What preparation do you need to prepare for Lent?

You know this is a great question because I often hear people say that life goes to fast, and it does. Lent is only forty some days or about half of a semester and there is a lot of work that needs to be done during this time. Lent is a time for us, especially those who say life goes to fast, to renew our baptismal promises. Since the Second Vatican Counsel the church has highly stressed us to re-evaluate our commitment to our baptism promises. Our spiritual being does need to be cleansed. You could say it is like a New Years resolution but instead this resolution is for the soul.

Before I continue, I want you to think about a question on your relationship with others. Have you seen Christ in everyone? Or in other words, do you treat everyone respectfully as if Jesus was talking to them? I remember when I was working a few years ago; I got into an argument with a supervisor and said something that hurt the supervisor's feelings. I almost lost my job over it. Later that day, I knew that I was not following the love that Christ taught us. I should have been more aware of my temper and I knew that one thing needed to be done. I had to repent and ask for forgiveness. Recognizing these types of experiences is what lent is all about. We all sin but the key during lent is to discover where we have grown and where we still need to grow.

In the gospels we see that even Jesus had to take a few days to reflect on his fathers will. It was in these times of reflection that Jesus saw his ministry, as in Mark 1: 35-38, which says "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." Here we see that Jesus used prayer to discover the will of the father. There are three methods of reflection, which I think are important, that we can learn from Jesus and they are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Prayer: When we pray, we connect with and build our relationship with God. During this refection time, we bring our deepest desires and questions towards God. It is the goal of prayer to find out the will of God for us. In these intimate times, we discover more about our self and the direction God wants us to head in. Some ways that you could increase your prayer life are going to daily mass, saying a rosary weekly or daily, spending time in front of the blessed sacrament, praying the stations of the cross, and reading the daily scriptures passages of the day. These are just some of the practices that you can do but it does not limit it. For more information about prayer please visit www.catholic-pages.com/dir/prayers.asp.

Fasting: Fasting is an ancient custom that the Jewish people used. Today we continue this practice.In fasting we have chosen to separate ourselves from the pleasures of the world, in hope that wecan discover where we need to grow. It is the custom of the catholic faithful to abstain from meatonFriday's during lent and to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, unless there are healthconcerns. Most Catholics also practice a fast of something else, like time or money.

Almsgiving: Almsgiving is very important to our Lenten practice. In this method of reflection, we discover that our talents and gifts can be put to use for the Glory of God. Severing at soup kitchens, visiting a retirement home and giving money to the poor are just some examples of how someone could be charitable during lent. So let us follow the wisdom of peter, who said,

"Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace"

As we can see, giving of ourselves is not only beneficial to those receiving our services but also it beneficial to purifying our souls.

So prayer, fasting and almsgiving are what you must do during the Lenten season, in order to prepare your soul to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though the church is still in original time, does not mean that you can't practice some of these rituals. In addition it is a good idea to reflect on what areas in your spiritual life you want to grow in. A good rule for deciding which practices you are going to do is to first list all the actives you could possibly do and then from that list choose the activities you least want to do. This way you are guaranteed to grow in your relationship with God.

So, here is your mission. I want you to schedule at least 30 minutes a day of prayer. You can do this in a chapel, in your room or at some other quiet place. Then I want you to decide what things you are going to fast on. However, if it is food, please remember your deity needs. Lastly I want you to find some time that you could give yourself to others. As you do these practices you may also find it helpful to use the sacrament of Reconciliation. I know you have a busy schedule but that is why I am asking you to reflect on it now because time does go fast and I want you to know how awesome it feels to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.