Prayer, fasting, almsgiving

March 9th is the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday marks the start of the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. In his message for this very special time of the year, Pope Bendict pointed out that each year, "by immersing ourselves into the death and resurrection of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are moved to free our hearts every day from the burden of material things, from a self-centered relationship with the “world” that impoverishes us and prevents us from being available and open to God and our neighbor." (...) "Through the personal encounter with our Redeemer and through fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the journey of conversion towards Easter leads us to rediscover our Baptism. This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us at that moment, so that it may illuminate and guide all of our actions".
Father Jim Brand picks up on the Church’s proposals of some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in a process of interior renewal...