ARTICLES

The sacrifices of Lent

By Leigh Ann Roman
Special to The Catholic Virginian

As a drizzly Ash Wednesday drew to a close, I felt the effects of a day of fasting — headache and hunger pangs. And I realized that many people survived daily on such small portions.

That evening, I could look forward to a comfortable night’s sleep and a big breakfast the next morning. But millions of people regularly have little to eat and nightly wonder where they will lay their heads.

If “Christ made Himself poor for you” as 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, what does He want us to do for the poor?

Gratitude to God is the only correct response to His gift of the Son. From that response comes true charity — gratitude in action.

I am grateful this year for two things most people take for granted. I am especially grateful for my family’s health after my sister’s recent bout with thyroid cancer, and I am thankful for my home — which flooded one week after we moved here in September.

The suffering caused by both temporary losses made me appreciate things I had seen as givens — health and hearth.

In the same way, the temporary sacrifices of Lent make us more grateful for things one can take for granted. The resulting charity should not end with Lent; it should be a part of our ongoing conversion.

In his Lenten message, Pope Benedict XVI says that Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually through almsgiving so that we may grow in charity and recognize Christ in the poor.

Our own physical and financial sacrifices during Lent have value because they provide a visceral reminder of the plight of the poor. When we are aware of the poor, we will be able to truly “see” them. And when we see them, we will want to help them.

Operation Rice Bowl, with its pictures and stories of people who live where clean water and food are scarce, helped my children to see the poor. In turn, they decided to contribute their allowance from their grandparents, which arrives monthly, to the little cardboard rice bowl atop our pie safe.

That is charity from a distance, however. Our lives include many opportunities to help those in need right here at home.

And church, school and other community groups offer us ways to befriend and help people from diverse economic backgrounds.

But charity does not end with economics. We all know people who find themselves in times of spiritual or emotional poverty. Taking the time to offer them a strong shoulder or a willing ear, rather than judgment, also is charity.

Without prayer, such charity is impossible. During Lent, we make an effort to increase our prayer lives — perhaps a daily Rosary or more regular visits to the Blessed Sacrament.

Something as simple as taking part in a prayer chain can have a profound effect on your life, and the lives of those for whom you pray. As you read the list of intentions, you realize that people whose lives seem perfect also have serious needs such as health, job security and concern for loved ones fighting overseas.

You connect more deeply with your community and grow in appreciation for your own blessings. The prayer chains I am on bring me closer to these communities and to God.

If prayer, fasting and almsgiving are such effective ways to connect with God, why should they end with Lent?

Perhaps an appropriate post-Lenten “sacrifice” for many of us would be to jot down a short gratitude list daily, and then think of one way to turn that gratitude into action — charity. And, I have to admit, a little post-Lenten fasting would not do my soul — or my waistline — any harm.

back to top