Self-denial, in the narrower sense of the term, merely means going without something, and important though that is, it is even more important that we should do something positive as well.  So Lent is a time to go out of our way to give something of ourselves to God.

First, there is our devotional life, including in particular the regularity of our daily prayers and the frequency of our Communions.  We can add to our times of prayer by coming into the church during the week and kneeling before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and we can increase the number of our Communions.  But we must beware of making quantity a substitute for quality.

So Lent is an opportunity to overhaul our rule of life; to say our ordinary prayers better as well as regularly, and to prepare for our Communions with greater care.

We should not approach this as a mere duty the performance of which will improve us.  That may well be its result but it must never be its motive.  For when we come to God we have to look away from ourselves and towards him, and in this way instead of spending our time on ourselves we shall be giving it to him.

In our everyday life we all know the difference between a present given grudgingly because one is expected to give it, and a present which is freely and gladly given as a token of affection.  So what we do during Lent in our prayers and in our worship should express our love for God.