Embrace discipline, genuine Lenten practices – Faithful urged

Priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Rev. Fr. Elvis Mensah is urging the faithful to engage in genuine Lenten practices which involve, prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

The priest, in his February 23 homily reminds all of how Jesus fasted for 40 days, denied Himself of food, and bodily disciplined Himself to the extent of not eating or drinking anything throughout those days, stressing that Jesus was a man of charity, who showed love, helped people and engaged in almsgiving.

He then encouraged Christians to embrace those disciplines of Christ, asking them to fast from something, pray to God, and give alms too, in this season of lent.

“The point isn’t just about the mere embracing of these Lenten practices, but the intention behind them and the impact of these practices in your life. You can fast for a whole year, you can pray from morning to evening, you can give everything you have to charity, but if these don’t draw you closer to God, if you don’t have the right intention, you have done nothing”, the priest in-charge of the St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Weija, added.

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Fr. Mensah also explained to the faithful, that, as they do in this season, the scribes and pharisees also engaged in the three aforementioned practices, but the issue was about the spirit with which they observed those practices – something akin to “show of”, with how they prayed but with the intention to be noticed by people, “exhibitionism”– how they fasted to the point of letting people know what they were doing, and finally, “attentionism”– how they broadcasted their deeds when they gave alms.

“On this second Friday of Lent, the Lord continues to warn us. He tells us to re-examine our Lenten practices. He puts this in these words in today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:20-26): ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes & Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven”, he stressed in his February 23 Homily.

Fr. Elvis Mensah urged Christians to pray, fast, and give alms. Noting that it is good to engage in those acts, though it is not enough, asking that they have correct intentions in embracing these disciplines, and their observances of them should draw them closer to God.