Lent
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Why Practice Lent?
“Rend your hearts not your garments” the prophet Joel long ago directed. The same theme is directed to us this Ash Wednesday: “Open up your hearts.” Let’s not waste our time on superficial Lenten practices that fail to touch our hearts. Let’s take on and carry out those practices, penances, and deeds in a way that opens up our hearts in three directions – to ourselves, to one another and to our God. The script: pray, sacrifice and help. Why those three? They open our hearts in three ways: prayer – to God; sacrifice – to ourselves; helping – to others. The script is tried and true, and at least…
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A Guide to a “Holy 40” Lent
LENT – 2019 PRAYING, FASTING & SACRIFICING, HELPING AND SERVING AGAIN? UGH! DIDN’T WE ALREADY DO THIS? I WANT TO BE CONTRARY! – NOT “UGH.” BUT I SAY, THANK GOD FOR ANOTHER LENT. So here’s why: My basic take on Lent – at least this year – is that we need to break the routines of our lives to make room to progress, better ourselves, and in the process, make a better world. Most of the popular fads, trends, training – both the good and bad ones – mean changing for a sustained period in order to “create a better you.” Let me borrow form a currently popular one –…