The Olympic Games

You have all heard of the Olympic Games which are held every four years in one or other of the countries of the world.  The first Olympic Games were held in the year 776 BC at Olympia in Southern Greece where there was a famous temple.  The Games included track events, jumping, wrestling, boxing, discus and javelin throwing, and later, chariot races.  The prize for the winners was a wreath of wild olive.  The Games were kept up at Olympia until the year 396 A.D. when Alaric, the barbarian chief, invaded Greece.  They were started again in the year 1896 and are now open to all nations.

All the competitors in the Olympic Games have to do two things if they are to have any chance of success.  They have to train and they have to practise.  This, of course, applies to everyone who takes part in athletics or other sports, such as football, swimming or gymnastics.  First they have to watch their diet so their weight is just right.  They have to make sure they go to bed in good time because they will probably be up early for training sessions to build the strength and suppleness of their muscles.  Besides this, in order to keep themselves fit and to reach their best form, they also have to practise their sport very regularly.

The training of the soul

Now this life of ours is like a race, a race which will end when the soul reaches Heaven, but that cannot be until the soul has become like God in all his spotless holiness and complete freedom from sin.  And just as athletes have to train their bodies, so we have to train our souls.  Our souls should always be in training, but the season of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and goes on until Easter, is a time when we all make a special effort.

Only one thing can keep us from God and that is sin.  And sin has its root in what we call our lower self.  Each of us has a higher self and a lower self.  The higher self is that part of us which wants and tries to be like Our Blessed Lord – good-tempered, and kind, and pure, and generous and forgiving.  But the lower self has no use at all for that sort of thing, and keeps wanting us to do and be quite the opposite.  When we hear of someone being nasty, we say, “It’s not like him or her to do that”.  What has happened is that, whereas before we have known only the person’s higher self, now we catch a glimpse of his or her lower self.  But remember, it is our higher self which is our true self – what we are meant to be like.

Self-denial

So the first thing in Lent which we have to do is to deal with our lower self so that we have it under our thumb instead of our being under its thumb.  In order, therefore, to weaken our lower self and to strengthen the will power of our higher self, we deliberately do without things which we like.  For example, we can do without such things as sweets and chocolates or the cinema, and put the money we save into a Lent box and give the money to a charity.  We can go to bed early and get up at a fixed time by the clock.  Besides that, we should be very much on the alert to pounce on all angry or nasty thoughts as soon as they come into our minds.  All of this is called self-denial, that is, saying ‘No’ to oneself, and it is just as important for our souls as training rules are for an athlete.

This is what St Paul says about it, “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one.  So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it…” (NRSV, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Rule of prayer

Besides self-denial, we should also have a rule about our prayers and, if we are communicants, about our Communions.  As an athlete practises running, so we must practise the things which keep us close to God.  First, we should be particularly careful to say our morning and evening prayers well every day.  At the Sunday Eucharist we should make a real offering of ourselves to God along with our offering of Our Blessed Lord. If we are communicants we should try to make our Communions more often during Lent, and to give special care to our preparation beforehand and to our thanksgiving afterwards.  We should also go to the special services in Lent which are held during the week.

Our Lenten Rule

It a good plan to write out your Lenten Rule so that you know exactly what it is.  Here is a suggested Rule:

My Lenten Rule

I will give up………………., and will save (say how much) each week in my Lent box and will give it to…………………………. (name of charity)

I will try hard to stop all bad and angry thoughts as soon as they come.

I will say my morning and evening prayers carefully every day.

I will offer myself and my life truly to God at every Eucharist.

If a communicant, I will make my Communion (say how often) and prepare well each time.

I will go to the weekly Lent service.

If you happen to break any part of your Rule during Lent, just carry on as if you had not broken it.  Do not say, “Now that I have broken my Rule, it’s no use trying to keep it”.  Never let a failure put you off.

SUMMARY

In Lent we weaken the power of our lower self by self-denial. And we make a special effort to anchor ourselves to God by prayer and worship.