As Fat Tuesday winds down we now turn our focus towards Lent. If you are looking to do something special this Lenten Season, you might want to try praying a novena. This is a prayer for a specific devotion you say for nine days. You pray novenas for specific causes or intentions.
One of my readers sent me a link to the Pray More Novenas website. It is a really good catalogue of novenas and you can sign up to receive email reminders. I know that novenas only last nine days but it’s amazing how hard it can be to follow through praying them. Reminders are helpful.
The Virgin Mary’s February, 2011 messages focus on perfecting prayer and working towards converting our hearts and minds toward God. Mary offers Her assistance to anyone who asks for it.
Our Lady’s message to Mirjana Soldo on February 2, 2011
Dear children; You are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity in God’s family. Thank you.
Mary’s message does not focus on any particular mystery of the rosary, but praying the rosary in general. I know that many of us have a difficult time remaining focused while praying. We tend to go into “auto pilot” where we recite the words of the prayers but think about other things. I know that I often start thinking about scenes from movies, television shows, or something else I saw or heard. Or, thinking about an intention I have may inadvertently sidetrack me. I might begin a decade by praying for all those driving to work; that they remain safe in their travels. I then start thinking about my car. “When did I last take it in for service? What did the mechanic find? How much did he charge me? What’s that squealing noise? I should remember to have that checked out.” And the next thing I know, I’ve blown through the entire decade without even realizing it.
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Mary asks us to really focus on the quality of our prayer. I’ve mentioned this before about trying to find perfect prayer. Here’s a tip when you find yourself mindlessly reciting words — STOP PRAYING! Take a few seconds to clear your mind of those distracting thoughts. Then pick up that rosary and start praying again with renewed focus. Possibly that day just is not a good day for focused prayer. There’s no shame in realizing that you are too distracted to really give God your full attention. Just resolve that you will try again later with renewed vigor. If Mary’s tone in Her message is any indication, I think God prefers one sincere prayer over one hundred mindless recitations.
Our Lady’s message on February 25, 2011
Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Mary asks us to act as a “sign and an incentive for conversion to others” by the example we set. The Gospel from February 6, 2011 echos that same sentiment when Jesus asks us to be a light to the world of His love and goodness. Mary asks us to focus on our conversion by walking the path Jesus lays before us instead of the one the world shows us. I know that Jesus’ path can look difficult and scary at times. He puts down a pretty grand challenge by asking us to be perfect.
The good news is that we do not travel that path alone. Mary, through The Assumption, offers Her assistance. She looks down from Heaven to help us walk that road. She gave us the rosary, one of the strongest prayer tools in our spiritual arsenal. She gives us messages in the form of apparitions to steer us in the right direction. She spends all Her time an energy trying to put as many of us on the right path towards Heaven and She will never be too busy to help those who need it. So take up that challenge of praying and living perfectly as Jesus asks. You will never achieve perfection (after all, we are imperfect beings), but you will be a much better person and deeper in God’s grace than if you never tried at all.
The Gospel for 9/26/2010 was Luke 16:19-31 which was the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In short, a rich man goes to Hell because he was uncharitable to Lazarus, a poor man. I always squirm before the homily when I hear this Gospel during Mass because many times people will use it to jump into a tirade about how you are an evil person bound for Hell if you have any money. Some will use it as justification on why we need higher taxes or some sort of forced redistribution of wealth. I believe such analysis of this parable misses the point Jesus was trying to make. The rich man did not go to Hell because he was rich. He went to Hell because he was uncharitable with his wealth, neglected those who needed his help, and hence was not showing his love for God.
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The Gospel for 9/26/2010 was Luke 16:19-31 — the story of the rich man and Lazarus. In short, a rich man goes to Hell because he was uncharitable to Lazarus, a poor man. I always squirm before the homily when I hear this Gospel during Mass because many times people will use it to jump into a tirade about how you are an evil person bound for Hell if you have any money. Some will use it as justification on why we need higher taxes or some sort of forced redistribution of wealth. I believe such analysis of this parable misses the point Jesus was trying to make. The rich man did not go to Hell because he was rich. He went to Hell because he was uncharitable with his wealth, neglected those who needed his help, and hence was not showing his love for God.
