When I was a young child at the Convent school, we asked, ''What are you giving up for Lent.'' As children we usually gave up lollies. Adults would say they were giving up cigarettes or beer. Today rather than asking what I will give up, my question is what can I take on. What positive things can I do that we bring me closer to Jesus so that when Easter comes this year I will be able to celebrate the Resurrection with more joy because I have come to know Jesus a little better and can understand and appreciate more the way he has shown his love for us. So what is it that I can do that will help me to achieve that?
The three pillars given to us in today's gospel are alms-giving, fasting and prayer (Matthew 6:1-6,16-18). Of the three, the gospels tell us that for Jesus, prayer was the most important. After curing a great crowd of people, Mark tells us that ''early in the morning, when it was still very dark, Jesus went out to a deserted place and there he prayed'' (2:35). So what I will give up then will be a little of my time so that each day I will spend it reflecting on a gospel reading and talking to Jesus asking him to help me put his words into practice in my life.
Help us, Lord, so that this Lent will be a time of transformation for all of us, so that as Paul said in Philippians 2:4. ''May the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus.''
Don Hornsey - Lower Hutt, Aotearoa/New Zealand
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