First Friday of the Lenten Season

There’s no doubt that Fridays are the most solemn days of the week during Lent. On this, the first Friday of the Lenten season, we foreshadow the sorrow to come on Good Friday, the day of our Lord’s passion and death, just as we do each Friday during this penitential season.  Today, we specifically attempt to join in our Lord’s suffering by abstaining from meat.  Why do we do this, though?  What significance does meat have?  Why don’t we abstain from vegetables or bread?  There have been many explanations as to why we do this.

First, abstaining from anything allows us to grow in discipline, both physically and spiritually.  If we can resist something in the physical world, we grow in our concept and practice of discipline, which carries over into our spiritual lives.  Also, in Latin, the word for what we call “meat” is “caro”, which literally translates into “flesh”.  So we actually are abstaining from “flesh”.  Since Christ gave His own flesh on the cross for our sins, we remember Him on Fridays by abstaining from the flesh in our foods.  In addition to Christ’s flesh, what comes to mind when you think of how Saint Paul describes the “flesh” in the New Testament?  St. Paul also might metaphorically suggest sinful desires, when he says "flesh". All of God's creation, in any case, is good--very good.  By abstaining from meat on Fridays, however, we are remembering that we should also abstain from and reject our sinful desires, which Christ gave His own perfect and unblemished flesh for on the cross so that those sins could be forgiven.

To better remember Jesus’s sacrifice and offer our sinful desires to Him on the cross, there are a few things we can do today.  First, wecan pray the Stations of the Cross, which allows us to vividly experience the Passion and be with our Lord as we remember how He gave Himself for us.  Try to pick one Station that speaks to you the most and meditate on that one and what it means to you throughout the week.  Which person struck your attention?  What about that person do you like or dislike?  Does this station apply to your life right now somehow?  What is happening to Jesus?  How does He act?  How can you act more like Him in the situations of your life right now?  The Stations of the Cross will be prayed at St. Matthews today at 11:30am and 5:00pm or you can find them here to pray on your own: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php

Another thing we can do is join in the sorrow of our Blessed Mother Mary by praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary. Take a few moments of silence before you start each decade of “Hail Marys” to meditate on the mystery you just read.  Ask Mary to allow you to share in her sorrow at the cross and be convicted towards Christ all the more.  Ask her to help you lay down your sins and sufferings at the foot of the cross. For instructions on how to pray the rosary and a list of the Sorrowful Mysteries, go here: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/mystery.php?id=2


Other than that, continue to persevere in whatever you are giving up or adding this Lent, and know that you have a community of faithful Catholics here right by your side sacrificing and praying along with you.  

God bless!  - Stephanie Shipley