Lenten Prayer

This coming Wednesday, 14th February, we celebrate St Valentine’s Day — but this year it is also Ash Wednesday and the beginning of our journey to Easter. The forty days of Lent were originally established in the fourth century to prepare those who were to be baptised at the Easter Vigil.

For us here at St Thomas of Canterbury, eight people will be baptised at the Easter Vigil and six people will be received into full communion with Catholic church. All fourteen will then be confirmed and receive Holy Communion for the first time. At Easter, we who have been baptised have the opportunity to renew our commitment to Jesus and to renew our baptismal promises. Lent is therefore a time for the catechumens (those to be baptised) and the candidates (those to be received into full communion) — and for all of us — to prepare for the great Easter feast. We do this in three ways: by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Prayer enables us to fix our minds on Christ and his Gospel message. Fasting helps our body to share in the sufferings of Jesus and the poor. Almsgiving enables us to set aside money for those in need. Almsgiving can include gifts of time, money, and commitment to corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Take some time in the next few days to decide how you want to prepare for the celebration of Easter. Here are some pointers.

Is there any way you would want to pray during Lent? One popular devotion is to pray the Way of the Cross. Pope Francis has designated this year as a year of prayer in preparation for next year’s Holy Year.  And so this year, every Friday evening, we will have a celebration of the Stations of the Cross at 6:30pm. There are some good pamphlets in our shop that give suggested ways to meditate on Jesus’ journey to Calvary. The prayer group, which meeting on Tuesdays in the Upper Room, will be reflecting on the familiar and powerful words of the Our Father, using as a resource “We Dare to Say”.

Of course, the great liturgical prayer is the celebration of Mass, and Lent might be a time when we can come to Mass during the week.

We are only obliged to fast on two days in Lent: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The day of fasting means that only one meal is taken and, at the other usual meal times, a small amount of food which added together would not exceed one full meal. The object of fasting is to enable us to love God, and love others, more deeply. When we limit our own consumption of food, the money we save means we can be more generous to others. The Friday Fast Day on 23rd February is an opportunity to support the work of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). This can be part of our Almsgiving.

The days of Abstinence during Lent are: Ash Wednesday, all Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Abstinence is doing without something, or refraining from doing something. Like fasting, abstinence invites us to forgo some good thing for the sake of the greater good. During Lent this means refraining from eating meat. Meat is considered to include the flesh of all warm-blooded animals and birds.

Here is a Lenten Prayer:

Almighty and ever living God, you invite us deeper into your world, your people, your Lent. May this time be one of outward focus; seeking you in those we often ignore. Help us live a Lent focused on freedom, generosity, and encounter. Give us hearts hungry to serve you and those who need what we have to give.