REFLECT:
Today is the memorial of St. Francis of Paola, the founder of the mendicant religious order of the Minims (from Latin minimi, meaning “the least”), who is an ideal model of the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Before the age of 20, he began to live an austere life as a contemplative hermit in a cave along the Italian sea coast. He devoted his days to prayer and fasting, and his radical lifestyle soon began to draw others, eventually leading to the founding of his order. Part of the order’s rule included a perpetual Lenten fast. For Francis, fasting was an essential means for growing in prayer.

Despite his rejection of material goods in his vow of poverty, Francis still found a way to exercise the practice of almsgiving. While materially poor, he had received from God gifts of miracles and prophecy. Although he desired to maintain his peaceful, low-profile life as a hermit, he knew that the Lord was calling him to generously share these gifts in ministry to the Church, even to the point of being called upon by the Pope to minister to the dying King Louis XI of France. Francis thus demonstrated a spiritual almsgiving, generously sharing what the Lord had gifted to him, to the point of disrupting the comforts of his secluded life.

Now that we are at the eve of Laetare Sunday, the traditional “checkpoint” of Lent, let us reflect on this saint’s life and commitment to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and on our own commitment to these practices so far. Looking to his model of simple living, is there anything else we should be “fasting” from in the remainder of Lent? Have we been giving as much time to prayer as we can? Are there any gifts—material or otherwise—that the Lord is calling me to share with others?

PRAY:
Heavenly Father, through the intercession of St. Francis of Paola, grant us the grace to live out the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in accord with your will for us.

ACT:
Set aside time you would normally be watching TV, scrolling through your phone, or reading a book to simply give over to 5-10 minutes of silent prayer. You can pray for St. Francis’s intercession or whatever else the Lord is putting on your heart.