Bulletin Q&A Article, published 2-19-23:
What is the purpose of Lent?
It is that time of the liturgical year when we once again enter into the season of Lent—six and a half weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter. We go through Lent each year but can sometimes settle into a routine and just go through motions. We follow the rules. We fast and we abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. We abstain from meat on all the other Fridays as well, which we should do throughout the entire year. And we try to “give up” something.
But Lent can be, and should be, so much more. It is a time to be on a retreat of sorts. A time to consciously set ourselves apart from the world as Jesus did when He spent 40 days in the desert. We don’t necessarily have the opportunity to physically go on a forty day retreat, so we must work hard each day to keep focused on the season so we remember that this time is special. A number of years ago I shaved my head during Lent. When I got up each morning and looked in the mirror, I was quickly reminded not to treat this day like any other day of the year. It was one of the most meaningful Lents I have experienced.
Lent should be a time of conversion, a time to grow closer to God. If we do not have a closer relationship with God on Easter Sunday than we did on Ash Wednesday, then we need to reflect on the effectiveness of our Lenten practices. The Church calls us to a special time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer does not just mean saying rote prayers, it includes praying with scriptures, attending extra Masses during the week, visiting the church for Eucharistic adoration, participating in the Stations of the Cross. Prayer also includes receiving the Sacrament of Penance, going to confession. If our Lent is truly a time of conversion we will see our sinfulness more clearly. Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote: “A painting under candlelight shows fewer defects than under the brilliance of the sun; so too the souls who are some distance from God feel more certain of their moral integrity than those who are very close to Him.”
Fasting is useful for so many reasons. We can fast from food or beverages or from activities we enjoy, especially those that prevent us from spending time in prayer. We shouldn’t fast from sinful vices, such as gossiping or swearing, during Lent—we should be trying to avoid them all year round. Fasting builds up our discipline. By giving up something that is not sinful, and possibly even good for us, we are strengthened to be in better control of our free will and better able to resist temptations to things that are evil. Our sacrifices are a way of demonstrating to God our sorrow for our sins and might reduce the debt we owe in Purgatory. Our fasting is a way to remind us, just like shaving my head, that we are in a special season. It is a witness to the world around us that we are different—we are in this world, but not of this world. And when we are hungry, it raises our consciousness of those who are hungry, those that suffer every day because they do not have enough to eat or a warm home to live in. And that leads us to the third Lenten practice, almsgiving.
Lent is special time to be charitable. It is good to be charitable financially, but sometimes we can grow even closer to God when we are charitable in our actions. It is a good time to reexamine the spiritual and corporal works of mercy to guide us on our Lenten journey (https://www.catholicapostolatecenter.org/works-of-mercy.html).