Avoid Lenten Loopholes

by Aaron Jubar

Lent is meant to be a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving or acts of charity. Hopefully, by now you've already put into motion your resolutions. But even if you have not enacted your resolutions or you accidentally slipped-up on the first weekend, there is still something you can do, right now! I'm talking about prayer.

Prayer and Lent

Lent isn't meant to be strictly about "giving things up". Since Ash Wednesday, countless individuals have asked, "So, what did you give up for Lent?"
Instead of rattling off a list of sweet or fatty foods, my reply has been very simple; "I'm not giving up anything this year." I get a good laugh when a person's jaw nearly hits the floor.
"Whaddaya mean you're not giving anything up? It's Lent!"
To which I say, "This year, my resolution is to make the time to pray and reflect every day."
"But what's prayer got to do with Lent?!"

Good question. Prayer and taking the time to prepare ourselves for the resurrection of Christ is what Lent should focus on -- not whether chocolate syrup really counts as chocolate. Daily prayer and meditation are two of the most underused practices in the Church today. What better time than Lent to bring ourselves closer to God through prayer? Unfortunately, during Lent what the majority of Catholics focus on is "giving things up".

Looking for Lenten Loopholes

A good friend of mine gave up cursing for Lent a few years ago. I don't think I'll ever hear "Fiddlesticks!" again with as much frequency as I did during that forty-day period. He would use the same tone and inflection as he did when using a more colorful metaphor. The word itself may have been different, but the intended meaning still came across loud and clear!

The problem with "giving things up" is that we constantly look for loopholes in the system. Often, we don't even realize we are doing it. "Well, this has dark chocolate in it, but I'm okay because I gave up milk chocolate." Come on. God isn't going to police us and punish us if we slip on our resolutions or slip up and have meat on a Friday. He has left it up to us to stay true to ourselves.

Remember the Reason

If you choose to give something up, you must stick to it -- so don't set yourself up for failure. Try not to abstain from something you know you can't live (or function) without. Don't give up coffee if you get up at 4am, have been drinking it for years, and rely on it to get your day started. No one would expect a diabetic to try and give up insulin for Lent. (Okay... maybe it's not quite the same, but hey...)

When people try to give up too many things for Lent, they can become irritable and cranky. Worst of all, they can lose sight of the whole reason they gave up anything in the first place. Going through Lent in a high-strung or depressed state of mind is no way to prepare for Easter. I suggest that this Lenten season, instead of giving up skittles and french fries, we all take more time to pray and reflect upon the resurrection of Christ.

Take Five (or Six)

Taking time out for prayer during the next month does not mean you have to spend hours in a secluded chapel somewhere, but by all means feel free to. Actually, five or six minutes a day of quiet, undistracted prayer can make a world of difference.

These five or six minutes can be spent saying prayers you know or prayers you've created. Or the time can be spent in quiet reflection about the season that is upon us. Just five or six minutes each day -- around three hours total -- may seem like a small sacrifice. But making a habit of prayer is the important thing.

Through the remainder of Lent, your prayers and intentions will vary day-by-day. It isn't so much what you pray about, but rather that you're parlaying with Jesus. You will be taking time to communicate with our Savior. If you continue this practice after the Lenten season, six minutes a day will allow you to spend over 36 hours talking to God during the next year. Up that to ten minutes a day and you're looking at over 60 hours. How much better could our lives be if we spent that kind of quality time with our Lord?

Regardless of what you choose, I pray that you are successful in all of your Lenten resolutions this year. I'm sure Jesus will love to hear from you.

Life Applications:

What is your Lenten resolution? Have you kept it so far?
Do you associate "sacrifice" more with "giving things up" or "doing something more"? Why?
How often do you pray? How do you pray?

Copyright 2002-2007 by Aaron Jubar
All rights reserved.