Lent calls us to repentance and conversion. Living stewardship is a conversion journey toward a mature discipleship. We are to accept the loss of all things, as St. Paul told the Philippians in Chapter 3:8 – things like our ideas of success and happiness and the urge to buy more and more stuff considering it as so much rubbish. Instead, like Paul, we continue to pursue Jesus in hope of a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. Lent gives us the perfect framework to pursue this gain. It is the practice of the pillars of our faith: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Persevere in praying always and in everything. Lift a quick thought of praise and thanksgiving before every encounter, before every activity. Pray first in every situation. Fast by detaching from the desire to have more things and spending more on entertainment. Fast also from criticism and from thinking about how things ought to be. And how about this – fast from negative thoughts about yourself! Remember whose you are and God’s mercy – like He showed the woman caught in adultery. How humbling. In gratitude for His mercy, give alms to help the poor. For me, supporting those ministries that are about the works of mercy – feeding the poor, helping them with clothing, housing and transportation, supporting ministries that help young women choose life are what I feel called to do, what brings me a deeper sense of meaning in my life.
Giving reflects the intimacy of your relationship with God. It is a concrete demonstration of how mature your discipleship is and your trust in Him to provide. Give alms and be made clean (Luke 11:41). Give to pursue the goal, to attain the prize of God’s upward calling.
Photo Credit: Robert Davis
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