Reflections on Lent.

Forty days of Lent:
40 days in the desert;40 days for the great flood;40 years in the desert before entering the Promised land;40 days ,Moses,Elijah and Jesus fasted.
Lent means spring.
An invitation to turn from our own selves from sin and to come together in community.
Self-Denial is the way we express our repentance.
We pray , we fast and we give alms
Pope: "Fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live.To intensify the custom of private and communal fasts---reading the Word of God,praying and engaging in almsgiving."
The Pope wants to give to the poor what is set aside through our fasting.
Time to empty ourselves to be filled by God.
Fasting from smoking and drinking;fasting from violent and sexual pictures;fasting from condemning and dismissing others.
Lent is a time to feast on other good things..
Fast from discontent,anger,bitterness,self-concern,discouragement,laziness,suspicion and guilt.
Feast on gratitude,patience,forgiveness,compassion for others,hope commitment ,truth, and the mercy of God.
Lent,hence , is a time of fasting and feasting.