This parable reminds me of The Third Sorrowful Mystery of the holy rosary where the Roman soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus and mocked Him. The crowning of thorns represents how we often show our faith. Through our actions, instead of offering Jesus a majestic crown made from our love for Him we present a pitiful one made from our indifference. When do we show this indifference, apathy, and even hatred towards Jesus? When do we crown Him with “thorns?” Surely we would treat Him with the utmost honor and respect if we saw Him, correct? Look no further than Matthew 25:41-45:
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.
By ignoring Lazarus, the rich man ignored Jesus. If charity shows love for Jesus, then acting uncharitable shows contempt. Through his actions, the rich man was not putting Jesus first in his life. The rich man is the antithesis of the Good Samaritan. While the Good Samaritan lived a life of constant prayer and could spot those in need and readily help them, the rich man was blind to the needs of others. And that is the heart of Jesus’ parable. It’s not that money is inherently bad and those who have some and live comfortably should feel ashamed. It’s that wealth has the capacity to blind you to the needs of others and can prevent you from offering Jesus the true respect, honor, and love He deserves. That is, money will blind you if you let it.
On the flip side, having some level of wealth provides great opportunities to help others in need and hence really show love for Jesus. Look around and see some of the great institutions and services funded through charitable donations. Whether it is a food drive, soup kitchen, or a new hospital, these opportunities to help the less fortunate come from people who use their wealth for good. Without getting too political, how could these people act so charitably if they did not accumulate anything and could only look after their basic needs? I want to end with a trailer from the movie, “The Blind Side.” Besides it being a good movie I think the story paints a good picture on how having a certain level of resources at your disposal enables people to do great things for those less fortunate.
I came across this article on Catholic Exchange. It discusses the idea of “perfect prayer” and how the Holy Spirit guides us in our spiritual life. It also dives into the idea of how reciting prayers, like the “Hail Mary” repetitively in the Catholic rosary, is different from the mindless incantations that Jesus warns us against in the Gospel. Many of the ideas put forth by the article’s author, Mark Shea, run along similar lines as many of my articles so I thought this was worth further commentary.
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I came across this article on Catholic Exchange. It discusses the idea of “perfect prayer” and how the Holy Spirit guides us in our spiritual life. It also dives into the idea of how reciting prayers, like the “Hail Mary” repeatedly in the Catholic rosary, is different from the mindless incantations that Jesus warns us against in the Gospel. Many of the ideas put forth by the article’s author, Mark Shea, run along similar lines as many of my articles so I thought this was worth further commentary.
The article starts by explaining to us the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer:
Because we don’t know what we are doing when we pray, God sends us help. The principal help he gives is the Spirit who, if you will, prays through us and in union with us.
Naturally, this calls to mind the Third Glorious Mystery, the Coming of the Holy Spirit. This same gift given to the apostles is also available to us to help guide us through life. Remember, the purpose of prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not to erase all of life’s problems. The world will always be an imperfect place where there is sadness, sickness, cruelty, war, and suffering. The world moves like raging, white water rapids where it is so easy to lose control and smash upon the rocks. But the Holy Spirit helps us navigate those rapids so that we make it through intact. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make the rapids go away but gives us the strength and knowledge to survive and even thrive among the chaos of this world.
The article moves on to discuss repetitive prayer and cites Jesus in Matthew 6:7:
And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
I always found this warning against “empty phrases” interesting because people always ask this about praying the rosary. Many people feel like repeating the Hail Mary ten times for each decade is just the recitation of empty phrases. And surely, it can become that if we say them without any focus or conviction. But Mark Shea makes a good point that we do not recite the Hail Mary or the Our Father as if it is some sort of magic spell and hence reduce God to a genie who grants us wishes. Instead, reciting these prayers repeatedly moves us into a more meditative and receptive state to hear God’s will. And this brings us back to the earlier part about letting the Holy Spirit guide us. By praying and meditating we prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit’s guidance. In a way, its not the words of the prayer that are important. Rather, it’s the frame of mind that prayer puts us in since it shows an effort to really have a closer relationship with God.
