The Season of Lent: A Time for Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving as We Prepare Our Hearts for Easter

The church, in her wisdom, has given us the different liturgical seasons. These seasons invite us to live our lives remembering the life of Christ and uniting our own lives to His. Just as Advent is a season of preparation before the great celebration of the birth of Christ, the season of Lent invites us to call to mind the 40 days that He spent in the desert, sacrificing and praying, and overcoming temptation. The season is followed by the high celebration of Easter. During Lent, we are invited to lean into the season by increasing our prayer, selflessly giving alms to those in need, and fasting to return our thoughts to Christ every time we feel the lack of comfort from that which we have given up.

The ways that each person and family use this guide of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can be widely varied and unique. As we discern the ways we incorporate this method, we need to pray to the Holy Spirit to show us how to learn to die to self and overcome temptation. Perhaps a mother wishing to increase her prayer time could use the time she spends folding the laundry to pray for each member of her family that she is caring for with that chore. A father could sacrifice time spent on his phone by giving more attention to his family in the hours after dinner. Families can incorporate small times of prayer with the whole family. Overall it is important to take the time to see where God is calling you to make sacrifices for Him for your own good.

“When we make the commitment to more prayer, we are making our relationship with God a priority,” Fr. Zacker says. “Families reading the Scriptures together or having more family prayer time show the children that having God at the center of the family is vital to their lives.”

Almsgiving is the opportunity to make sacrifices to give to others who are less fortunate. Families can use Operation Rice Bowl within their homes to teach their children about the value of giving to others. St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Charities are both very active in our area. Giving to those in need is an opportunity to think of ourselves less and others more.

“When we fast from something, we are often giving up a habit,” Fr. Zacker says. “In order to be successful here, we need to think about what we are going to put in its place. Acts of charity, volunteering, and prayer time are all things that we can do to fill that void that the sacrifice has left.”

This Lenten season, the church has several opportunities for parishioners to take time out of their busy lives to focus on Christ. The RCIA and Confirmation candidates have their Lenten retreats in which they will take part. The Stewardship retreat will take place on Saturday, March 11 and all are invited.

The parish will be hosting a Holy Week retreat called Faith and Forgiveness: the Future. This retreat is open to all parishioners and those from surrounding area parishes. It will take place April 3-5. The main portion of this retreat will take place from 6-8 p.m. each evening. There will be more in-depth workshops held from 3:30-5 p.m. to dive deeper into the material with small groups and working practices. A guided meditation will be offered after morning Mass from 8:45-9:30 a.m. This retreat is offered to prepare our hearts and souls for Easter through an understanding of faith and our openness to forgiveness.

“We will help attendees deepen their faith, help them understand the difference between our participation and role and that of God’s grace,” says Fr. Chance Billmeyer says. “We will also explore forgiveness and learn ways to forgive ourselves and others so that we can be more open to receive God’s grace.”

An important focus of the season of Lent is repentance. The Catholic faith teaches that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the avenue through which we receive Christ’s mercy through the forgiveness of our sins. During Lent, confession will be offered on Friday evenings from 6-7 p.m. as well as Sunday afternoons from 4:30-5:30 p.m. in addition to our regular Confession times.

The Stations of the Cross is another wonderful opportunity for parishioners to pray and experience the Passion of Christ. This beautiful service leads us through the way of the cross to meditate on the sacrifice that Jesus made out of love to save us from our sins.

The Knights of Columbus will be hosting their Lenten Fish Fry each Friday of Lent from 5-8 p.m. This is a great opportunity to enjoy community and delicious food together.

This Lent, let us prayerfully discern how we can take advantage of these opportunities to unite our lives to Christ. As He prayed and fasted for 40 days in the desert, let us take these 40 days of Lent to die to ourselves and grow closer to Him as we pray, fast and give alms.

The Knights of Columbus will be hosting their Lenten Fish Fry each Friday of Lent from 5-8 p.m. This is a great opportunity to enjoy community and delicious food together.

Lenten Schedule

Stations of the Cross on Fridays

12 p.m. — Outdoor Stations of the Cross (weather permitting, otherwise in the Sanctuary)

3 p.m. — Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy

5 p.m. — Stations of the Cross for Children

6:30 p.m. — Via Crucis en Español

7:30 p.m. — Stations of the Cross

Confessions

Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.

Saturday, 4 p.m.

Sunday, 1:30 p.m. (Spanish)

Extra Confession Times for Lent — Fridays from 6-7 p.m. and Sundays from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Retreats

March 11 — Lenten Stewardship Retreat

Presented by Fr. Gary Kastl

8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

April 3, 4 and 5 — Faith and Forgiveness

Presented by Fr. Chance Billmeyer

Guided Meditation, 8:45- 9:30 a.m. Workshop, 3:30-5 p.m.

Retreat, 6-8 p.m.