Hungering for Christ

Liturgical Food for Thought

I was struck the other day by a prayer at Mass. It’s the Prayer after Communion that the church presents to us every year on the First Sunday of Lent—only a few days into the Lenten observances. In it, the priest asks that the Lord teach us to hunger, not for regular food, but for Christ the true bread. What a prayer for Lent!

Lenten practices can sometimes feel distant from Christ, like a mere set of New Year’s resolutions: spend quiet time in prayer, gain discipline through fasting, let go of material things by almsgiving. Yet as we take up our disciplines, the church makes sure our priorities are straight by pointing back to her constant touchstone: Christ. Pray, fast, give alms. Do these, but in doing so, hunger and long for Christ.