“What are you doing for Lent?”
It’s a good question. Parents often ask their children. Friends ask each other. If we haven’t been preparing ourselves during the “pre-Lent” period found in many Catholic rites, we may well be asking ourselves this right now as Ash Wednesday looms. Is it the right question, though?
It does not seem that it is the wrong question. After all, the Catholic Tradition is replete with encouragement to do things in Lent. During this season of preparation to celebrate the Redemption that was won on the Cross and made visible on the Third Day, the Church bids us to increase three essential tasks of Christian life: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. How specifically we will approach these tasks is indeed a good question.
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