Reciting the Hail Mary as a form of rosary meditation is our spiritual exercise. In a past article, I liken rosary prayer to doing push ups. You don’t get in shape physically by doing a single push up periodically. Similarly, you don’t get spiritually healthy by praying a single Hail Mary once in a while. So what some see as mindless incantations in praying the rosary, I see as a healthy spiritual workout regiment. Very few of us can get “in the zone” with a few seconds of praying. It takes time to organize our thoughts and present them to the Lord. And that is why God designed the rosary the way it is. It allows us to take our time, warm up a little, and really focus on trying to build our relationship with the Lord.
It takes discipline to pray the rosary and stay focused and receptive to the Holy Spirit. Anyone who has meditated deeply will tell you it is anything but the recitation of easy, mindless phrases.
In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the servants watching over their master’s house while he is away (Luke 12:32-48). There are two verses that really struck a chord with me and relate to many of my earlier articles and rosary meditations: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” These verses stress the importance of always being prepared. But it raises these interesting questions. For what do we prepare? And how do we prepare?
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In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the servants watching over their master’s house while he is away (Luke 12:32-48). There are two verses that really struck a chord with me and relate to many of my earlier articles and rosary meditations:
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
These verses stress the importance of always being prepared. But it raises these interesting questions. For what do we prepare? And how do we prepare? I think the traditional reading of this Gospel is that we prepare for our final judgement once we die. We are like the servants while Jesus is the master. One day the master will return and we will have to account for what we have done. The Second Glorious Mystery reminds us that Jesus ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God to judge the living and the dead. Since we do not know when our final judgement will come, we better be in a constant state of readiness. But while preparing for our final judgement is important, there are also other, more immediate reasons why we need to be prepared spiritually.
We should also prepare ourselves for the unexpected obstacles of this life. Similar to how Jesus said that we do not know the hour of our judgement, we also do not know the time or circumstances of great hardship. It may be the unexpected loss of a loved one, an illness, economic troubles, relationship issues, or just a sense of depression and despair. Often we cannot prevent such events from occurring. Since we cannot avoid hardship and trials in life it almost seems foolish to not prepare for them. As Jesus implies in the Gospel, only a foolish person would not defend his house if he knows thieves are coming. It is important to build a “reservoir of faith” so that we have the strength to endure the challenges life throws at us in the way Jesus expects from us.
We also prepare ourselves spiritually, not just to endure hardship, but also so we can do good when the opportunity arises. Thinking back to the story of The Good Samaritan, living a life of constant prayer enables us to spot those opportunities when we can help those in need. Personally, I know I sometimes live in my own little world and focus on my immediate needs. We often live where we look after ourselves first and maybe, if we have a little energy left over, we help our loved ones. And many of us have no energy or desire to help strangers or our enemies. But when our hearts and minds are truly prepared and aligned with God’s will we gain the ability to look past our immediate needs and see the needs of others.
There are many ways to prepare for the trials of this life, the judgement in the next, and to help those in need. I always talk about spiritual fitness in my posts. That is just another way of explaining how to prepare our souls for life’s challenges. Much like how push ups build physical muscle, prayer and the sacraments build spiritual muscle. Meditation, reading the Bible, and (of course) praying the Holy Catholic rosary all help galvanize our defenses against sin and resist the false promises of satan. Like exercise, the earlier we start praying and the more consistently we do it the stronger we will be in the long run. We will have that extra energy to go that extra mile and help those who need it the most. So ask yourself, are you prepared?
Read this article, “Ten Facts Most Catholics Don’t Know (But Should!).” There is some pretty interesting (although heated at times) debate in the article’s comments. This article reminds me of something I said in a previous article on Lent that to succeed in our endeavours (sports, business, personal faith, etc.) you need to understand the rules of the game. Enjoy!
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I read this story on Catholic Exchange and then heard an interview on ETWN radio by the author, Gary Zimak. Gary was a “Mass once a week only” Catholic before he had some medical difficulties. That was a turning point in his life where he decided to learn more about the Catholic faith and educate others. He’s not a priest and does not hold a theology degree. He is just someone who got really excited about learning and teaching the faith. Wanting to explore my faith and share it with others was one of the main reasons why I started rosaryMeds. So Gary’s story really hit home. Maybe one of these days EWTN will interview me about rosaryMeds!
