Hello All,

As you may know, the season of Lent is officially upon us.  Lent is a time of preparation and reflection of 40 days before Easter, not including Sundays.  We prepare for Christ’s death and resurrection in three primary ways, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  As a Catholic, I know that Tanya and I should use this time to enrich our spiritual lives with God.

Tanya and I have decided on several things that we are going to do together during Lent, including trying to go to an extra Mass every week and to pray one Rosary together each week.

Now, in addition to these goals, I have also set a personal goal as well.  It is my goal to make forty all-twine knotted Rosaries during Lent.  The goal doesn’t mean one per day necessarily but, I would like to get forty completed by Easter.  Then, these Rosaries will be donated to a great organization called Rosary Army.

Tanya is also going to be making Rosaries as we go through Lent, but, she didn’t set a “goal” to complete.

By taking the time to make these Rosaries, it is giving of our time, even if that time is while watching a movie, listening to podcasts or even recording podcasts (if we are lucky).  Not only that but, these Rosaries will be going to a great cause, to provide Rosaries to people who don’t have them and have a desire to pray to Our Lady and to reflect on the mysteries of Our Lord’s life, death and resurrection.

While this might not be a traditional almsgiving of money, which we also do by giving to various charities, I think that for me, this is more significant.  Donating time, even in a small way, is sometimes more valuable than any amount of money you can give.  It truly helps you to realize that God is always with you and needs to be given priority in your life.

Yes, Rosary Army does need money to keep up their operations.  However, without people to send in Rosaries, they won’t have any to give away, which is one of their primary goals.  The goals of their organization are to make them, pray them and give them away.  The workers and volunteers can’t possibly make ALL the Rosaries themselves, can they?

So, keep that in mind during Lent.  Sometimes, giving of your time to a church or community event or to a great organization such as Rosary Army can be a more true gift of almsgiving than money.  Sure, if you have extra cash, or are even making a sacrifice to donate to something, that is a great gift.  However, God calls us to give not only of our money, but our time and talents as well.  In the words of the late Fr. Mario Pepe, who was the priest that I grew up with “It is not what you can give up for Lent, but what you can DO for Lent”.

God Bless,

Chris