Do you ever plan to give up something for Lent and then wonder if you’ll make it till Easter? I remember one year I was giving up coffee, and about halfway through Lent realized I couldn’t make it. I seemed to be walking through a fog, especially at work, and I decided I just couldn’t afford to be handicapped like that.
Maybe I was overzealous in planning to go off coffee cold turkey. I did at least begin weaning off of all-day coffee-drinking at that point. But maybe I could have kept up the more sacrificial practice if I’d paid more attention to Who was there to help me.
Now Lent isn’t just about giving up something— we all know that (or I hope we do). But then again, maybe the element of self-sacrifice is meant to nudge us into depending more on the help of the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Many of us learned in preparing for Confirmation, or in RCIA, about the Sevenfold Gift of the Holy Spirit. How can that Gift— that is, wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—help us during Lent and every day of our lives? (A list of six is found in Isa. 11:2. Piety was added because it was included in some early versions, and it raises the total to seven, a symbolic number indicating completeness.)
One of the first things I learned about the Holy Spirit was that the Spirit “lifts up Jesus.” During Lent, when you read the Sunday or daily Mass readings, or after hearing the homily, look at the seven components of the Gift and see if one stands out. Or pick one at random and try to see how it applies, how it is evident in the words and actions of Jesus.
In meditating on these gifts-within-the-Gift, you may see how the Spirit not only helped Jesus in His earthly ministry but how that same Spirit helps you in yours, and specifically in your Lenten self-offering.
If you’d like to further explore this idea, as well as how other gifts and actions of the Holy Spirit can enrich your Lent, come to a mini-retreat on Zoom. The retreat will be offered two mornings: Saturday, March 12, and Monday, March 14, from 9:30 to 11:30 CST (from10:30 to 12:30 EST). To learn more or to register for one of the retreat days, contact me, Carol Whatley, at [email protected].
Whether you join us or not, I pray you’ll let the ever-present Helper uphold and guide you as you seek to “see Christ more clearly, love Him more dearly, and follow Him more nearly.” May you have a blessed Lent, helped by the Giver of all good gifts.
