Our Health and Well-Being

Here we are in the midst of Lent. Given the stress over the coronavirus and economic uncertainties, perhaps we feel a sense of futility and the temptation to quit our Lenten journey. In the grand scheme of things, what do our acts of penance actually accomplish as we face the pressures and anxieties in today’s world?

Granted, it may be difficult to measure our spiritual progress. However, we may be accomplishing more than we realize. Prayers, sacrifices, and acts of charity can provide healthy benefits for the body and mind, heart and soul within ourselves and for each other.

Prayer

Prayer is a vital necessity [CCC 2744]. In prayer, we can experience a calming effect that decreases our stress and anxiety, boosts our immune system, as well as promotes a positive mood, thereby enhancing our physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Given that it is always possible to pray, when we unite our prayers to our joys, works, and sorrows, we can find ourselves praying without ceasing.

Through the lifeline of faithful prayer, we are never alone. What’s more, as we face this period of social distancing and economic pressures, prayer keeps us connected free of charge. God’s love, made manifest in Jesus Christ, comes into our being and remains within us by way of the Holy Spirit, providing us the wisdom and grace we need for our daily living. All of which we can share by praying for each other, which fortifies us for the sacrifices we make.

Sacrifice

Making sacrifices is more than an exercise we engage in for 40 days during Lent. We develop a discipline which enables us to detach ourselves from material wants and strengthens our resilience and perseverance for the long term. In addition, taking this exercise to the next level by offering up our sacrifices to God, as Christ did, purifies our heart and soul.

This discipline of making prayerful sacrifices also protects our faith, hope, and love from the temptation of rejecting God. With this protection, we have the strength to participate in Our Lord’s work of healing and redemption even as we face our trials. We are able to see beyond our own needs to give charity to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Charity

With charity comes joy, peace, and mercy. Charity is “benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion” [CCC 1829]. Charity spreads the healing power of God—which is love in its purest form. Love combats anxiety, wards off depression, and alleviates pain for ourselves and for the lives of those we touch.

Stress is high, money is tight, and tempers are short while fear, loneliness, and heart-break spread with bad news. We can counter this with loving acts of kindness, compassion, patience, and mercy. The more we share of God’s love through our ordinary living, the more we’ll want to share and the more we will receive for the sharing because God’s love is infinite.

With God’s love, wisdom, and grace, may our prayers, sacrifices, and acts of charity provide relief and solace for one another now and in the days ahead. Amen.