Lenten Sacrifices
Lent is a season of growing closer to the Lord through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. There are many new resources out there designed to help Catholics on their Lenten journey, and much of what they have to offer is very valuable; one practice that they tend to ignore, however, is the practice of “giving things up for Lent”. Most everyone is familiar with what giving something up for Lent entails; choosing some treat or indulgence which you happen to be especially fond of – coffee, chocolate, whatever – and abstaining from it as a form of mortification. Objections to the practice are manifold: “Rather than something arbitrary and meaningless like not eating sweets, why not work on praying and spiritual reading to really grow your spiritual life.” “Focus on good works to help other people instead.” “Everyone giving up something different will make them pridefully think that their sacrifice is the biggest.”
I would suggest something different. While it is true, of course, that these other spiritual practices are certainly beneficial, I would suggest that it is also highly important for us to give something up for Lent. Here’s why; self-deprivation is an integral part of Christian spirituality. Of course, the most common form that this self-deprivation takes is fasting, as in not eating. Most of us nowadays, however, aren’t used to fasting, and don’t know where to start. Giving something up for Lent is a great alternative because anyone can do it without any prior expertise or experience, you don’t have to worry about any medical concerns, and you can choose something that’s meaningful to you. Ultimately, making real fasting a core part of your Lenten routine would be ideal. Still, this is a great way to get yourself used to self-mortification.
At the heart of all the objections is the idea that suffering isn’t a big deal, that, rather than intentionally enduring an admittedly very minor form of suffering, you’d be better off “doing something useful.” Suffering is useful, though. It was through suffering that Christ redeemed the world, and He told us that, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24) How did Jesus begin His ministry? Before He even started preaching, He went on a forty day fast. Christianity is all about self-denial. In fact, Jesus even went so far as to say that, “whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt. 16:25) We must be willing to give up our very lives for Christ. This doesn’t come easily to anyone. We have a natural desire to hang onto our lives, and our own comfort, as much as possible. Learning to deny ourselves is hard, and like anything that’s hard, it takes lots of practice. Think about an athlete. He doesn’t start out by running a marathon; he starts out small. Likewise, if we’re going to build up our spiritual muscles to the point where we would gladly brave death itself for Christ, we had better start small.
Finally, self-mortification can not only help us, but others as well. At Baptism, when we receive the life of grace, we are actually joined together as different members of the same Body. Just as in a natural body, the various parts can influence each other, so, in Christ’s Mystical Body, different members can help each other. By joining our suffering to Christ’s – or offering it up – we get to participate in Christ’s sacrifice in a very real way. This makes giving something up just as “practical” a suggestion as giving money – more so, in fact, because we can also offer up our suffering for the souls in Purgatory.
May you all have a very holy Lent.