Read his article, “Ten Facts Most Catholics Don’t Know (But Should!).” Also, there is some pretty interesting (although heated at times) debate in the article’s comments. This article reminds me of something I said in a previous article on Lent that to succeed in our endeavours (sports, business, personal faith, etc.) you need to understand the rules of the game. Enjoy!
This past Sunday’s Gospel was the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a story that I’m sure many of us have heard dozens of times about a man who was beaten and robbed. A priest and a Levite avoided the man while a Samaritan helped him and took care of him (Jews and Samaritans did not get along). And we probably all know the teachings behind that parable. We have heard about how God calls us to help one another. We know that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ from our best friend to our worst enemies. We reflect on how we often make excuses for not helping one another such as we’re too busy or it’s too much of an inconvenience. But sitting in my pew last Sunday listening to the homily made me think about another angle of this parable. I asked myself, “how often does God want us to pray?”
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I use the parable of the Good Samaritan to discuss how often God calls us to prayer.
This past Sunday’s Gospel was the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a story that I’m sure many of us have heard dozens of times about a man who was beaten and robbed. A priest and a Levite avoided the man while a Samaritan helped him and took care of him (Jews and Samaritans did not get along). And we probably all know the teachings behind that parable. We have heard about how God calls us to help one another. We know that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ from our best friend to our worst enemies. We reflect on how we often make excuses for not helping one another such as we’re too busy or it’s too much of an inconvenience. But sitting in my pew last Sunday listening to the homily made me think about another angle of this parable. I asked myself, “how often does God want us to pray?”
At first glance the parable of the Good Samaritan does not seem to be about prayer. But I started to reflect on what exactly is the purpose of prayer. The basic definition of prayer is the act of communicating with God. So how often should we communicate with God through prayer? The Third Commandment says to keep holy the Sabbath which occurs once a week. As Christians, we reserve Sunday as our holy day of prayer. But instead of a day, many of us only give an hour by going to Mass and “getting it out of the way.” I defer to Homer Simpson as an example of how many of us think of Sunday Mass:
So what is a realistic amount of time to pray? A day, an hour, what? I arrived at the answer listening to the story of the Good Samaritan. We are called to prayer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In other words, God calls us to perpetually be in a state of prayer. Think about that basic definition of prayer which is communication with God. By living a life of prayer we live in constant communication with God. He guides us through life’s obstacles, gives us strength for the rough times, and offers us many blessings. Another way to put this is that living in prayer leads to living in God’s grace. But to receive these gifts of guidance, strength, and faith we have to always present our joys, worries, and concerns to God and listen to what He says to us. Through this communication we prepare ourselves for whatever challenges come our way.
The Good Samaritan was living in prayer when he helped the robbed and beaten man. Like Mary in the Annunciation or Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Samaritan said through his actions, “thy will be done Lord.” That is much more than what the priest or the Levite did in that parable when they were too busy to help the poor man. They represent our tendency to think of prayer as something we separate from our normal lives. For the priest and the Levite, the man on the side of the road needed help outside of the time they reserved for prayer. Basically, the poor man needed help when the priest and Levite weren’t in a prayerful mood. But could you imagine trying to explain to God a good reason not to be in a prayerful mood? When we are like the Samaritan who integrated prayer into his life, not separated it, we are always ready and willing to do God’s will. We don’t see helping others as an inconvenience, but as an opportunity to further our relationship with God and live in a deeper form of grace.
So let us not be like the priest or Levite in the parable or Homer Simpson in the video clip. We are not called to partition our lives into two categories — one where we live in prayer and acknowledge God’s will and one where we do not. There isn’t a time limit to prayer or an expiration date for acting holy. Of course there are different forms of prayer. Prayer means silent meditation, reading the Bible, reciting the rosary, or acting with good will. For some it might mean religious life as a priest or nun while others it means marriage. Regardless of who you are and what you do, God calls us to a life of prayer because He greatly desires a dialog with each one of us. Now ask yourself, do your actions reflect a desire to live in God’s graces?
One of the main themes in my postings is that spiritual fitness is an important part of one’s overall health. I discuss the idea of spiritual exercise and being spiritually fit. In this article I’m going to discuss one of the most basic, but also one of the most important elements of spiritual fitness — praying the Hail Mary.
