J.M.J.
PIOUS PRACTICES FOR LENT
Every Lent, Holy Mother The Church advocates certain pious practices
that her children should perform to satisfy their requirements to do
penance, to pray, to perform good works, to make reparation for their sins,
and to further the apostolic work of the Church.
Our Lord tells us, as recorded in Scripture, "Unless you shall do penance,
you shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). And St. John the Baptist
announced the coming of the Saviour with the ominous admonition, "Do
penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matt. 3:2).
With regard to prayer, St. Paul tells us to "Pray without ceasing." (1
Thess. 5:17). And Our dear Lord advises us, "Amen, amen I say to you: if you
ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you." (John 16:23). Also
He said, "If you abide in me [i.e., "live in Me," or "stay in the state of
grace"], and my words abide ["live"] in you, you shall ask whatever you
will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7). Further, Our Lord has
said, "Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the
Son of man." (Luke 21:36). And in the Book of Judith we read, "Know ye that
the Lord will hear your prayers, if you continue with perseverance in
fastings and prayers in the sight of the Lord." (Judith 4:11).
Our obligation to do apostolic work, no matter who we are, is seen in the
general admonition of St. John the Baptist, ". . .make straight the way of
the Lord . . ." (In. 1:23; Is. 40:3). The Church has used this counsel in
her Advent liturgy, so we know it applies to all - at least to the extent
that all must pray and do penance for the success of the Church's missionary
activity, help support it financially - and wherever possible take an
active part in the conversion or reconversion of those we know.
The primary purpose of Lent, of course, is to help us become truly holy -
and we should work toward this goal during Lent by extra prayer, penance,
good works, almsgiving, attendance at Mass and reception of the Sacraments
(the chief sources of grace).
SPECIFIC PRACTICES TO CHOOSE FROM
1. Abstinence: This is the giving up of something we like to eat, drink,
smoke, use, etc. (All Catholics 14 and over are currently required to
abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.) We can
abstain from (give up) meat on days other than those required, give up
candy, sweets, dessert, pop, gum, coffee, tea, smoking, beer, wine, hard
liquor, eating between meals, and/or our favorite foods and drinks, etc.
2. Fasting: This is still required by the Church of all those age 21 through
59 on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but it is something which most people
can do every day during Lent (except Sunday, which was never a day of
fasting). This was formerly required of all Catholics 21 through 59 years of
age. The Catholic Church's traditional method of fasting is to take only
one full meal per day, at which meat may be eaten (unless it is also a day
of abstinence), plus 2 small meals that together do not equal the main meal
and at which no meat is eaten, with nothing eaten between meals. This is a
mild form of fasting, but one which leaves the person always a little on the
hungry side and ever cognizant that he is depriving himself of his regular
fare.
3. TV: We can drastically limit our TV viewing, give up favorite programs or
eliminate it altogether.
4. Prayer:
- The daily Rosary. Our Lady urgently requested the daily
recitation of the Rosary (5 decades) during each of her appearÂances at
Fatima.
- The First Saturday devotion, requested by Our Lady at Fatima.
With regard to this devotion, Our Lady revealed to Sr. Lucy of
Fatima on December 10, 1925, "I promise to assist at the hour of death, with
the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the First Saturday of 5
consecutive months shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite 5 decades
of the Rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes, while meditating on the
15 mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."
(A later revelation indicated that the Confession may be 8 days before or
after the First Saturday and the meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary
may be on as few as one of the mysteries and does not need to be performed
before the Blessed Sacrament.).
- An extra Mass or more each week. The Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass is the greatest prayer there is.
- A Holy Hour, once a week, twice a week, or each day.
This is one of the most underrated devotions in the Church. Our Lord
Himself has said, "Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Matt. 26:40).
Granted, this was addressed to the Apostles in the Garden of Olives the
night before He was crucified, but it can be applied to all of us generally
and how very, very few practice this powerful devotion! Archbishop Fulton
Sheen made it the center of his daily devotions, after the Mass.
