Your Lent doesn’t have to be the hardest ever in order for it to be a good Lent. With prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, do good works for God, for yourself, for the Holy Souls, and for your neighbors.
By Fr. Dan Cambra, MIC
I have often found Ash Wednesday a good opportunity to recommit to my New Year’s resolutions, especially those with a more spiritual focus. As members of the Holy Souls Sodality, we should consider a specific Lenten sacrifice to advance the well-being of the Holy Souls dearest to us, according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Four concessions
After all, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the three traditional tools for Lent, are also indulgenced by our Church in something called “the four general concessions” (Manual of Indulgences, pp. 21-36). That is:
1. A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, raise their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation.
That can be almost any prayer, even something as quick and simple as “God, help me!” That means our days can be rich in partial indulgences. Remember, every little bit helps. Every prayer and every partial indulgence helps.
Now, if you are prone to scrupulosity, please don’t let this paralyze you or make you feel like you have to have a never-ending litany of prayer going on in your head. Our works of mercy shouldn’t trap us or drive us into the ground. We are blessed with an endless access to grace, not burdened with an obligation to never, ever stop our vocal prayers. Let this be an encouragement to occasionally ask for God’s help in your day, knowing that you can be helping the Holy Souls at the same time. If you want to be praying constantly for them, obtain blessed candles and burn them before an image of our Lord, asking His grace for the Holy Souls.
2. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, led by the spirit of faith, give compassionately of themselves or of their goods to serve their brothers in need.
Good news: Your corporal works of mercy can also be spiritual works of mercy! There’s a partial indulgence attached to your gifts of time, talent, or treasure to those in need. Just offer a quick, interior prayer to God, saying you’re asking for the partial indulgence attached to good works. Then set to!
3. A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in a spirit of penance, voluntarily abstain from something that is licit for and pleasing to them.
Even better news: Fasting doesn’t just mean giving something up. It also means obtaining graces for the Holy Souls! Just offer a quick, interior prayer to God, saying you’re asking for the partial indulgence attached to fasting and abstinence.
4. A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in the particular circumstances of daily life, voluntarily give explicit witness to their faith before others.
Save souls on earth and help speed souls through Purgatory at the same time!
Our Lenten practices can obtain partial indulgences. Even if they weren’t indulgenced, they would be means of grace in the world, and be suitable to offer to God on behalf of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Let’s talk about some ways of using the three tools this Lent.
Prayer
Outside the Sacraments and reading the Scriptures, what’s the best way to welcome God’s grace into your life?
That’s right: prayer.
But prayer isn’t just for us to have a one-on-one relationship with God (though that’s indispensably important). Prayer is also meant as a means for us to work on our relationships with everyone and everything else.
After all, God doesn’t ask us to give up everything forever and focus on Him alone. We are called to place Him first in our lives so that we receive everything and everyone else from Him, in light of Him. That way, we won’t mistake others for Him. We won’t fall into idolatry if we have a good, right relationship with God. That way, we’ll know how to love others. We’ll treat creatures as creatures, not make idols out of them.
And we’ll come to the aid of our neighbors. We’ll intercede for those in need, and thank God for the gift of those who help us. We’ll open the floodgates of Heaven to the graces of God, allowing God a freer hand to work in the world by our consent to His will, as Our Lady did. We will do works of mercy every day, throughout the day, even as we work.
This past autumn, I mentioned to Susan Tassone, a knowledgeable friend (the “Purgatory Lady”), that I was thinking of making a novena for a special favor. She immediately reminded me that Bl. Solanus Casey, OFM, often recommended praying to the Holy Souls for their intercession. Check out Susan’s The St. Faustina Prayer Book For The Holy Souls In Purgatory for great prayers and devotions.
Fasting
Remember that your fasting and abstinence are meant to be penance for you, not for those around you! If you can’t keep your temper without your morning coffee, please don’t give it up. Conversely, it’s worth experimenting with giving up your favorite treats, just for a chunk of time, especially if you’ve been ignoring or not following your doctor’s advice for some time. You can also be creative with your fasts. Give up ice cream, for instance, during the week, and allow yourself to indulge on Sunday, or give up ice cream for the first week of Lent, chocolate for the second, cake for the third, and so on.
The point is to train yourself for bigger sacrifices, larger surrenders to the will of God. Better a small fast you will keep than a huge, impossible fast you’ll break and feel miserable about. Be intentional. Train your will to place God before your appetite. Do what will best aid your salvation and sanctification.
Almsgiving
We live in a world with an almost infinite chasm of need before us all day, every day. The West is losing or has lost the faith; the poor of the world are in need each and every day; the pandemic pushes our medical professionals to the brink; war threatens innocent civilians across the world; and much, much more. So at the outset, unless you’re a billionaire, reconcile yourself to the fact that your individual financial contributions will be most meaningful in your local community, to your immediate neighbor. You or I will almost certainly not be the one to fund the cure for cancer. But small, local needs can be helped hugely by small, local donations.
What do your friends and family need? How about your parish, or the local charities that your parish helps? If you can think of the bigger picture, do so: What does your local diocese need? What do bigger Catholic charities need? And of course keep the Marian Fathers in mind!
Your Lent doesn’t have to be the hardest ever in order for it to be a good Lent. With prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, do good works for God, for yourself, for the Holy Souls, and for your neighbors.
May God bless you.
Father Dan Cambra, MIC is spiritual director of the Holy Souls Sodality.
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