Recollection, Penance, and Charity: Different Ways to Look at Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving

Now that we have begun the season of Lent, I wanted to share some of a reflection that I read on Tuesday in the Magnificat prayer book. It was by a French laywoman who was made a Servant of God by the Church named Elisabeth Leseur. Her husband who was an atheist converted after reading her spiritual journal following her death and became a Dominican priest. The reflection centered on her meditations and resolutions for the season of Lent, which were recollection, penance, and charity. A little while later, I realized that these are just forms of the pillars of Lent, which are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We can use these resolutions and ways that Leseur planned to carry them out as part of our own Lenten journey.

Recollection, or practicing always being in the presence of God, can exist amid busyness and exterior activities, as Leseur points out, as long as one consistently keeps their mind on Jesus and what He might do in a certain situation. Just as the cell of a monk, she says, the soul can be free of worldly influence and white, that is, pure. God and work fills the solitude of nuns and monks, and the same can make a person who is flooded with busyness solitary. When we keep up our prayer with God throughout the day and don’t let ourselves get too caught up in worldly things around us, we stay recollected and can be more like Jesus in stressful or upsetting situations. In this way also, our prayer can be not only at set times during the day, but at all times.

For penance, Leseur resolved to carry out her own, not just the penances prescribed by the Church, which she said would be easy in the trials of life and the distress of ill health. And making little sacrifices throughout the day every day can be a part of doing penance for Lent. For me, I’m trying to make myself get up earlier than I normally do and I also am trying to do things that in a certain moment I don’t feel like doing. Penance strengthens us to do the will of God more readily and it can help lessen the time we may have to spend in Purgatory.

As far as charity, Leseur wanted to increasingly make herself all things to everyone and to always be tolerant of others and cheerful, forgetting herself for their sake and to show more love to those around her. She also resolved to not be lazy in these things even during times of physical exhaustion. I think in today’s times, self-care and making time for ourselves has gone to the extreme where we are encouraged to shut other people and their needs out when we are feeling drained in order to make time for ourselves and what we want to do. Self-care is important, but the kind of self-care we really need to do is to make time for prayer and the reception of Holy Communion when we are feeling drained so that God can give us the strength to continue to serve others in His Name. There’s nothing wrong with taking time for our own activities, but only as long as our neighbor has no need of our help and we should be prepared to cheerfully and promptly leave our activities to assist them if the need arises.

Consider adding these forms of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to your Lenten practices. They will also help you to continue prayerful and charitable habits all throughout the year in order to grow closer to God and become His apostle, as Leseur said, in order to bring Him to others.