Lenten fast and prayer
The Collect, the prayer at the end of the Introductory Rites of the Mass, can communicate to us so much that is important. They are instructive. Catechetical. The Collect last Sunday, for example, was, “ Grant, Almighty God, through the yearly observance of holy Lent, that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects. ” We said “ Amen ” to that. And because of our “ Amen ”, our “ So be it ”, we committed ourselves to enter the holy season of Lent and to live it fittingly – in fasting, prayer, and the giving of alms. I have changed the usual order of those three for a reason… When I was a child – and, I’m afraid, for some time after – I rather went through the motions when I ‘gave up something for Lent’. It was a goal to be achieved, a target to be met. I lacked the spiritual understanding that’s so important, and which illustrates why fasting, prayer and almsgiving are so closely al...