PAF: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving (Lenten Series Part Two)

PAF: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.

These are the three "pillars" to Lent, and if you follow through with them, they should make your Lent all the more sweeter. The words can seem kind of overwhelming sometimes. I mean, fasting? I love food; I don't know if I could go without a snack! :) Okay, maybe a snack but still. And almsgiving? What even does that mean?

Well dear readers, continue on to find out. :)

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Lenten Tip #2:

PAF is the way to go this Lent.


Prayer: I am pretty sure that we all know what prayer is. But incase you need a reminder, prayer is the direct telephone line to our Creator. Sometimes we abuse prayer by making it a one way conversation. Or a "I want this, and this, and this and oh yeah, this too" conversation. I mean, who likes that?

• Focus on making prayer both ways. Listen to God this Lent, reflect on what He is trying to tell you. Sit in your bed and take deep breaths. Try to not think about anything, just focus on God. If you are like me, you'll have a horrible time concentrating. What I do is repeat the same verse over and over again and think of one specific image. Most of the times, I think Holy Spirit guide me. Or Jesus, help me. Something short and sweet that will help you in your concentration.
• Aim for spending 10 minutes a day with God. This is very hard, let me tell ya. But it really gives you a sense of peace when you just spend 10 minutes out of the 1440 you have each day with God. You don't even need to prepare anything! Just grab your Bible and spend some time talking to God. (and listening, of course. :) )

Almsgiving: Don't feel dumb if you don't know what this word means, I didn't either until my religion teacher told me. Whoops. :) Anywho, according to the Google dictionary, almsgiving is

"Making voluntary contributions to aid the poor."

My definition of almsgiving is pretty much stewardship: taking time out of your day to help others.

• Volunteer at a nursing home, food kitchen, etc. for just an hour. It is amazing what a difference you can make in people's lives with just an hour of work. The time will pass by so quickly, you won't notice. Look around your local area to find any places in need of volunteers.
• Bring along some friends! My advice to you if you think almsgiving is boring, is grab some buddies. It will make it even more fun! To top it off, the place you are volunteering for is getting more help.

Fasting: Out of all of them, this one sounds the most intimidating, no? :) No one likes giving up food! But when you really think about it, that's not all that fasting is. Fasting is mainly giving up something that is good to us to reflect on how Jesus suffered. Whether it be meat on Fridays, your mom's brownies or just overall fasting, each gets us graces from God.

• Don't feel like you have to starve. Fasting isn't meant to starve yourself, fasting is just so you can get a glimpse of what it's like without something you love. If you are hungry to the point of feeling sick, eat something! God doesn't want you to pass out.
• The "Proper" Fasting Routine. If you are really feeling ambitious, you can follow the "proper" fasting routine for Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and any other day you feel like you need to sacrifice something. Two small meals and one medium-biggish meal is what I would recommend growing teenagers to go through. Personally, I do a small breakfast, biggish meal and small dinner. Try to only have one serving or skip desert.
  

Ever feeling down on your Lenten Promise(s)? Just remember PAF and you'll be set!

Praying for you all in your Lenten journeys! :)
All through Christ,

Maddie

RESOURCES: 
http://catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/p/Fasting.htm

https://www.google.com/search?q=google+dictionary&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7NDKB_enUS531#q=almsgiving+definition&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address