A Lenten Penance

The 8th of March marks the beginning of Lent, a preparation for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church obliges us to fast and abstain from certain luxuries to imitate the fast Christ endured for 40 days in the desert, thus detaching himself from all his friends, and meditating in a place of silence. Thus a clear reminder to us that should we wish to meditate and pray we must seek silence, many of us know that in Churches one can come across people talking and singing with guitars and drums, truly contrary to the silence and meditative atmosphere Christ searched fro when praying himself, but surely we would know more than Christ him self!

This year has already been marked with so much bloodshed, from the revolts in the Arab lands to the unrest in China, and Lent this year will give us more to meditate on, for the peace which Christ preached so much about, the same peace the Apostles greeted each other with, the same peace that the world itself doesn't understand, but with greed and selfishness we all know that Christ is not given any space to operate in. With secular governing comes secular attitudes, the European monarchs who once put Christ at the top of everything on the Agenda would not hear of injustice on their own people. The exception was of course if there was a monarch who turned away from God, but for the great monarchs such as Louis IX, Karl von Habsburg, Elizabeth of Hungary, Elena the Empress, Ludwig, etc the imitation of Christ was fundamental in their reign, which of course would lead them to sainthood.  

Can we too make a difference this Lent? One could simply give up a nasty habit such as smoking or indulging in expensive and refined dining to just simply consuming the little one needs to remain healthy, or maybe switching off the television when our favourite program is on whilst reciting the rosary in it's place. These little suggestions are simply 'suggestions' every one can sacrifice in his/her own way.

We sometimes hear people saying "I am not a fan of meat and sweets so for me it doesn't make a difference to Abstain from them on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday"  and as common as this saying may be, one can reply with the following that the Church's law is meat and sweets must not be consumed on those days, whether you like it or hate it. if it doesn't make a difference to you because you don't like sweets or meat, then stick to the Church's law of Abstaining from the latter mentioned foods + include another kind of food which you love, thus offering a worth fast. Let us not play the fool with God, God who is Omnipotent.