“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death.” Phil 3:10
Our forty days Lenten journey toward Easter is fundamentally an imitation of Jesus’ time in the desert. It’s a time of purification and self-denial of setting aside our distractions, diversions and getting back to basics: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.The giving of alms is one way to share God's gifts—not only through the distribution of money, but through the sharing of our time and talents. As St John Chrysostom reminds us; "Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs." (CCC, no. 2446) God is the source of life, abandoning God forms a desert around us. Hence Lent is also a season for confronting the desert of our own sin. We tend to cover up our sins, make excuses for them or dull our sensitivity to them. During Lent, we intentionally venture into the desert, realizing the depths of our sin and repenting in order that we might find Christ’s path back to life.Lent summons us and enables us to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly and in every aspect of our life. We must experience this time of grace anew, with joy and in truth. God constantly gives us a chance to begin lovingly anew. “Lent is a favourable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the face of Christ.”- Pope Francis.