The true message of Lent is simple: look towards Jesus, and follow His example.
Jesus trained His Spirit to ultimate strength. In order to do this, He listened to God.
He went to a quiet place to talk with God and seek guidance about His Life. [1]
Jesus trained His Body to be subordinate to His Spirit. This He did by fasting. [2]
He read and meditated upon the Scriptures. [3] Jesus humbly accepted trials. [4]
Jesus resisted the temptation to be impressed by money, buildings and fame. [5]
He chose instead to live as witness to God, instead of pursuing the passing glory of this earth.
Jesus helped the poor, the sick, those in need. He advocated almsgiving, praising those who give - even very little. [6]
HOW DO WE BECOME LIKE JESUS?
We train ourselves to respond to situations in the same way that Jesus would have.
This way of life does not come overnight. Each of us has a journey to travel to become our holy self.
Each of us has personal decisions to make about how we treat our body, the people around us, the world in which we live.
Let us develop holy habits
Do we treat our body as the temple of God? Or do we subject our body to the dangers of promiscuity, addictive substances which harm?
Do we treat others with respect and human decency, or do we use them for our own advancement in life without thought of the damage we may be causing in their lives?
Do we treat the world and the animals within with respect and decency, or do we misuse resources and ill-treat the vulnerable?
Do we train our spirits so we are the master of ourselves? Do we make use of the disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to strengthen our inner selves?
There are many ways in which we, as humans, can act in a Christ-like compassionate way.
There are also many ways in which we, as humans, can fail to live up to the noble dignity of the humanity within us.
Lent is a golden time, an opportunity for us to do - as it were - a quality check on our spiritual life.
Remember, we will leave this world with our soul. Our soul is our eternal wealth.
If we do not care for our inner spirit but spend all our efforts on our human body, on housing, estates and paper and metal money, we will not have looked forward to our eternal future.
During Lent we can make fresh decisions - a spiritual New Year's resolution - to leave behind the mistakes of the past, beg God's forgiveness for where we have failed, and steadfastly begin again on our path to authentic discipleship.
One year our Lent will be our last. Let it be our best.
POINTS TO PONDER
1. Make Lent a time of renewed prayer
2. Realize personal points of failure - sin - and repent of them
3. Change your life
4. Practise prayer - even ten minutes a day is a good start. Ten minutes is better than nothing. Once you develop a life of prayer, it become like water for your soul - indispensable and infinitely comforting
5. Practice almsgiving - give a sensible tithe to those in need. If your family is the most in need, and there is very little - or no - income, well then, charity begins at home. Almsgiving can also include a kind word, a gentle smile, a helpful deed, neighbourly support
6. Practise fasting - fasting means to be disciplined in eating and drinking habits. It does not mean going without to the point of anorexia. It also does not mean fasting from food alone. It is helpful to be moderate in eating habits, as well as fasting from a spiteful word, harmful gossip, a false accusation, an action which leads to the breakup of a marriage
4. Make resolutions to become more like Jesus
5. Read the life of Jesus and imitate His wonder and beauty
6. If you have never before followed Jesus, why not accept Jesus into your life?
HOW TO RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR
Close your eyes, calm your breathing, and recite the following prayer dedicating yourself to the Son of God Who gave His Life for you.
"Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross to rescue me from sin and death and to restore me to the Father.
I choose now to turn from my sins, my self-centeredness, and every part of my life that does not please You.
I choose You.
I give myself to you.
I receive Your forgiveness and ask You to take Your rightful place in my life as my Saviour and Lord.
Come and reign as King in my heart.
Fill me with Your Love and Your Life.
Help me to become a person like You - a person who is truly loving, respectful of life and obedient to the Commandments of God the Father.
Restore me, Jesus.
Live in me.
Love through me.
Thank You, God.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen."
Now pray Christ's own prayer;
Pray the following words as Jesus taught us:
"Our Father,
Who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy Will be done,
One earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day
Our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.
Take time to pray
Prayer is easy; just talk silently within yourself to Jesus. Tell Him your fears. Tell Him your tears.
Tell Him your worries, your sins, your hopes, your joys.
He wants to be your Friend. The One Who always supports you, whether anyone else does or not.
The One Who always love you, whether those who should love you do or not.
The One Who wipes away every tear, calms every fear, and unerringly leads us to Heaven.
Now seek Baptism
Now find a good and trustworthy priest, seek baptism, and be baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus.
[1] But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed [Luke Chapter 5: verse 16]
There is not one of us who has not experienced trauma at the hands of another. The effects of the original Fall from grace have been far-flung and devastating. Each often knows the sting of an insult such as "idiot", "stupid", "why can't you be like (anyone else but your God-given self)"?
