Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
By: Br. Benedict
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. The minister marks foreheads with ashes and says, “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15), or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Lent is a beautiful season of grace and hope, a season that can be joyful and fulfilling. During this season, the Church recommends three practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Prayer builds our relationship with God. Fasting strengthens our relationship with ourselves. Almsgiving strengthens our relationship with others. These three acts of self-giving are interconnected during Lent; engaging in one facilitates the others.
Consider prayer: when we pray, we raise our hearts and minds to God. We can pray for ourselves and for others. Prayer certainly fosters a relationship between us and God, but when we pray for others, it becomes an act of almsgiving. Prayer is not only an action of the mind, but also of the body. True prayer comes from our whole being. We pray with mind, body, and soul. Prayer aligns us with the will of God. It opens the doors of our soul, allowing God’s light to illuminate the darkness within, particularly in those places we invite Him to shine. This act of opening specific parts of our soul to God, and surrendering our will, becomes a form of fasting.
This is also true for fasting and almsgiving. When we fast, we strengthen our will, which helps us do God’s will. Fasting can be a form of prayer; we can offer our fast for the salvation of others. This is like sharing in Jesus’ suffering (Philippians 3:10). When our fast is joined with Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection, it brings forth redemption.
In today’s world, almsgiving is often misunderstood. People think it is only good if you give all of your money. But true almsgiving is giving from our poverty, not just from our surplus. Almsgiving can illuminate the areas of lack in our lives. We give from that very lack. This makes us witnesses, like the widow who put two coins into the temple treasury (Luke 21:1-4).
We can combine almsgiving with fasting. Instead of finding extra money, we can fast by spending less and giving the savings. This makes almsgiving more meaningful and transforms it into an act of fasting. Almsgiving can also be a prayer if we give in a way that includes prayer. For example, instead of going to a movie, we can spend time in adoration. This saves money and is an act of prayer, transforming the saved money into a gift of prayer and almsgiving.
THus, by making use of all three acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we can truly showcase our repentance and believe in the Gospel. Always remembering that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7), let us give ourselves cheerfully to the Lord this Lent.
