During the season of Lent the Church invites us to fast, pray, and give alms. Fasting means reducing some part of our food and drink as a small act of self-discipline; praying may take many forms, such as the more frequent saying of the Lord’s Prayer; giving alms means giving money to the poor and needy, perhaps by donating to a charity or foodbank.
The purpose of Lent is to awaken us to the coming celebration of Holy Week and Easter, when we recall the saving death and resurrection of Christ. At the start of Lent, we recall how Jesus struggled with Satan in the desert and rejected him – thus he began the work of our salvation, our turning away from evil and reconciliation with God.
Collect
Heavenly Father,
your Son battled with the powers of darkness,
and grew closer to you in the desert:
help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer
that we may witness to your saving love
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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