Lent is beyond the 40 set days

What if we skipped a whole year without having to go through Lent and only focused on the celebration of Easter, without undergoing the 40-day fast? This question and others might logically sound far-fetched.

Yet, in practice, an observer might think that Lent is a discipline imposed by the Church on her helpless and hapless followers who find themselves Christian. We may treat Lent as an unfortunate but necessary part of the Church calendar, and we cannot wait for it to end. 

This is how we hear such jokes as there being a drop in the volume of some businesses during this season. Some people may even threaten that they will wait for Lent to end so that they can carry out such things as revenge. Yet, in practice, Lent should be an integral part of our life, not just in a given season but all year round.

Self-denial

Lent is a season observed by the bigger section of mainstream Christianity (in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant traditions). Starting on Ash Wednesday, these Christians consciously and intentionally prepare themselves for the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ), the most important event in salvation history. They do this through self-denial, alms-giving and intensive prayer. The self-denial is manifested in such things as fasting, self-mortification (a way of exposing one’s body to physical inconveniences and pain that could have been avoided), and abstinence from things that one would ordinarily enjoy. 

All these practices are meant to make use of this special season of grace to deeply examine one’s life, identify and acknowledge one’s weaknesses, present these to God who alone has the power to save, and co-operate with the Grace he gives to transcend one’s weak nature. 

This is why we are called upon to journey with Jesus Christ by modelling our Lenten practices around his teachings, and his 40 days of fasting in the desert as he contended with, and overcame, the devil. 

Even though it is the Church which gives us this season of grace, it should not be a discipline that we are anxious to do away with as fast as possible. Rather, it should be one whose main tenets we analyse properly and choose to integrate into our daily lives.

Overcome selfishness 

Firstly, we acknowledge humanity’s inability to save itself thus, the need for a Higher Power. With all the learning that humanity has achieved, and with the level of synergy that we achieve when we work together, we still realise that our individual weaknesses still affect the whole. Secondly, Lent proposes practices that will potentially benefit the individual and the people such an individual deals with. Self-denial is a strong aid to self-control, and ultimately, to God-control. 

It strengthens the muscle of self-restraint, and progressively improves one’s ability to rein in on our passions, appetites and natural inclinations. Almsgiving teaches us to overcome our attachment to possessions, to overcome our greed and selfishness, and to reach out to a neighbour in need. 

Greed and attachment to possessions and wealth are some of the greatest causes of the injustices we witness, of corruption (rottenness) so prevalent in society, and of pain to individuals. Prayer is the tool with which we cultivate our relationship with God, and draw on power beyond our own to carry the burden of the day. These practices are thus beneficial, not only in Lent, but throughout life.

Lent is an invitation to self-examination leading to reconciliation. Each one of us is called to a four-fold kind of reconciliation. We are to reconcile with God through a return to Divine Love which is symbolised by the 10 commandments. We repent and deepen our prayer life. We examine our relationship with other people, especially beginning with those nearest to us, and make a firm resolution to love them more, and treat them better, for love of God. 

We promise ourselves to always make a preferential option for those in need, our own needs notwithstanding. We deeply look at own inner lives. We realise how much we have walked away from ourselves (self-alienation) and decide to return to ourselves! We shed attachments, bad habits, disempowering beliefs, and wounds of the past, and embrace the new life of Jesus Christ. We also bring to light our current relationship with nature and the environment. 

Progressively, we understand that if our own salvation is bound up with the whole of creation, we ought to treat creation better than we are doing currently. This invitation is not to be simply seasonal, but ongoing.

Personal prayer as lifestyle

To make Lent an integral part of our lives, we have to begin with consciousness concerning the meaning of Lent and its importance. Only then shall we be able to adopt the proposed attitudes towards life, self, and others. Personal prayer is something that can, and should, be done by everyone on a daily basis, even without the intervention of a third party. One can identify a day in the week for fasting (or self-mortification, generally) for purposes of a deeper focus on the spiritual life. 

Likewise, it’s possible to identify certain pleasures and conveniences from which one can abstain from time to time. If some of these things can be converted to money or material goods, these can be given to people who are in need. Make self-examination a daily practice. Do not wait for issues to accumulate before you pay attention to them.

At the end of the day, find out where you have walked away from God, from yourself, and from others. Return in repentance, in asking for forgiveness, in offering forgiveness (even when the other party doesn’t ask or even doesn’t know), and in forgiving yourself and resolving to be better. 

Ultimately, Lent is not just a season. It is a special invitation to accept the grace that Jesus Christ offers. It’s an invitation that ought to be accepted daily, throughout the year, and not just for 40 days. Its practices ought to be integrated into one’s life on a daily basis. 

Fr Julius Caesar Kamukama is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, ordained for the Archdiocese of Mbarara.

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