In various ways, Our Lord prompts us today to be self-reflective, to avoid casting judgment upon others when we have all kinds of problems ourselves.  I shouldn’t feel the need to point out the splinters in everyone else’s eye, when I’ve got a 2 x 4 in mine.  Don’t presume to lead a blind man around, when you’ve got pretty serious sight problems yourself.  It’s all in the old saying, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”  If something really bothers us about someone else, we need to ask ourselves, am I sensitive to this particular problem or character flaw, because I have the same problem myself?  Self-reflection isn’t easy.  It can be painful to sit quietly and look honestly at ourselves.  It’s why we’re so tempted to fill our lives up with noise; because we’re afraid of what we might learn if we enter the classroom of silence.  

Lent begins Wednesday.  And this is a time of grace and opportunity for us that we don’t want to pass up, a time to be silent, to engage in some self-reflection and purification, a time to get those splinters out, and by doing so to grow in true freedom and joy.  We’ve talked about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, what they are and why they’re important.  Wednesday begins a time when we are called to enter into these practice more deeply and more intentionally.  They are our tools for Lenten growth in self-reflection and purification.  Here are some thoughts about practical ways to live these three great practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  

Prayer: God doesn’t expect you to turn into a mystic overnight, to spend hours and hours a day, floating off the floor in religious ecstasy.  He wants you to start.  In Lent, add just a little something to your life of prayer.  Some possibilities: if you have a long way to go in this part of your life, start saying grace before your meals.  Or say an Our Father when you wake up and another when you go to sleep.  Take up the Rosary.  Come to Stations of the Cross which we’ll have every Friday in Lent at 7:00 pm.  Or, and this is my best recommendation: perhaps try coming to Mass, here or wherever is convenient, one extra time per week.  Just pick one of these: add one small thing for Lent…when it comes Easter, you probably won’t want to give it up.  

Fasting.  The Church requires us to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent; and Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting for those between the ages of 18 and 60, so only one full meal that day.  Certainly do those things.  But try to find another small thing.  You could skip a meal now and then.  Go other days in the week without eating meat.  Or, even better, you could commit yourself to finding something that is small and totally hidden every day: don’t grab the salt when you feel like it, or take the smaller piece of cake.  Choose the steamed broccoli as your side item: something no one will really even notice or think anything of: but which is a small act of self-discipline.  A small sacrifice of something comfortable every day. Getting in the habit of tiny but frequent little sacrifices can make a huge difference in your life.  

Almsgiving. I don’t want to make this a sales pitch, but this would be a great time to think intentionally about your generosity to the church and to other charities that you care about, and especially today to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal which is just getting going to fund and support the ministries of the diocese.  There are pledge brochures in the pew and in the narthex if you need one.  But, as an ongoing Lenten practice, a conversion of life thing: this is about fostering a fundamental attitude of generosity and self-giving.  Look for a small way to live that out in your everyday life, something that doesn’t have to do with money.  Perhaps you know someone at work who isn’t easy to get along with, but who really needs a friend: you could reach out to them.  Maybe you see something around the house or at work that needs to be done: you could do it, without letting anyone know it was you.  Any little thing that draws you out of yourself, that is a gift to others.  That’s almsgiving, and that can change your life.  

Prayer, fasting, almsgiving.  Try to come up with one simple practice for yourself in each of these three categories. Start small but be faithful. Don’t give up if you stumble from time to time.  God wants to give you the grace to draw closer and closer to him, to serve him, to find joy in his peace.  Let our prayer echo that beautiful sentiment of the Blessed Apostle Paul: “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”