Have you ever been told by another, "I hate you"? Such a declaration can be most destructive. Years ago I asked someone who appeared to dislike me, "What annoys you about me so much?" With hostility the individual replied, "You're still breathing."
Many of us experience fear such as fear of the dark or of the unknown. We fear rejection by others. Some lie in bed at night with hearts racing. Sleeplessness is invaded by questions such as "Will I lose my job?" "How will I ever manage to pay everything this month?" "Will this illness end in cancer?" "Will my loved one die?"
LENT IS THE ANSWER TO FEAR
Left to ourselves, we may go around in mental circles. We may feel doomed to lack of courage, fear of who we are and what can happen. Many of us have experienced abuse, physical, verbal and spiritual. Financial
abuse is another form of hurt many of us experience. Jesus Christ faced all our
fears, and magnificently overcame them. Not by being above fear, but by
refusing to allow His steadfast love to be overcome by fear and its
oft-accompanying spirit, hatred.
The Savior sweated blood in the garden as He faced torture and death. That night He was at the mercy of soldiers, tortured before death. Human sadism driven on by the influence of demonic loathing visited cruelty upon Him. Prior to His execution, Jesus was hammered with whips. His nose was possibly broken by the mailed glove of a guard. Thorns were forced into His Head. For His execution, Jesus' clothing was removed so that He hung naked upon the cross.
Every pain the human race can suffer was forced upon Him as He sweated blood to save all of us from our sins. The saddest of all Christ's sufferings was that those whom He loves laughed at His pain. Why do we enjoy the suffering of another when we hurt so desperately ourselves?
Spring-clean our inner selves
Jesus went out to the desert for forty days and nights in order to wrestle with the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. His example ushered in the Lenten season where we take a long, sober look at ourselves and clean out the inner house of our soul. Things lurk there: a spirit of pride, or a spirit of rejection. A jealousy which is engaged in destroying the happiness of another innocent soul who cannot understand why he or she is the target of our rage when all they do is work and love and pray.
Covetousness of another who has a bigger car, and stronger house, has better health or a larger bank balance. All of these things do not bring peace. We need to clear out our soul, and Lent is the perfect time to do it.
Personal judgement
Remember, dear one, that we are going to meet God in our personal judgement. When we die (yes, let us not run away from the reality by trying to stay ever-youthful and pretend to ourselves by our thoughts of everything except the inevitable truth) we will stand before Almighty God to answer for our deeds and misdeeds.
No-one will hold our hand. No-one who was complicit with us in sinning in mob violence, jeering at another, watching online matter the making of which entailed trafficking of innocents will stand with us at our last judgement when we face the Almighty. No, we will stand alone.
Let us make this reckoning of how we have spent our lives a joyous one, knowing that despite our many mistakes (and all of us make mistakes!) we have really tried our best. Our merciful Lord does not ask much more than that. However, He really does not like it when we deliberately turn our face away from all that is good.
Ask forgiveness
Lent is the time to ask God for forgiveness. Lent is the time to take a long look at our inner selves and change what is bad there. Yes, bad. I have said it. We all have the ability for bad within ourselves.
However, habit is a wonderful thing. If we practise something often enough, it becomes part of us. So, if I get up each morning and practice meditation, my inner self will become calmer and my mind automatically will turn to God as soon as I wake up. I become that which I practise.
Model yourself on Christ
Let us take the model of Our Lord Jesus Christ and practise His virtues; humility, kindness, patience, peace, goodness, trust in God, lack of revenge and inclusive love for all. Practice these things all the time in your own individual way. Eventually you will become these wonderful things.
That is not to say that you don't already have these virtues within yourselves; each of us have been given spiritual gifts by God. However, not all of us develop them to the fullest of their potential. Throw away your fear, leave behind your trauma and develop inner serenity and calm by asking Christ to change your soul and spirit.
Hurt
We hurt others as they hurt others. Often we hurt others through our fear: you will get the position at work I want, so I must destroy your professional reputation by lies. No. This is not from God.
I am afraid that you will hurt me, so I will hurt you first. No: again, this is not from God. Throw away fear, cleanse your heart of anxiety. Build your spiritual house upon the solid rock of God and not upon the shifting sands of the mores of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Then, when temptation strikes, when the winds and the floods of difficulties arise around us, we will be able to stand firm and strong, true heirs to the Kingdom of God. Within ourselves the root of anger and hostility against others will fade, and the flower of love and care will flourish.
Chalice of Life
Each of us must drink from the chalice of life, whether we want to or not. Each of us must carry our own individual cross as disciple of God; whether we want to or not. However, if we courageously take up our cross and carry it, instead of waiting for daily life in this imperfect world to force it upon our shoulders, we have already thrown away a little fear and built a little courage.
