Today is Ash Wednesday, the official start of Lent in the Catholic Church. In most people’s minds, this means it’s time to give something up: candy, desserts, soda, Starbucks, etc. But what’s the point?

Getting Hungry
I recently heard a discussion on a local Christian radio station about the differences between physical hunger and spiritual hunger.

The pastor noted that with physical hunger, we begin to have a discomfort that, until satisfied, only intensifies. If we try to ignore our stomachs, there are immediate side effects: anger, sleepiness, loss of focus, etc.

It’s only after consuming food that we feel content.

Then there’s this: if we consume too much food, we actually feel sick.

With spiritual hunger, however, it’s almost the exact opposite. Things of the world (possessions, pride, prestige, etc) tend to draw our attention pretty easily. We don’t necessarily feel spiritually hungry from the get-go because we have things to fill that void. If we ignore our spiritual lives, we probably don’t notice it because we’re having so much “fun”.

Like food, it’s only after feeding ourselves spiritually that we find true contentment.

But then there’s this: once we begin pursuing God on a regular basis, we won’t be able to get enough! We’ll never be full.

And that’s the awesome part.

So…Lent?
As the article linked above states, the tree traditional pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These are a great place to start in helping to remove some of our spiritual barnacles, as my priest would say, and help us grow our hunger to know God more.

1. Prayer
   Try reading the Bible on a daily basis with an app like Laudate, available for both iPhone and Android – it also includes a daily reflection. Or use a guided Lenten reading plan from an app like YouVersion. You could even adjust your morning routine and make time for PB&J each day.
2. Fasting
   On Fridays during lent (and Ash Wednesday), it’s customary for Catholics to only eat two small meals and one large meal; no snacks in between. Some also choose to fast from one particular food or social network for all of Lent. It’s a way to grow self-discipline over our eating, our time and our attitudes. More than that, it should remind us of our hunger for God. When we get hungry, we can offer it up in prayer.
3. Almsgiving
   Donating to charities (or your church) is a selfless way to help move a cause forward that is bigger than yourself. It could also take the form of sacrifice by coming from another area of your spending (i.e. maybe that daily Venti non-fat, non-whip latte with an extra shot of espresso).If you’re not in a position to be able to give monetarily, we can also give our time. Try volunteering at a local shelter or food bank. Giving of ourselves counts just as much as giving of our wallet. Volunteering is an area my wife and I have discussed multiple times and will hopefully be able to get better at during Lent.

The Goal
Our priest talked about how, at the end of Lent, we should have a greater hunger than for the Pringles we gave up for 40 days. We should have a hunger for God and a desire to know him more.

That’s my prayer for myself and all of you.