Western Culture is generally obsessed with money and the pursuit of money. We are told that money "makes the world go round" and essentially solves all of our problems.
If we only had more money, all of our problems would be wiped away.
Along with the pursuit of money is the desire for the things that money can buy. Our materialist culture urges us to buy whatever we want, all in the pursuit of ultimate happiness on this earth.
Being raised in this culture, it can be difficult to not have even a small love of money.
The Church, in her wisdom, offers to us the season of Lent to help redirect our love back to God.
Lent
St. John Paul II commented on this spirit of the world in his Message for Lent in 2003:
The spirit of the world affects our inner propensity to give ourselves unselfishly to others and drives us to satisfy our own particular interests. The desire to possess ever more is encouraged. Surely it is natural and right that people, by using their own gifts and by their own labor, should work to obtain what they need to live, but an excessive desire for possessions prevents human beings from being open to their Creator and to their brothers and sisters.
He then quotes from the New Testament, "The love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs" (1 Timothy 6:10).
St. John Paul II explains how Lent can uniquely help us overcome this attachment:
Lent offers us the practical and effective weapons of fasting and almsgiving as a means of combating an excessive attachment to money. Giving not only from our abundance, but sacrificing something more in order to give to the needy, fosters that self-denial which is essential to authentic Christian living. Strengthened by constant prayer, the baptized reveal the priority which they have given to God in their lives.
By eating less and giving our money to those in need, we can curb our earthly desires and propel us further on the path of holiness.
Whenever we give to others, we show God that money does not have power over us and that we can freely give it away. It also helps us reorient our lives, seeking to put others first before ourselves.
However much we love money, we can use Lent as a time to detach ourselves from it, letting God rule our lives first and foremost.