Follow Jesus, Pattern of all that is good and holy
God testified to His Son at Christ's transfiguration with the words, "This is My Son, Whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!" (Luke 9:35) It behoves us to be obedient to the Almighty. Jesus is the pattern of all that is good and holy. The four gospels explain the wonders of His human character allied to His divine dignity. Read them and immerse yourself in Who Jesus Christ really is - the One Who could forgive those who had just hammered nails into His wrists and feet.
Follow Jesus. Be strong. When your heart beats faster, and your palms sweat, and you feel inadequate, realize that the entire treasury of the Grace of God has been put at your disposal.
You are an heir of God, you will win heaven. But faint heart never won great victory. The greatest victory each of us can win is over ourselves. So be strong this Lent, turn to Jesus, go to confession to a reputable priest who is a person of authentic spirituality and change your life forever.
Mercy
Each of us will stand before Almighty God and answer for our deeds, misdeeds, and our no deeds when we should have acted. Mindful of this, let us show mercy for others, compassion for their weakness, understanding for their pain. Be strong in following Christ. Don't eat too much, don't fast too much. Balance is all. Don't use the beautiful sounds God made to fill our mouths in order to spew out invective.
Be careful what you watch and read
Don't watch or read things that are not godly. Don't walk past the suffering of the innocent. Be strong. You are a beloved of Christ.
Lent: a wonderful time
Lent is a wonderful time. It is a second chance once again - every year! A second change to re-set our compass towards the due north of our heavenly destination. Yet again we are given a chance to decide to become the greatest saint that we can be. Once more we can turn to the sacraments to wash away our sin and become a new person in Christ.
One day will be your last
Throw away fear. Do not cause fear in others. Embrace each day. One day will be your last before your eyes open to the wonderful vision of God in heaven. Make sure you have prepared for your eternal home by a good life. This is done by repenting your falls, receiving communion if possible and loving all in a godly manner.
Blessings as your fast, pray and give alms this Lent
May God's blessings be with you during this time of purification, turn towards holiness. The three ways you can celebrate the wonder of Lent are by means of fasting (prudently!), prayer (turn your hearts towards God and talk to Him - He gets lonely for your company) and almsgiving (give of your blessings to others who have none).
Become a saint!
If you wish to make your confession to God, visit the prayer chapel of repentance
ASH WEDNESDAY CHURCH SERVICE If you are unable to attend a Church Service, why not follow the service below in prayer and thus begin your Lent? Perhaps you have been working in essential services, are caregiver at home or ill in bed. All of your intentions have been held before the Lord.
Celebrant; 'The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart you will not despise."
Psalm 51:17 Congregation; 'Lord, have mercy.'
Beginning hymn;God of mercy and compassion
Lyrics;
"God of mercy and compassion,
Look with pity upon me.
Father, let me call Thee Father,
'Tis Thy child returns to Thee.
Jesus, Lord, I ask for mercy,
Let me not implore in vain.
All my sins I now detest them,
Never will I sin again."
Celebrant; "Since the early days followers of Christ have observed with great devotion the time of our Lord's passion and resurrection. It is the custom of the Church to prepare for this by a season of penitence and fasting.
At first this season of Lent was observed by those who were preparing for baptism at Easter and by those who were to be restored to the Church's fellowship from which they had been separated through sin. In course of time the Church came to recognize that, by a careful keeping of these days, all might take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ.
I invite you, therefore, in the Name of the Lord to observe a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word."
A period of reflective silence follows.
Celebrant: "Let us pray for grace to keep Lent faithfully.
Almighty and everlasting God, forgive the sins of all those who are penitent. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we may be truly sorry for our sins, and obtain from You, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Invitation to Confession;
Celebrant: "Have mercy on us, O Lord." Congregation: "For we have sinned against You." Congregation; "Lord, have mercy."
Celebrant; "God our Father, You sent Your Son; born of a Virgin, born in a stable. Forgive our failures to receive Him. Lord have mercy." Congregation; "Lord, have mercy".
Celebrant; "Jesus our Savior, Born in poverty, apprentice to carpenter, Forgive the times we have wanted money more than the ways of God. Christ, have mercy". Congregation; "Christ, have mercy".
Celebrant; "Spirit of Love, Your servants Mary and Joseph obeyed Your Word and gave us our Saviour. Forgive us when our hearts are hard". Congregation; "Lord have mercy".
Celebrant; "May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to life eternal". Congregation; "Amen". Celebrant; "May God Who loved the world so much, That He sent His Son to be our Saviour, Forgive us our sins, and make us holy to serve Him in the world, through Jesus Christ our Lord". Congregation; "Amen.".
Here follows a few moments of silence. Reach out to God with your heart, and think of any area in your life where you can improve as a person. If there is an area in your life on which you need to work, silently communicate with God and commit to addressing this area.
Readings; First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah, 58;1-12
TRUE FASTING
"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today,
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings."