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One of the main themes in my postings is that spiritual fitness is an important part of one’s overall health. I discuss the idea of spiritual exercise and being spiritually fit. In this article I’m going to discuss one of the most basic, but also one of the most important elements of spiritual fitness — praying the Hail Mary.
Physical exercise, no matter how complex, breaks down into very basic movements such as push ups, sit ups, squats, pull ups, etc. Exercise is a matter of simple mechanics where someone is lifts, lowers, pushes, or pulls some object. However, an entire industry has emerged selling videos, books, and equipment pushing the idea that being fit is a complex process. But when you remove all the advertising and spokespeople, what differentiates a physically fit person from others is that the fit person has discipline to conduct very basic movements aggressively, routinely, and properly.
One of the most basic exercises is the push up. However, it is also one of the best exercises as it strengthens core muscles, increases metabolism, and requires little space and no equipment. And yet, so many people avoid doing push ups because they are hard or many believe that such a simple movement cannot be as effective as using a very complex machine at the gym. But any athlete or soldier will tell you that mastering the push up is an important tool in improving one’s overall health and strength.
Like the push up in physical exercise, the Hail Mary and the rosary are fundamental prayers in staying spiritually fit. The Hail Mary is 42 words long and takes about 10 seconds to say at a normal pace. But it should be the cornerstone of everyone’s prayer routine. After all, why do you think Mary wants you to pray it 53 times in the rosary? It may be a simple prayer, but Mary and the saints know that it has a proven track record of keeping people in God‘s grace. And yet so many people tend to avoid praying it. Like the push up, the Hail Mary and the rosary are often avoided because they are seen as too difficult or not complex enough to have any meaningful result. But people who are in shape spiritually will probably tell you that the Hail Mary is an important part of their prayer routine and must not be avoided.
Like the push up, you should start praying the Hail Mary slowly, methodically, and routinely. Even the greatest athletes start with a single push up and then build on it. Similarly, anyone can start building spiritual muscle with a single Hail Mary and build on that. Remember, it is a ten second prayer and no one is so busy that you can’t fit in at least one some time during the day. Like the push up, practice good form which means really concentrating on the words and not rushing through it. A push up consists of two movements — a downward move followed by an upward one. Likewise, the Hail Mary consists of two parts. The first section you acknowledge and praise Mary as the Mother of God. In the second you ask Her to pray for you, a poor sinner. Both parts are important and require your attention and concentration.
So don’t be afraid of getting in spiritual shape through simple prayers. Remember, sometimes the simplest prayers can yield the greatest benefits when they are said with your whole mind and soul. Does anyone have any Hail Mary or rosary stories that they want to share? Please leave your story as a comment.
Almost a year ago a visitor left a comment mentioning the website “Come Pray the Rosary” (thanks Jack!). This website is a perpetual, online Rosary prayer session with others around the world. The prayer is set to video of various holy places and works of religious art. You can also leave prayer intentions if you like. You can pray alone and start at the beginning of a mystery instead of joining a mystery already in progress. I know that sometimes we all need a little “kick” to start praying and that is what this site offers. It may sound silly, but sometimes a voice set to a little video is the catalyst I need to get in that praying mood. Guided rosary prayer also helps us focus our minds since they have a tendency to wonder when we pray silently by ourselves (or at least I suffer from this at times).
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Welcome to Holy Week! I hope you have had a productive Lenten season as you prepare for the glorious redemption of Christ our King. Personally, I prepared well during Lent in certain areas (my Lenten sacrifice, attending Stations of the Cross, etc.) and have not quite lived up in other areas (reading the Bible, fasting, etc.). But, like in other parts of life (and iterated many times in the Gospels) it is not how you start, but how you end that counts. So I hope to make this a very productive Holy Week. In that spirit, I want to introduce you to a little gem of a website called “Come Pray the Rosary.”
A year ago a visitor left a comment mentioning the website “Come Pray the Rosary” (thanks Jack!). This website is a perpetual, online Rosary prayer session with others around the world. The prayer is set to video of various holy places and works of religious art. You can also leave prayer intentions if you like. You can pray alone and start at the beginning of a mystery instead of joining a mystery already in progress. I know that sometimes we all need a little “kick” to start praying and that is what this site offers. It may sound silly, but sometimes all it takes is a voice set to a little video to be a catalyst to get into that praying mood. Guided rosary prayer also helps us focus our minds since we have a tendency to wonder when we pray silently by ourselves (or at least I suffer from this at times).