- Pray for those in Purgatory. We have an obligation to pray for our
relatives and for anyone we may have harmed by our sins. A Rosary before the
Blessed Sacrament after Mass is extremely efficacious for the Poor Souls and
can lead to the gaining of a plenary indulgence - all other conditions for
this being fulfilled.
- Pray for those who are in danger of dying without being in the state
of Sanctifying Grace. Such prayers should be offered to Our Lady to apply as
she desires, for she sees clearly who really needs the extra graces at any
given time.
- Pray for anyone you may have had the misfortune to lead into sin.
- Pray for an end to abortion.
- Pray for peace in the world. The Old Testament tells us, "The heart of
the king is in the hand of the Lord: whithersoever he will, he shall turn
it." (Prov. 21:1). Prayer can work miracles and change the hearts of even
wicked rulers.
5. Go to Confession once a week: Frequent Confession is generally said to be
once a month, but in Introduction to the Devout Life St. Francis de Sales
recommends once a week, and St. Alphonsus Liguori says that anyone who is
serious about saving his soul will go often, "at least once a week." Some
Saints went every day; many went several times a week. Just prior to Vatican
II, priests in the U.S.A. were advocating once a week and getting about 1/3
to 1/2 compliance by the people. This is one of the best ways to make
progress in the spiritual life because we regularly stay focused on what we
are doing wrong.
6. Examine your conscience every night: Review the day and what you did and
did not do that might have displeased God; then, keep these things in mind
for your next Confession.
7. Do penance: Our Lord has made it perfectly clear that penance is
necessary for salvation. (See the quotes from Scripture above.) To Sr. Lucy
of Fatima, He revealed that "The penance I now ask and require is that
necessary for the fulfillment of My law and the performance of one's daily
duties."
8. Perform good works:
- Visit the sick.
- Visit people in nursing homes once a week.
- Counsel, picket or pray at abortion clinics.
- Join in the abortion rescue effort.
- Take someone to Mass with you on Sundays.
- Get someone with a marriage problem to see a priest.
9. Give alms:
- Increase your donation at Church.
- Give to cloistered monasteries and convents in your area.
- Support good Catholic schools.
- Support crisis pregnancy centers.
- Support local soup kitchens.
- Help those who are poor.
10. Do Apostolic work:
- Take someone to Mass with you.
- Take someone to Confession with you.
- Invite someone to become a Catholic - start talking to him about it.
- Get him to a priest for instruction.
- Get a priest to visit a fallen-away Catholic, especially an elderly one.
- Distribute Catholic books and booklets. (TAN has many titles that are
discounted specifically for this purpose.)
- Distribute prayer cards and leaflets. (TAN has over a dozen of these,
drastically discounted for wide distribution, plus small flyers announcing
Catholic books.)
11. Engage in spiritual reading:
- Require yourself to do at least 15 minutes of reading from a good
Catholic book each day.
- Read your Bible at least 15 minutes each day.
- Read from the life of a Saint for at least 15 minutes each day. (These
are the heroes and heroines we should imitate.)
12. Consecrate your life to God and renew the consecration each day. Or,
consecrate yourself to God through the Blessed Virgin Mary and read about
and begin to practice "True Devotion to Mary." Read St. Louis De Montfort's
book called True Devotion to Mary, one of the Church's greatest classics.
REMEMBER: Lent is a holy season set aside by the Church during which we are
recommended to do extra prayer, penance, sacrifice, good works and
almsgiving, plus to frequent the Sacraments and attend Mass more often - all
for the welfare of our souls. And we should all keep before our minds that
many a pious practice begun during Lent has become a lifelong virtuous habit
that has thereby helped to perfect those who have made a mere "humble
beginning" during Lent..
>From Tom Nelson - Publisher: TAN Books & Publishing (www.tanbooks.com).
See our catalog/order form (http://olrl.org/library/oform.shtml) for
additional distribution material.
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Sincerely in Christ,
Our Lady of the Rosary Library
"Pray and work for souls"
http://olrl.org
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