Florida Catholic | Lenten Practices

Lenten practices encompass self-denial and service

Many are finding spiritual growth through the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and giving of self in service to others.

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 02.01.08

Nick and Alba Picinich pray the rosary daily for the needs of others before a mural of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the balcony of their condominium in Cocoa Beach.
MELANIE L. DODSON | FC

Lent gives us the chance to examine (our lives) and decide how we will be more involved and follow the mission of Jesus.”
–Father Philip J. Egitto

ORLANDO | There is a familiar lilt to “prayer, fasting and almsgiving” — the Lenten practices of repentance that become the focus of our attention each year at this time. Listening to voices from around the Diocese of Orlando reveals a strong devotion to prayer and sacrificial practices that lead to serving the needs of others.

Alba and Nick Picinich of Our Saviour Parish in Cocoa Beach are committed to praying by name for people who need it. They are also considering following the Daniel Fast — fasting from a scriptural basis — and eliminating all meat, fish and dairy products. If not, they will just fast and abstain on Wednesdays and Fridays. They will also visit the homebound with a meal.

Nick Picinich said, “I will try to continue not just for the 40 days of Lent, but continue as a practice growing in a spiritual way, and also helping others who are less fortunate than me. We won’t just visit the homebound and talk, but we will listen.”

Alba Picinich agreed, “A Lenten practice is not just something you do and stop. Lent has to change me and make me a better person after Easter and always.”

At Resurrection School in Lakeland, Margaret Ross, an eighth-grader explained, “We help others throughout the year, not just during Lent.” She will join other National Junior Honor Society members in visiting a low-income preschool to read stories.

Sixth-grader Gabe Torre added, “Our whole parish and school will participate in Operation Rice Bowl. My family keeps the rice bowl on the kitchen counter to remind us of the poor and I will return it filled with our donation after Easter.”

“I’m not into the old custom of ‘giving things up,’” said Sister for Christian Community Anne Duffy, who celebrates 59 years of religious vocation and assists at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Daytona Beach. “I’m into doing things. Now I see the positive side of sacrifice in the form of doing something to help someone or to promote a worthy cause.”

Trinity High School in Ocala also emphasizes service projects for its students, but it is clear that family practices play a significant role. Senior Marcel Falestiny, a parishioner at Blessed Trinity Parish, will join fellow students in a Habitat for Humanity build. “This is totally new for me and I’m looking forward to it.

“My dad is from Egypt and my mom makes a special recipe of rice and lentils without meat on Fridays, Marcel added. “Lent is also a real prayerful time for our family. My dad uses this opportunity to focus on gathering the family together to pray and watch movies like ‘The Passion of the Christ.’”

Jackson Egan, a junior and parishioner at Queen of Peace said, “We eat fish on Fridays, we try to pray the rosary together as a family at night and we focus a lot on almsgiving. We have a neighbor who is extremely ill and this Lent we will all be helping to care for her.”

Deacon Bruno Wiencek of St. Lawrence Parish in Bushnell said, “This is my 70th Lent and I’ll be praying more. As you get older, the more you see in a different light.

“My wife and I will contribute to a new cause. She just finished, and I’ve started reading ‘Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time,’ (by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin) about Mortenson’s visit to Pakistan that resulted in his building 55 schools for impoverished children since 1993. Just $1 per day pays a teacher’s salary,” said Wiencek.

Father Philip J. Egitto, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Daytona Beach, summed it up best: “People think that it’s easy to be a Christian by being a nice person, but God requires more. We must set people free from all that oppresses them and it’s not easy. It requires that we work together with others to change structures that create oppression. Lent gives us the chance to examine (our lives) and decide how we will be more involved and follow the mission of Jesus.”

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Lenten practices encompass self-denial and service

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