So you will now see a new link on the left-hand side of my website which will open “Come Pray the Rosary” in a new browser window. Give it a try if you are looking for new ways of rosary meditation and prayer.
We are entering a very special time of the year. People all around the globe will come together and really show the extent of the human spirit. People from different countries, languages, and cultures will be united for a few weeks with a common purpose. It will be difficult and require many sacrifices. But in the end, some people will rise up and find a strength they never knew they had and emerge triumphant. Are you ready for… Lent?
We are entering a very special time of the year. People all around the globe will come together and really show the extent of the human spirit. People from different countries, languages, and cultures will be united for a few weeks with a common purpose. It will be difficult and require many sacrifices. But in the end, some people will rise up and find a strength they never knew they had and emerge triumphant. Are you ready for… the Olympics Lent?
Much like the Olympic games, Lent and Easter are not ordinary times of the year. It is a special time where we set aside our usual routine and really focus on becoming stronger in our faith. It is a time to really push ourselves spiritually so that we may win that eternal “gold medal” — God’s grace and a place in His heavenly kingdom. Athletes train for years in preparation for the Olympics. Similarly, we must train and build our spiritual muscles in order to get the most out of this holy season. Similar to last year’s Lenten article, here are some things you can do to earn that “Lenten Gold”
Fast: This can be the toughest form of meditation and prayer. Fast by consuming only one full meal during the day (two smaller meals are allowed to maintain strength). While most people are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, become a Lenten Olympian by fasting more often. Try fasting once or twice a week during Lent. Not ready for that gold medal? Just try skipping desserts and avoiding snacks. God sees every small sacrifice.
Pray: Allow extra time for prayer. Wake up five minutes earlier and spend that time in silent meditation. Remain conscious of Lent by praying throughout the day. Leaving work? Coming back from lunch? Running an errand? Say a small prayer at any of these times as a reminder of your faith. Want to go for the gold? Check with your parish for Stations of the Cross, Adoration, and other Lenten events.
Sacrifice: In the Olympics, earning your place on the podium takes hard work and sacrifice. You have to constantly adhere to a strict training regiment and never “slack off” or become lazy. Likewise, making the most of Lent requires making sacrifices. Give up something difficult like watching television or browsing the internet. Give up snacking. Give up alcohol. Replace your “guilty little pleasures” with prayer and build those spiritual muscles.
Know the Rules: Olympic athletes need to understand the rules of their sport in order to win. Skiers must know the twists and turns of a hill so that they can stay on the best path and achieve a winning time. Hockey players need to know what actions result in a penalty and avoid making them. How do you expect to be a Lenten superstar if you do not understand the rules of the game? Read Bible passages. Read a few pages of the Catechism every night. Learn apologetics. If you are feeling really ambitious, read one of the Holy Father’s encyclicals. Knowing your faith will keep you on that winning path.
Confession: Even Olympic athletes have bad days. Sometimes a ski jumper gets out of position and doesn’t get as much distance as he should. Sometimes a figure skater falls while trying to land after a difficult leap. But what do they all do? They get back up, learn from their mistakes, move on, and try to do better the next time. To be a Lenten athlete we also need to learn from our mistakes, get up, and move on. Go to Confession. Purge yourself of your sins, listen to the priest giving you absolution, do your penance, and move on and live in God’s graces. Want to go for the gold? Try to convince a loved one who hasn’t received the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a long time to go during Lent.
Have a Plan: Olympic athletes set goals. Skiers have a target time they have to beat in order to win a medal. Figure skaters have a list of moves they need to complete in their routines. They just don’t go out there without a strategy and hope that it all comes together. Likewise, have a plan for Lent. Make a list of all the spiritual goals you want to accomplish before Easter. Start now and continually add to the list as you think of new ways to make this Lent an extra special time of prayer.
The holiest time of the year begins in a few days. Are you prepared? Are you ready to win that spiritual gold medal? Please share in the comments any other ways we can all become Lenten superstars.