"This is the Word of the Lord."
Congregation: "Thanks be to God."
THE GOSPEL
Matthew 6:1-6
GIVING TO THE NEEDY
Celebrant: "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
PRAYER
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, Who is unseen Then your Father, Who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
"This is the gospel of the Lord."
Congregation: "Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ."
WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT Celebrant; "The Holy Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, where He undertook forty days of fasting. During Lent we are called upon to accompany Jesus by fasting, prayer and almsgiving. We are thus called upon to tame our inner selves. We can never be truly free if we are enslaved to food, alcohol, drugs, physical intimacy without commitment, bad temper, laziness. We are not free if we are unable to be the master of our personality and ego.
Jesus overcame the flesh, the world and the devil. These three great powers enslaved humanity completely before Christ came to break their bonds. We must continually rebel against these three great powers in the course of our growth in holiness. Ephesians 2:2-3 tells us, "You once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh".
"The course of this world" refers to the ways of culture and society which oppose the Lord. There are ungodly trends in the world that once ruled our passions but now are defeated in Christ. And the journey of Lent helps us to rein our emotions, tame our passions, purify our thoughts, cleanse our speech, spring-clean our motives and practise godly behavior.
Perhaps you have a sin which is over-riding your life. Don't worry. This simply means you are a member of the human race. We are all struggling with after-effects of the Fall. Yet we are not struggling alone. Christ strides ahead of us into the desert to wrestle with the great powers which threaten our holiness. Let us follow with courage and seek His grace.
What are the practical things you can do during these forty days of reflection, prayer, fasting and almsgiving? Well, spend time in prayer. Be kind. Follow the Ten Commandments. If you have become weak with regard to one of the commandments, don't be too harsh with yourself about it. Just make a resolution to change, and find practical ways to change your habit. Confess your sins to God. Forgive others their sins towards you.
Become at peace with your world: and you too will overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. Remember you are not alone. On all sides clouds of witnesses are also striving towards holiness. We move towards heaven as the People of God.
Be of good cheer. Jesus has already won our redemption. Let us practise self-discipline this Lent and accept this great gift."
You may spend some time in quiet reflectilon if you so wish. BLESSING WITH ASHES
Celebrant: "We are blessed with ashes to remind us that God fashioned us from the earth, and we are organic: to the earth we shall return. Yet this is not the end, rather the beginning. Created in God's holy Image, we will not perish. Our immortal soul is destined for eternity in heaven. Our earthly body will be raised up at the resurrection, glorified and united with our soul and spirit. May this blessing of ashes upon your forehead remind you that, "you are dust, and to dust you shall return." May the symbol of ash remind you, too, of our glorious destiny once we have won the race and lived a godly life.
Enter into Lent with the resolve to make a true and repentant spiritual journey in the footsteps of the Christ Who sets us free."
(Herewith receive the blessing of ashes upon the forehead).
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Celebrant; '"Lord, our God, grant us grace to desire You with our whole heart; that so desiring, we may seek and find You: and so finding, may love You: and so loving, may hate those sins from which You have delivered us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Congregation; "Amen." Celebrant; "Make our hearts clean, O Lord." Congregation; "And renew a right spirit within us." All: ''Father eternal, giver of light and grace,
we have sinned against You and against our neighbor,
in what we have thought, in what we have said and done:
through ignorance, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault.
We have wounded Your love, and marred Your Image in us.
We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, Who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen." . Absolution; "Almighty God, Who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness and keep you in life eternal: through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Congregation; "Amen."
HOLY COMMUNION Celebrant; "Most merciful Lord, Your love compels us to return to You. Our hands were unclean, our hearts were unprepared, we were not fit even to eat the crumbs from under Your table. But You, Lord, are the God of our salvation, and share Your bread with sinners. So cleanse and feed us with the precious Body and Blood of Your Son, that He may live in us and we in Him; and that we, with the whole company of Christ, may sit and eat in Your kingdom.
We praise You, Father, that on the night before He gave His life, our Lord Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to His disciples and said; 'Take, eat; this is My Body which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.' Congregation; 'Lord Jesus, You are the Bread of Life.' Celebrant; 'After the same manner also He took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them saying, 'Take this, all of you, and drink; for this is My Blood; the Blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins. Do This in memory of Me.' Congregation; 'Lord Jesus, You are the Cup of Life, the wine that is blessed for our salvation.'
THE LORD'S PRAYER 'Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever, Amen.' BENEDICTION Celebrant; "Christ give you grace to grow in holiness, to deny yourselves, and to take up your cross and follow Him; and may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you, and remain with you always." Congregation; 'Amen'. After a period of silent prayer, go out into your Lent.
Blessings!
LENT - THE TIME FOR FASTING, PRAYER AND ALSMGIVING
