St James Religious Dimension
Religious Education / Parish News
LENT
The Purpose of Lent
With Ash Wednesday and Lent being early this year, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the purpose of this season.
One thing I like about Lent is that it hasn’t quite been commercialised as Easter and Christmas has. This is because it is about fasting, abstaining and detachment from worldly things. Though you will notice hot cross buns and easter eggs are already being sold.
What is the purpose of Lent?
Religious Answer:
As you might be already aware. Lent is about Spiritual Preparation for celebrating the Paschal Mystery (the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus). This is the centre of our faith.
Human Development Answer:
Life is about growing, becoming better human beings and furthering the good of humanity. To do this we need to step away from selfish ways and bad habits. We need to help others so that the world is a better place.
Spiritual Development Answer:
We are spiritual beings with an eternal destiny. We pray for a heaven on earth. So we need to grow in heavenly virtues of which we all lack. We need to grow in charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity'112” (Galatians 5:22-23; CCC 1832). We need to address the darkness in our lives, especially the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. We need to remove these weeds and plant good habits.
My Journey:
My understanding of Lent has certainly evolved over the years. Starting out as a child I found it annoying to have to give up things like chocolate. Later I realised the health benefits. I eventually gave up sugar in my tea because of lent and have never returned to it. Later I felt it was just a time to feel guilty about all the sins I have committed. Now I see it as a space in the year to really focus on being a better person, having a better relationship with God, growing in gratitude and humility. I see humility as key. Because it is the one major virtue that leads a person to rely on God.
As we hear in scripture, “all have sinned and fell short of the Glory of God”Romans 3:23-24. We are all in this together. We don’t need to know how each person has sinned, we just need to know that we are all on the same journey. Having said that we do need to protect ourselves from those that sin grievously and directly harm others. We are called to become better people in the world and bring about a transformation at a heart level bringing Heaven on Earth. I heard that at present there are over 70 wars going on, yes there is a lot of work to be done.
So what questions can you ask your children during Lent perhaps around the table, here is a list:
- What virtue do you struggle most with? charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity'112” (Galatians 5:22-23; CCC 1832)
- What do you think is a good thing to give up for Lent to help you be a better person?
- How are you holding yourself back from being a better person?
- Where are you being lazy in life that you could perhaps be more diligent?
- What deadly sin do you struggle with most? How can it be deadly for you?
- What is a good thing to start practising in Lent?
- What is a good prayer for Lent around being a better person?
- What is a good prayer for Lent around helping others?
- What are some things we can do as a family during lent to grow closer to God?
- What do you think God would want from you this Lent?
- What do you think your future successful self would want from this Lent?
Just a few points of reflection to help you make the most of this season. Let us take this Lent as an opportunity of grace to refocus our hearts on the kingdom of God that Jesus invites us to and let him not find us asleep at this great task when he comes again.
Let us get busy teaching our kids to be great people of God.
Kind regards,
Corey Payton
Chaplain at St James Brighton
SECONDARY ENROLMENTS
If there are any parents that require dates or a letter confirming sacraments, please email eherbert@stjamesbrighton.catholic.edu.au and I will be able to provide that information for you.
Emma Herbert
RE Leader