What can we do in this Lenten season?

by Deacon Oscar Cervantes  |  02/26/2023  |  From the Clergy

Entering Lent is trying to enter that desert that Jesus enters to prepare us with him. What can we do in this Lenten season?

Fasting not only from that food that we like, but also looking beyond, giving up what we like, that sometimes is not good for us. Fasting is not just stopping eating, it is doing something we want to stop in our lives; something that can affect us in our lives not only physically but spiritually as well.

What else can we do? We can pray. May Jesus be the one in these forty days in that first thought that comes to you. Many think that prayer is memorizing prayers. Prayer is entering into dialogue with God, it is a relationship with God, where you are sincere, where you trust all your problems, joys and concerns. Another way of praying is to live these forty days doing the will of God, offering everything you do.

Another way to live Lent is to get rid of the material things, which is not good for us. Sharing with the most needy: sharing a meal, sharing a coat for this strong cold, sharing a donation for that institution that provides a roof for the homeless.

Lent is a time of penance. It is a time where we come to regret our limitations, our sins, our material attachments. All this prepares us for a true communion with Christ.

May this lent help you get away from everything that separates you from that spiritual peace. May this season draw you closer to Christ and stay united to the Holy Spirit. So when this time of Lent ends you can look at the desert in which we live, without realizing it, and that way we can live a stronger faith.