For many of us we are in Lent. Not all Christians subscribe to the specific forty days of Lent before the Last Supper, but many do, and as a Catholic I like to use the time as a more determined time for spiritual reflection. I am not too good at giving things up (my self-control must be deteriorating as I age) but I like to work on what our Lord recommended: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Prayer…my wife Nancy is just fantastic at contemplative prayer, but I have such a restless spirit that I have to consciously breathe deeply and focus on a few key phrases to get into the ‘zone’. And try to remember ACTS – Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication - rather than rush right into my litany of requests. Although the list of seriously ill people never seems to get shorter: just the names change. One of the inexplicable aspects of life.
Fasting…I’m not too overweight – my love handle index hovers around 3.0 – but like most of us in the affluent West, I have more than enough calories to go around. So a leaner lunch and eschewing of sweet things seem like good moves. Especially if I put any money saved to good use in the Poor Box (which in our church goes to the Vincent de Paul Society, a worthy institution indeed).
Alms...This is going to be my focus this Lent. I have decided to do something good for someone each day. As I work out of my home office, and only therefore interact with co-workers by telephone and e-mail, I have an uphill struggle. If I go out for a break or to run errands, then there are always Random Acts of Kindness: if I go to the store or Starbucks it is a simple thing to pay for the lady behind me, or let someone go ahead of me. That type of thing. Then there are the surprise phone calls to distant relatives or college friends. Or a hand-written note; just the effort of using a pen with no “undo” button will impress any recipient.
One more thing. There are some that will never be able to thank you, although they would if they could. Orphan nature conservation charities abound: too small to send you junk mail, too “niche” to attract much publicity. And yet some are the best combination of “help nature, help humanity” you can imagine. One is Tusk – one of very few charities whose official patron is the Prince of Wales, Prince William. It focuses on African wildlife, with the particular emphasis on sustainable development and eco-tourism (www.tusk.org). Another, even more specialized, is the Snow Leopard Trust, which works with herdsmen in Mongolia and elsewhere to protect this most beautiful of cats - while at the same time, helping the people who live in that desolate yet beautiful part of God’s earth (www.snowleopard.org).
And then of course there’s A Rocha. Your money helps small and large projects from Canada and the Czech Republic, Uganda to New Zealand. The Kenyan eco-tourism effort, which funds school scholarships, is particularly worthwhile.
So make a different choice this Lent. Give alms.
Comments
Post has no comments.