives.
Ashes are blessed and distributed this day. There are two options for the prayer of blessing. In one, we recognize that God is “moved by acts of humility and respond[s] with forgiveness to works of penance.” In the other, we pray that we “may, through a steadfast observance of Lent, gain pardon for sins and newness of life after the likeness of your Risen Son.” These ashes are put on our foreheads in the sign of the cross with one of two instructions: “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It is an act of penance to be marked with ashes. The ashes are in the shape of the cross as we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, and as we take up our own cross to follow Christ.
Today’s Gospel, Mt 6:1-6, 16-18, provides us with the tools for growing closer to God this Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These actions are the disciplines of the Christian that aid us in becoming less selfish, putting God first in our lives, and expanding our world view to see the needs of those around us. These Lenten habits could become practices that continue throughout the year.
Suggestion for prayer: “Make a gratitude list and give God thanks for the gifts in your life.” Suggestion for fasting: “Fast from all media today and spend the time helping a neighbor/friend with a project.” Suggestion for almsgiving: “Set money aside for a charity that would have gone to a treat for yourself today.”
The more we learn to pray, the more we realize we are not changing God’s thinking so that God does what we want; we are instead opening ourselves to what God has in mind. We are not fasting to lose some weight during Lent. We are saying “no” to our own gratification in order to understand we should not always put our needs first. We give alms because everything we have is a gift. We need to share with those in reduced circumstances so that our possessions don’t wind up possessing us.
The Christian disciple is on a pathway from selfishness to selflessness, and Lent provides the needed groundwork for the journey.