Many recognize the practice of “giving something up for Lent” and use it as an opportunity to better themselves or their habits. Do you perhaps have an addiction to Oreo cookies or Doritos chips? Maybe you read a lot of drivel and it’s souring your life? Are your daily habits what they should be for you to be your ideal self, or is there one you want to subtract or add to get there?
If you want to start one habit this year to better yourself, Lent is the best opportunity: it’s an open invitation to unity with others by “offering up” something. The practice includes giving up a certain kind of food (the cliché being chocolate), quitting a bad habit (such as smoking or drinking), or starting a new habit (such as running every morning or praying every evening). This can be used any number of ways; the key thing is that whatever your Lenten practice is, it should draw you closer to God.
As a lay Catholic, I practice the Lenten preparation for Easter every year. Some years the habit sticks better than others. (I gave up cursing in three distinct Lenten seasons, for example.) Some years are more ambitious than others. (The first time I gave up my foul mouth I was in undergrad and surrounded by people who actively prodded me to not keep that practice; the third time, my circles were more supportive.) Some years are about adding things in (like a daily morning swim routine or a nightly walk). What I do changes every year, yet every year it’s something to bring me closer to God.
This practice is called the Lenten sacrifice. Many of us go to one end or the other of the intensity spectrum, either going all out because only the most difficult task will suffice or sliding by with the least amount of effort but it still counting. I have fallen prey to each of these practices generally as a result of thinking I have to prove my Catholic-ness. However, being the most hardcore isn’t the point, nor is checking some box on the list.
The word sacrifice is derived from two old Latin terms: “sacer” and “faciō.” Sacer means sacred or holy; faciō means to do or to make. Combined, it becomes sacrificō and has a literal translation of doing for the Holy One. Thus, a sacrifice doesn’t have to be tremendously strenuous, and a Lenten sacrifice isn’t about checking all the boxes. It’s simply doing something, big or small, to offer to God.
In that same vein, God doesn’t want us to suffer. He welcomes all of our offerings – whether they are painful trials and tribulations or inviting Him to spend an evening with us while we spend time with friends. Sacrifices can take many forms. As long as we are offering something to the Holy One, it constitutes a sacrifice. Every time we stumble, literally or figuratively, if we give that to God, it’s a sacrifice. Every time we smile or laugh, if we give that to God, it’s a sacrifice. Every time we bake a cake or watch movies with friends or spend time with family, if we give that to God, it’s a sacrifice.
See the theme here?
So long as we offer something to God, we are making a sacrifice. The reason this practice is so much at the forefront during Lent is because we are preparing for Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. As we continue through Lent, we draw nearer the day of the Resurrection, and as we draw nearer the day of the Resurrection, the more focused we should be on God. What better way to become more focused on God than to think of Him every time we do a specific thing that we are doing for Him?
This is also why we try to offer a Lenten sacrifice that affects us at least daily: it gives us a prime opportunity to frequently focus on Christ. It doesn’t have to be particularly onerous or dreadful or troublesome; it just has to be something that causes us to look to God. Maybe we look to God for strength in finishing a run while training for a marathon; maybe we focus on Him in thanksgiving for five minutes of peace during a hectic week. The result is the same: time spent walking with Christ. This is what the Lenten sacrifice is about.
Are you doing a Lenten sacrifice? How does it draw you nearer to the Holy One?
