Episode 42 - How to do Lent
Jake and Brett continue a series on Lent and discuss the value of spiritual disciplines and how to have a fruitful Lent.
Guiding Quotes
“Our most serious failure today is the ability to provide effective, practical guidance as to how to live the life of Jesus.” (Dallas Willard)
Key Points
We live under a tyranny of the urgent
It’s amazing that the Creator of all things can speak to us personally
There are various reasons we struggle to trust that God speaks to us
There are practical things we can do that help us do to live like Jesus
Going through the motions of Lent isn’t the point of Lent
It’s possible to be disciplined and not have a change of heart
The goal of Lent is not to be disciplined but to be transformed and have a deepening experience of God the Father and growth in sonship
Prayer is where we take time and listen to the Father
During prayer we offer our Attention, Time, and Trust (AT&T)
Fasting is about making room for the Father
Almsgiving is about trust in the Father and being generous; being openhanded
Almsgiving is moving into being like the Father (blessing others)
Prayer - relationship with the Father, Fasting - room for the Father, Almsgiving trust in and loving like the Father
Fasting is about strengthening our will muscle
The spiritual disciplines, in the right context, are very good
Fasting creates space in our soul for communion with God
People who criticize the spiritual disciplines are often those people who don’t do them
“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it’s been found difficult and left untried.” (GK Chesterton)
We can try a “human experiment,” and give God an amount of time, to see how the spiritual disciplines transform us
“For those who say they don’t have time to pray are not short on time, they are short on love” (St. John Paul II)
Putting yourself in a posture of utter dependence on God is a key to the spiritual disciplines
We don’t know how to pray on our own
Prayer is “being there for love to love you” (Ruth Burrows)
“Certainly, as the Lord tells us, one can become a source from which rivers of living water flow. Yet to become such a source, one must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est 7)
Prayer is a necessity
The soul of our apostolate is prayer
“The external aspects of fasting, though important, do not convey the full measure of the practice. Joined to the practice should be a sincere desire for inner purification, readiness to obey the divine will, and thoughtful solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the poor.” (St. John Paul II)
Discussion Questions
What struck you from this episode?
How is your Lent going?
How & where do you struggle to trust God?
What are some excuses you use when it comes to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?
What have been some of your best times/experiences with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving?
What do you think and feel about about making yourself utterly dependent on God?
Resources
