Thomas Griffin 2/13/25
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Let Us Begin: New Book on the Life and Power of St. Francis
“A week ago today, Lent began. How are you doing with making God the center of your life?”
I remember hearing this question a few years ago from a priest. Ash Wednesday is a week ago. Our commitments to pray, fast and give alms have been made. Are we keeping them and are they bringing us into closer intimacy with God?
The challenge about our Lenten sacrifices is that we can “perform” them rather than offer them. This is why Jesus spends time speaking about the public nature of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. He does not want us to be hypocrites – performing actions and pretending to be doing them for God while forgetting Him along the way.
This happens to me, inevitably, each Lent. I decide the “things” I am going to do and I keep my commitment, but these actions are separated from my relationship with God. This happens because I am more focused on making myself strong enough to fast or spend extra time in prayer rather than remembering why I am making these promises to begin with.
Lent is meant to bring us into closer contact with the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. It is meant to re-awaken in us the fact that Jesus is not dead, but alive. The actions we commit ought to bring us face-to-face with the Son of God who gave his life for you and for me. If our Lenten commitments aren’t doing so, then it is time to change our perspective.
For example, if you are giving up certain food or fasting from screen time or social media – what are you doing with that extra time you have? Each time you are tempted to go on your phone or open that app, are you thinking about Christ or are you simply making a “strong decision” to keep your promise. The habit of making that tough choice is good for our character but the practice of remembering Jesus each time we desire to have what we gave up is good for our holiness.
To be holy means to be whole or complete. Only God Himself is completely whole. When we make sacrifices out of love for God we become like Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice to save us from our sins. We are given a vision into what it means to love like God loves.
If you have made a commitment to pray for an extended period of time this Lent or to go to Mass during the week or read a spiritual book – have those practice already become routine for you since Ash Wednesday? If you have kept them, that is a great thing. Keeping our promises to God is critical. However, the problem with having spiritual routines is that we become numb to the true purpose of prayer.
Prayers how we live out our relationship with God. This includes what we say to God, but also just the physical spending time with God. Routine is a part of all relationships because the habit of spending time with each other is what builds the bond between two people.
When a man and a woman begin to date, they increasingly end up spending more and more time together. They have the routine of consistently being together on weekends and for dinner. This is a normal practice and a necessary one in order for their love to grow. However, when a relationship between a husband and wife becomes routine, it risks also becoming superficial.
This is the main challenge of making our prayer time, even in Lent, a routine. We never want our conversation with God or our spending time with God to become superficial. God always desires for us to go to the heart of the matter, and you share with him the deepest concerns and joys of our life.
When you have been moved to pray during this holy season, has it brought you to the deep? Or have you remained on the surface? Perhaps reciting many words in prayer but not truly sharing what is bothering you or what you are afraid of.
As we continue on this Lent, let us hear the words of Jesus: do not simply “perform” your faith. When you sacrifice for him, think about him and reflect on his radical love for you. When you spend time in prayer, dedicate ample time to having a real conversation with Christ, who is truly present to you.
The more we do these two things, the more prepared we will be to witness the beauty of Holy Week, which is the entire reason for the season.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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