Why Lent Means Much More to Me Now
Janina Gomes
For me, Lent was seasonal — a part of the Liturgical Year, a time to give up meat, to give alms andpractise small acts of penance. There was almost something mechanical in the way I treated the season. I did not reflect on its deeper significance.Today, the season has taken on another meaning for me. I realise how much the season is meant to purify myself internally, to give generously till it costs, and to strengthen my faith in a God who suffered in the person of Jesus, and so allows suffering to come my way.Lent, I now believe, means I give a helping hand to those in need of one, to give a ear to those longing to be listened to, to open up my heart to receive whatever blessings God sends my way through strangers and friends and to lift the spirits of those looking for some consolation in life.Not easy. But few of Life’s lessons come to us easily.
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