

Prayer - working on our relationship with God Fasting - working on our relationship of ourselves Charity - working on our relationship with othersI’ve noticed many women I’m connected to on social media wondering about self-care, and how indulgent it seems to take time for oneself when there are so many demands, and aren’t we supposed to be constantly giving of ourselves anyway? Self-care is an essential part of ‘charity’ -- if we don’t take care of ourselves, we will have nothing to give to others except some of the worst of ourselves. I speak from experience -- when I do not take the time I need to take care of myself, then I can turn into some type of momster. I never like the person I am when I act that way, and I’m slowly coming to see it has a lot to do with how I prepare myself so that I can give of myself better to others.

What is Penance?
Perhaps you’re wondering where any documents state ‘self-care’ as a form of penance. We need to perhaps revise our understanding of what penance is meant to do. Pope Paul VI in his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, tells us, “Penance therefore … is a religious, personal act which has as its aim love and surrender to God.” Within this framework, we can see self-care is for the purpose of helping us to love and surrender to God more fully. In fact, it’s essential for us to take care that we are nourished (especially spiritually) so that we can continue at all. I thought I’d set forth a challenge for this Lent focusing on self-care, because believe it or not, you’re worth it, you deserve it, and Jesus didn’t die for you to be depleted and not be able to spread the Good News. There are numerous examples of Jesus taking off from his disciples, recorded as going off to pray. I’ve always liked to picture that sometimes it’s also to get away from people who are nagging, who are perpetually clinging, and who are causing strife (this is in no way biblical, except that he would go away). He always comes back, but he does leave for a time, and the disciples are also sometimes confused as to where he has gone. And in our lives, we need this time away too. Though I’m not advocating that we run off without telling anyone. Well, not necessarily.7 Ideas for a Lenten Challenge







What types of self-care can we take up this Lent in order to love and surrender to God more fully?
Copyright 2018 Jane Korvemaker
About the Author

Jane Korvemaker
Jane Korvemaker loves food, family, wine, and God (perhaps not in that order). She holds a Certificate in Culinary Arts, which pairs perfectly with her Bachelor in Theology. A former Coordinator of Youth Ministry, she writes from the beautiful and cold province of Saskatchewan, Canada. She works from home and takes care of her three very hard-working children. Jane regularly blogs at AJK2.ca.
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