With Ash Wednesday, we may find it difficult to engage in something concrete to offer during the season Lent which prepares us for Easter.
When I was still little, I recall how mom would often psych us up to think about our Lenten offerings. She would make suggestions like abstaining from the things she knew we loved: comic books, soft-drinks, candies and music.
She suggested that we make a mental note of one or two things we could offer up till Easter. This meant ‘giving up’ our indulgence of the things we loved and to offer them up for Jesus and other intentions.
With the passing of years, I learned how to wisely craft my Lenten sacrifices and somewhat cheat through them. For example, I may have offered not to read the newspapers’ comic section, but I also asked our helper to daily clip and collect them for me so I can enjoy all of them on Easter.
Despite this, mom never failed to remind us of this offering every year. Even up to now, when my calls coincide with either the seasons of Advent or Lent, she would half-jokingly and half-seriously ask, “What’s your offering, Fran?”
I would simply laugh it off and tell her I had one. But deep inside, her words now triggered a more important thought: “It isn’t so much what you offer, but why you choose to give up something for someone!” There is no way one could cheat his way around this, especially when that someone is God.
Recently, I chanced upon some helpful lists of ‘things to do or reflect on for Lent.’ For example, there are the Forty Thoughts for Lent. This combines snippets of the ideas of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI from his different addresses and reflections about Lent.
Another list offered ten tips drawn from Pope Francis’ Lenten messages. For example: ‘Get rid of the lazy addiction to evil.’ ‘Do something that hurts.’ ‘Don’t remain indifferent.’ ‘Pray: Make our hearts like yours.’ and so on.
As I read through these forty + ten tips, I figured that they were very helpful, but perhaps, still too lengthy for some to translate into small practical acts in the thick of our daily multiple tasks and concerns.
Thus, I thought of summarizing these points into four practical S’s. And these would be: Silence, Sacrifice, Sacraments and Souls.
Silence is a much-needed exercise for today’s hyper-sensation-active man. A condition of ‘quiet’ is an indispensable ingredient for the other three S’s. To be precise, it is like a recipient of the others. Without it, one would engage the rest in a less refined way, and will not be able to open himself effectively to the effects of grace in his soul.
Silence is the mirror that allows us to courageously face the truth about ourselves: that we need God. And this need can only be fed effectively by sacrifice and the Sacraments. Thus, silence is best expressed in ‘quietly’ listening to God in prayer, pondering on what others say rather than imposing our ideas first, also when we strive to interiorize our trials in prayer instead of complaining, of comparing ourselves with others or criticizing them.
Sacrifice, on the other hand, reinforces silence. It works to put into action what we have pondered about in silence. For example, we avoid activism by making the sacrifice of following our schedule as best as we can. Or we make the hidden effort to place our preferences always after the others. It can also be the sincere smile radiating from our face when we strive to forgive our ‘enemies’ and to have real compassion for our oppressed or abandoned neighbors.
Silence and sacrifice together predispose us to better receive the Sacraments, especially of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist. Both sacraments entail silence, so that the eyes of the soul may perceive what is ‘invisibly’ communicated in these channels of God’s mercy and love. Sacraments also require sacrifice, which tempers our earthly senses and appetites, and orient them to embrace divine mercy and the celestial Bread.
Strengthened and nourished by the Sacraments, we are filled with zeal to seek out souls and invite them to the ‘marriage feast of the Lamb.’ Pope Francis says that ‘we can only bear witness to what we ourselves have experienced. (/Lenten Message/, 2015) Thus, our capacity to draw souls to God will be the result of the overflow of the previous acts of silence, sacrifice and immersing ourselves in the Sacraments.
* * *
Some possible practical points for the 4 S’s during Lent.
Silence – (1) Set a daily ‘quiet gift space’ with God; (2) Live ‘few second pauses’ in between activities to silently say ‘Thank you Jesus; (3) Set ‘pondering moments’ to glance at a family photo and say a prayer for them; (4) Listen, pray and then share during conversations.
Sacrifice – (1) Make a list of simple, constant and hidden sacrifices; (2) Complain, criticize, compare less every day; (3) Patch up failed moments with a ‘sorry Jesus’ rather than to be disappointed or sad; (4) Cheerfully give up some comfort or spend a little less in something daily.
Sacraments – (1) Set a day for confession before Easter; (2) Bring to prayer where we can still be more refined in our love for God and neighbor; (3) Consider what part of the Mass we can live better and share.
Souls – (1) Have a positive thought or gesture for everyone we meet; (2) Smile, share and serve more; (3) Help others to prepare for a good Confession; (4) Prepare our family to offer the Holy Week services for concrete intentions (i.e. Pope Francis, world peace, family needs, etc.)