A necessary change of life

. Ashes on the heads, a sign of the beginning of Lent

With their melody and lyrics, Lent songs are one of the factors that call for a change in everyday things, duties, and values. Let us not refrain only from the flesh of the flesh, but let us guard against anger, and from sin, and all iniquity. After the carnival days, when it was time for outdoor entertainment, Lent appeals to a serious and responsible repentance approach.

Let’s begin with Jesus’ challenge: “When you go to pray, go to your room, close the door behind you and pray to your Father, who also sees in secret” (Mt 6: 6). In addition to prayer, he talks about fasting and almsgiving. These three practices are the realization of today’s ashes on their heads.

Prayer brings God closer. In it and through it, we know God, his goodness, love, mercy. In prayer, we can experience the closeness of God. The time has come for prayer to take precedence over other values ​​that we have preferred. In particular, common prayer, in the family, among friends, a visit to the church even on weekdays, joint and personal devotion of the Way of the Cross, contemplation on the suffering of the Lord Jesus, the prayer of the rosary, study and reading the Scriptures. This quantity can be alternated, used to penetrate the mystery of the love of Christ, who suffered, died for us.

An important factor in fasting is fasting, staying and restricting food, and sharing food with those who do not. Fasting is a time to give up, limit other, pleasant, permissible things, such as noisy entertainment, limit watching television, listen to the radio, read non-spiritual literature, and participate in events and activities where the soul and spiritual life are suppressed or limited. It is recommended to give up things that we normally consume during the year – such as cigarettes, coffee, alcohol. It is true that this renunciation, restraint, is strenuous and requires strong courage, real motive, free conviction, but also the joy that we are doing something more for the growth of our faith, the consolidation of moral principles, the expansion of knowledge about God, the Church, salvation.

In fasting, under the influence of grace, working on ourselves, we can make decisions we have never had the strength to do before. Break up with sin, especially with the near opportunity for corruption, and it can be things, places, events, and people. Lent is a time of grace; when looking at the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, we are more open to class and, under their influence, work on ourselves, strengthen the family, put in order relationships in the family, among neighbors, friends, in the workplace.

Lent time can also be used for alms. To make an order between our things and sort out the old-fashioned, unnecessary, and give up something to make life easier for others, make life more pleasant, make us happy, make them feel their love. Alms does not only mean giving out of abundance but also knowing how to accept personal needs.