Spiritual GPS
WHAT A GLORIOUS TIME OF THE YEAR
Every year about this time we get ready for that once in a year time when we can
really renew out love for God. For many of us it will not necessarily be change
since we are doing that already, but for most of us it is a time to sit back, take a
good look at ourselves and see just what Lent can do for us.  Should we give up
this or that? Should we do extra bits of penance, should we attend Mass more
often?  Yes to all of these things, but let’s look at it in a orderly way, if you will.

The Church imposes on her children, more especially those of adult age, a
serious obligation to sanctify these forty days. Many have tossed the
seriousness out and just think the Church wishes us to try to do some of these
things. Because the Church and God loves us very much, this is serious
business. By her constant remembrance in the Liturgy, she reminds us of the
absolute necessity of prayer and penance, and teaches us the best ways in which
all the Lenten duties should be fulfilled. If are we really interested in our eternal
welfare we should enter into Lent with this spirit in mind because we cannot enter
into heaven without much prayer and penance and we will not fully profit from the
commemoration of Christ’s Passion and Death.

Granted, for the last decade or so, the Lenten regulations have been relaxed, in a
way. By that I mean they have not really been taken away but have allowed us, as
adult Catholics, to use all the good penitential things, according to our wishes, to
do what many of the penitential practices did for us previously. In other words,
previously we had to fast daily. Now we have only have two days on which to
fast. On the other days, we, using our own judgment, choose to used different
penitential practices, rather than fasting, although if we wish to fast that is good
too. The change was made because in the world in which we live, fasting as such
did not mean much since many people were cutting down on what they ate
anyway. So, in the spirit of charity, the Holy Father thought it would be best if the
manner in which we spent much of Lent, was one of charity, love of neighbor and
just our own penitential practices that would also bring us closer to God and help
us to realize the shape of our lives. As I said, this is still serious and we have to
do something of a serious nature during Lent. It seems like a much more adult
way of looking at the preparation for Lent, or to put it another way, letting us do
our own thing rather than being told.

However, this does not cast away the wonderful things that many of us remember
during Lent. For instance, the laws of the Church regarding fasting and
abstinence according to our age, renewed fervor at our customary prayers,
especially our Legionary prayers and works that are part of our lives as members
of the Legion, better and more frequent making of the Way of the Cross,
meditation on the Passion and Death of Jesus, making days of recollection or a
retreat. ( I might suggest the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius) being more
charitable in our work with fellow members of the Legion and also trying to see in
all those whom we work with as our cases, the face of Christ and His Mother

Now when we look at it in this light, are we actually asked more than what is our
duty to follow the words of the Church when we echo the words of many in the
Gospel when they say “ Have mercy on me O Lord, for I am a sinner. ”    

© Fr Louis Schlangen 2010