“Lent is a gift to us”

Father Charles Buckley, O.S.B., led the Day of Reflection on “Preparing for Lent” on Feb. 23 at Saint Gregory’s Abbey.
 
Instead of presenting the usual list for Lent, Father Buckley invited the group to let God teach them about themselves.
 
“During Lent we make a three-fold spiritual commitment to immerse ourselves more deeply in daily prayer, in fasting (which he explained as separating ourselves from whatever physical, mental or spiritual obstacles preventing a more holistic human spiritual growth in that journey to God), and to a more fervent outreach in charity,” he said.
 
“So, a traditional helpful way of understanding Lent is to see it as apprenticeship to Jesus in the desert. We go with the Lord into the wilderness and we watch him in close quarters, imitating him, seeing what he saw and enduring what he endured. Lent is a place for clarification, stripped down, undistracted, and simplified so we can ask the Lord these simple questions – what am I, what is the purpose of my life, and what does God want from me?”
 
Father Buckley asked the group write down the distractions that dominate their lives.
 
“When we fast, we become more aware of things, our real hunger, which we try to satisfy with all sorts of things, it isn’t a hunger for food or excitement. It’s a hunger for God. So, during Lent, be aware of what hungers have their claws in us and to confront them and to substitute prayer, good works and almsgiving.”
 
Conference participant, Chris Hampton, said, “People often say, ‘I’m going to give up cake, cookies, Facebook.’ Today, has given me more things to think about. It’s more about striving to get closer to God and spend more time in silence and more time in prayer.”
 
Father Buckley suggested praying the 41 parables of the Gospels with prayerful reading to see how these parables apply to us. He said to resolve to perform and sustain acts of love and suggested visits to a relative in a nursing home, conversing regularly with a lonely person, mentoring a child, or repairing a broken friendship.
 
“What you are doing is giving the gift of yourself, a different type of almsgiving,” he said.
 
Jackie and Annette Campbell of Blessed Sacrament in Lawton said, “Lent is a journey, and it will change us in different ways. We might do something different after what Father Charles said about the list of simplicity and our distractions. The main thing is to pray and do penance and almsgiving.”
 
“What we choose to do for Lent may move aside the curtain on our secret sin. So, a fast from food may reveal a tendency toward gluttony, shutting off the computer or cell phone my reveal a demand for constant stimulation, doing the opposite of what feels most comfortable may reveal a weakness,” Father Buckley said. “We lead a life of conversion, it’s a lifetime process. And, Lent is a gift to us to take part in that process, guided along in every step with the loving and patience call of God.”
 
Judy Hilovsky is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.

Photo: Jackie and Annette Campbell drove from Lawton to the Day of Reflection on “Preparing for Lent” on Feb. 23 at Saint Gregory’s Abbey. Photo Judy Hilovsky/Sooner Catholic.