For those of us who are Catholics Lent is a time of reflection of who we are with God. It is also a time of fasting and praying to help us along our journey to understanding our faith and path to eternal salvation.
At school today we celebrated Ash Wednesday with the Liturgy of the Word and the placing of ashes on our foreheads. It was an uplifting service and a reflective one as well. The focus Fr. Rick so graciously preached about posed the question,” what are you going to do this Lenten Season to help develop yourself more as a Christian?”
He brought up some interesting things we could do in the way of fasting, praying and sacrifice. The students got a kick out of him suggesting giving up Facebook and texting, but the biggest response came as he called Chick-fil-la a new food group and that they could give that up as well.
But is Lent all about what to give up for 40 days as a way of sacrificing? I like to think differently. To deepen my faith and relationship with God I would like to balance sacrifice along with service. By service I mean service to others. It could be to your family, friends or community.
Giving something up is the easy part, but service to others entails putting yourself aside and caring about others. It could be helping feed the homeless in your community, putting together a neighborhood barbecue to promote community or helping an elderly neighbor clean up their yard.
As far as family is concerned, be more patient with a difficult child, turn off the TV or computer and read with your child or make an effort to eat dinner together as a family at the dining room table with no electronic devices.
In this world of “what is best for me” let’s change the game and see what “we can do for others.” Jesus came to serve, so why not follow in His footsteps? From what I was taught His way is the way to enlightenment and salvation. Which way will you follow this Lenten Season?
At the end of 40 days I’ll let you know what I did for sacrifice and service. Maybe we can share our experiences together.
Peace to you. – Theresa
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