I once heard that prayer is boring because you didn’t make it about Jesus and you didn’t make it about others. After I heard that, I immediately realized how selfish I’ve been with my prayers and that’s one of the reasons why it was getting ‘boring’. Lent can also be understood in the same light because in essence, all that we do during lent should be a prayer, because prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to lift our heart and mind to God. However, if we make lent about ourselves then it will be boring, disengaging, and will seem like a chore. In order for the season of Lent (and every season with the Lord) to be fruitful and not boring, it has to be about Jesus and it has to be about others.
Here are a few things I need to remind myself of during lent:
1. Make Jesus the centre of your prayer.
Begin with Jesus in mind and heart and not other things. Have a dialogue with Him and not a monologue with yourself. Speak to Him, listen to Him, and let Him have the first and last say. Spend time with Him as much as possible, especially literally in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament. Encounter Him in the scriptures, family, friends, in every task, and most especially in Mass.
2. Remember the poor when fasting
Don’t make fasting about yourself. Don’t let it point your affections whether they be joy or suffering to yourself but let it be a reminder to suffer with the millions of poor people around the world. Let fasting be an opportunity to grow in your ability to be compassionate, in other words, to suffer with those who are suffering. Don’t eat that candy simply because you said you gave it up, but because you truly want to experience even the slightest mortification that is nothing compared to the suffering of those in great destitution.
3. Give alms to have a change of heart
Be generous with your time, talent, and treasure. Give concretely. Give until it hurts, then let that hurt purify and change your heart to become more like Jesus’ heart. Give because others truly need what you have to offer even if it’s as little as 25 cents. God doesn’t see what or how much you’re giving. He sees the heart. He sees if we are giving our heart. That’s why it has to hurt.
It’s really amazing how time flies in prayer when I’ve truly made it about Jesus and others. I would actually find that there’s not enough time to pray!
We have nothing to worry about for ourselves if we are putting Jesus and His kingdom first. His kingdom belongs to the poor and the meek, so the more we associate ourselves with them and prefer them, the closer we will be to the kingdom of Heaven.