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Detroit — The Church’s requirements for Lenten discipline have to do with fasting and abstinence, but the options for promoting spiritual growth during this penitential season are many and varied.
It offers a “time to slow down, to be reflective,” says Fr. Gerald McEnhill, pastor of Our Lady of Refuge Parish, Orchard Lake.
“Lent is a wonderful opportunity to become more aware of ourselves and of the things that cloud our approach to life, the things that keep us from being the people God wants us to be,” Fr. McEnhill says.
People should take advantage of the prayerful opportunities of the season, he continues.
“We need to pray. This is what gives us hope. We know the Lord will look after us and help us to overcome temptation, and guide us in our growth in faith,” Fr. McEnhill adds.
The three principal points about keeping a holy Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving, says Fr. Eduard Perrone, pastor of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Grotto) Parish in northeast Detroit.
“And by prayer I mean not only the traditional vocal prayers, but more reflective and meditative ways of prayer,” he says.
Fr. Perrone recommends “examining ourselves as we are in the sight of God — our spiritual condition.”
Fasting and abstinence are beneficial “because we tend to excess in our giving way to our cravings,” he continues.
Almsgiving, Fr. Perrone says, “encompasses all one’s good deeds towards others — both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
Summing up his thoughts on keeping a good Lent, Fr. Perrone says, “Prayer aims at God directly, fasting aims at our personal reform and discipline, and almsgiving is the corporate or communal dimension of one’s faith.”
Some parishes and institutions are offering special Lenten programs. At Transfiguration Parish in Southfield, Janice Fletcher, Ph.D., is presenting a series of four weekly talks on the Gospel of Matthew, beginning Wednesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m.
“We’ll look at Who Christ is and what Matthew’s Jesus is calling us to,” Fletcher says.
“My hope is to try to bring some of the insights of contemporary biblical scholarship to people.”
The Divine Mercy Center in Eastpointe is offering an opportunity to go through Lent with St. Therese of Lisieux.
By following her “Little Way,” people can experience Lent “not as a drudgery, but in joyful humility as a child of God,” says Catherine Lanni, who founded the center.
“Make sacrifices every day, but do it for the love of Christ,” she says. “The focus should not be on what I am giving up, but what Jesus gave up for me.”
The Archdiocese of Detroit has an online listing of these and other Lenten activities at parishes, including missions, holy hours, stations of the cross, and many other programs. Visit www.aodonline.org/lent.
