LENT BEGINS

J.D. Long-García/CATHOLIC SUN

An unidentified man receives ashes at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral Feb. 25, 2009, Ash Wednesday. This year, Lent began Feb. 17.

A time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving

With the Feb. 17 celebration of Ash Wednesday, Catholics across the world entered into the penitential season of Lent. The 40-day period is a time of purification and preparation, filled with prayer, fasting and almsgiving, all with an eye to Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Look toward Easter Sunday,” said Fr. Rob Clements, rector at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. He said that over the past 50 years or so, the Church has encouraged Catholics to use Lent as a way of reentering their baptismal promises.

“Do you reject sin? Do you reject the glamour of evil? Do you reject the evil one and refuse to be mastered by evil?” Fr. Clements asked. “Am I going to live for God?”

And while no one answers “no” to these questions when asked them on Easter Sunday, actually conforming one’s life to a Christian ideal is a constant battle. That’s why parishes across the Valley help Catholics throughout Lent by offering more opportunities for prayer and penance.

The cathedral is adding confession in between Sunday Masses, which Fr. Clements said works out conveniently for parishioners. They will also publicly celebrate Vespers on Friday evenings, along with Mass, Stations of the Cross and a soup dinner provided by the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul group.

On Tuesdays, after evening Mass, the cathedral offers devotions to St. Jude, the patron of impossible causes.

“During Lent, a number of people think they are impossible causes,” Fr. Clement joked. “It’s a good time to discover that no matter what you’ve done, God loves you.”

These opportunities can do much to bolster the three pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Traditionally, these practices encourage a Catholic’s interior life through contemplation and mortification, but they also point outward.

“Because Lent is a prep time for the triduum, the passion and rising of our Lord Jesus Christ, we concentrate on being in solidarity with people who suffer — the oppressed, the marginalized,” said Pat Julian, director for programs at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale.

The center — popularly known as the Casa — will offer a number of Lenten programs tied to its Season for Nonviolence, a national movement “dedicated to raising awareness about the healing and transforming power of nonviolence,” according to its Web site.

“It’s a way to raise consciousness for people in the community around peace,” Julian said. “We integrate it with prayer. This year we’re really accenting the Stations of the Cross.”

Through prayer and a dedication to nonviolence, Julian said Catholics can unite themselves to the poor and oppressed.

“I believe our entering into the suffering helps us to be present,” she said. “We’re all willing to enter into really being sensitized, having our consciousness raised to be — as we’re called to be — one with our brothers and sisters. That’s our work here.”

This work — and the work of Lent in general — can require a removal of oneself from the everyday cares and worries that can sometimes stunt spiritual growth. That’s the beauty of the Mount Claret Center, said associate director Tom McGuire.

Mount Claret sits tucked away at the foot of Camelback Mountain. It’s a centrally located campus that feels very removed from the city.

“I tell people you feel like you’ve gone off road,” McGuire said. “Mount Claret really distinguishes itself because of the grounds. It’s breathtaking.”

The center will offer a number of day-retreats throughout Lent. Each day features a priest who presents a theme for an hour or so in the morning. There’s quiet meditation, adoration, Mass and lunch. In the afternoon, there is a second talk and Stations of the Cross.

“There’s a lot of energy behind these days from those who have been here before,” McGuire said. “I’ve been circulating the brochure to my contact list and some people are saying, ‘I may just take a day off and make that part of my Lenten journey.’ People look at these as an opportunity to do something special.”

The fact that McGuire referred to Lent as a journey holds special significance. It’s often the case that Catholics make gains in their spiritual lives during the season only to see that growth slowly shrivel the rest of the year.

That’s just what it means to be human, Fr. Clements said.

“Just be humble. It’s like the good Lord said: Take up your cross every day and follow,” he said. “I think if all of us could wake up tomorrow morning and be perfect then we’d do it. But obviously we need God’s help to do it and maybe that’s what we learn in having to repeat disciplines over and over again.”