Most people, Catholic or otherwise, are familiar with the Church’s emphasis on sacrifice during the season of Lent (unfortunately, the penitential nature of Advent has been lost to the secular world). Many are even intrigued or vaguely attracted to this ascetism, as evidenced by the overflowing pews on Ash Wednesday, regardless of whether they fully understand the reasoning behind it. 

Many people, too, are aware that Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays in Lent—or maybe the whole year? –or maybe Vatican II did away with all that? Much ink has been spilled in trying to explain the post-Vatican II changes in Friday penances (including an excellent one here: https://www.coraevans.com/blog/article/fridays-outside-of-lent), but briefly put: Vatican II expanded the penitential nature of Fridays, recognizing that abstaining from meat is not a sacrifice for all (such as vegans or those who would treat themselves to sushi on Fridays), to include all sacrifices, encouraging the faithful to choose a sacrifice that will be most penitential for them to fulfill their Friday sacrifice, year round. 

Although Lent, Advent, and Fridays are the times the Church specifically exhorts Her members to make sacrifices as a form of penance, there are many reasons why someone striving for sanctity would choose to adopt acts of penance outside of those strictly required by the Church. 

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). If we are to live by St. Paul’s words, keeping Christ’s own great sacrifice in the forefront of our minds, those moved by frequent reflection on His suffering would naturally be led to unite themselves to Him and make reparations. Not only does this make us more like our Lord but it allows us to have a small share in Christ’s great work of redemption, both as partakers and redemptive sufferers: ““Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24). Acts of sacrifice or acceptance of the suffering life brings to each one of us, out of love for God, become worthy acts of reparation to the heart of Christ on behalf of others. 

Furthermore, frequent acts of sacrifice help train our wills and passions so that we are less dependent on material comforts and better prepared when deeper sacrifice is required of us. You may be humbled and surprised by what feels like a difficult sacrifice to make. Personally, drinking my coffee black is one of the hardest sacrifices I can voluntarily offer on a frequent basis. But because of this, I believe it is an important one for me to make. Each time I make that small act of self-denial (I hope) I am training my will to respond cheerfully and without hesitation to a greater death to self that my marriage, my children, or my Faith may ask of me: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25). 

Christ Himself reminds us that sacrifices should compromise an integral part of our prayer life, especially in our intercessory prayers (Mt 6:16-18 and Mt 17:21). St. Peter Chrysologus says that “Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.” This, of course, mirrors Christ’s own sacrifice which He offers to God on our behalf out of His unfathomable mercy. 

When examining our own meager sacrifices, they often seem feeble. After all, drinking black coffee is not much of a hardship—I’m not even forgoing coffee altogether! However, the Gospels are full of examples of Christ taking the offerings of others and transforming them. Of the widow who gives all she has, though it is only one small coin, Christ says “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Lk 21:3-4). Similarly, when a young boy offers God only fish and a few loaves of bread, He transforms this into a feast for a multitude (Jn 6:1-14). Whether our act of sacrifice be small or great, God will transform these offerings when we give Him all we have.  

Penitential acts, whether voluntary sacrifices or the cheerful acceptance of life’s hardships, nourish our souls and deepen our prayer life by bringing us into closer communion with Christ’s own redemptive suffering; train our wills to be less dependent on making our bodies comfortable so that we grow stronger in our ability to die to ourselves; and are an effective means of intercessory prayer. 

Let us end with these words of encouragement from St. Therese of Lisieux: “My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.” Whether the hearts moved are our own or others, our small acts of sacrifice are not forgotten by our Lord!