The Lenten season begins this week, our preparation for the celebration of Easter. It is a time for us Christians to embrace the “three pillars of Lent,” prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, in a focused way.
For some it is a time of healing, an opportunity to repair their spiritual brokenness. For others it is simply a good time to cultivate their spiritual lives in a more disciplined manner.
Being a disciplined steward of the gifts given us by planning ahead and following through is essential to having a fruitful Lenten experience. Let’s consider almsgiving.
Almsgiving. This spiritual discipline heightens our sense of generosity. Just as an increase in prayer and fasting leads us to be more grateful for the gifts we’ve received, and promotes a greater awareness of others, almsgiving helps us to actually reach out to others in gratitude.
Just as we don’t “squeeze in” time to pray during Lent, we also don’t overly scrutinize our checkbook when being generous with others. Make a plan and let a meaningful sense of gratitude and sacrifice be your guide.
We offer our deep and prayerful thanks
to everyone who has contributed to
this year's Annual Catholic Appeal.
This is a wonderful way to show our stewardship support
to our parish and to our city.