Ruminations of an Irascible Hermit.: Lent as asceticism

Friday, February 17, 2023

Lent as asceticism - training for spiritual renewal

Lent is fast approaching us, and this Wednesday it is Ash Wedesday for us Roman Catholic/Latin members in this group. It is a day of abstaining from meat, and fasting - so only one small meal that day.

It is always important to remember that any prayer or penances or fasting we do is not done for the sake of it. It is only a means to an end, it is a tool to help us accomplish a goal. The goal of the spiritual life is union with God - complete transformation in Christ and participating in the life he offers us, participating in Divine life of the Holy Trinity. This transformation and living in the love of God makes us in turn love our neighbour as ourself.

So Lent needs to be remembered in this context. It is part of the ascetical life the Church gives us every year. Asceticism comes from the Greek word to train, so it is spiritual training to prepare us for our union with God and to be able to celebrate the joy of the victory that the Resurrection of Jesus has won for us which is what we celebrate at Easter.

Lent is our time of training, a sacred time, a time of retreat and renewal. So any fasting or prayers or penances that we do during this time need to be oriented on renewing us to focus more on what really matters in life - the Will of God. It can be easy to get caught up in thinking “I want to do this or I should do that” - but the issue with that is, the focus is on us and not on God.

It takes humility to understand that if I want to give up all sweets and coffee during Lent, but I’m going to be so irritable with my family and snap at them all day, then it may not be the correct Lenten penance for me. Sometimes we have to accept although it’s what we WANT to do, and what we THINK we should do, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that what God wants from us. It can be better to focus on loving our family more, praying more together as a family, and possibly reducing coffee intake to only once a day after lunch. This way you are still practicing asceticism, you are still learning self control through denial - but not to the point of being uncharitable to those we live with.

As you prepare for Lent, try to start it with going to Confession. Take some time in prayer to examine what adjustments need to be made in your spiritual life. Discuss with your spiritual director or parish priests your ideas for your Lentan penance, but also be honest about if you have tried it before and failed, or if it’s been sustainable.

The devil loves to encourage us to take on grand extravagant penances that we are not able to maintain, and so when we can’t keep it up or forget - we get upset, get frustrated with ourselves, fall into despair and then give up altogether. That’s exactly what the devil wants from us!

We are daily called to carry our cross, not just in Lent. Lent is supposed to be our bootcamp to help us refocus and renew our spiritual training. Make the most of this time in humility, prayer and patience. Our focus is always on Jesus and what he has accomplished for us through His victory over death and sin by His Resurrection. Let that be our aim and reminder in all that we do, so that we can be open to the Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us in this time of renewal.

1 comment:

AnonymousFebruary 24, 2023 at 11:43 AM
Amen! Beautiful.
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Disclaimer

Please note. I am a Catholic layman, not a qualified theologian or philosopher. What I say and write here are my own personal thoughts and ideas, although I always try to conform my writings to the Magisterium of the Church.

I- with firm faith believe and profess everything that is contained in the symbol of faith: namely,

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: By the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith I believe as well everything contained in God's word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the church--whether in solemn judgment or in the ordinary and universal Magisterium--as divinely revealed and called for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed by that same church definitively with regard to teaching concerning faith or morals.

What is more, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman pontiff or the college of bishops enunciate when they exercise the authentic Magisterium even if they proclaim those teachings in an act that is not definitive.